MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

The seven days that went by weren't just filled with merely riots and intense but meaningless discussions on the internet. There were a lot more intricate happenings going through beneath the charade of human violence in the name of protest.

For the people who were unrelated to this harrowing matter, it was just a piece of very sad news that they wished would have been great if it didn't take place. Nothing more, nothing less. But for those who were affected by this harrowing affair, it was not something that couldn't be taken lightly.

Shuri was one such person. Though it could be said that she had not been directly affected by this matter but it went without saying that as one of the greatest firms in LA, she had seen her workload increase exponentially due to all the variables and lawsuits that were created due to this incident.

Many families that lost someone dear to them in the incident of Pacific Park, contacted them in order to sue people responsible for the management and ownership of the Park as well as the states and ask for compensation and reparation to soothe their broken families.

This was well within their rights and Shuri had to ask for a collective operation to increase the weight of their voices.

But if she had to be honest, while she felt sad for those people, like any other human, what truly affected her the most was what happened to her personally due to this incident.

As a victim of this harrowing happening, Adam was now in a coma.

It was a very weird and dismal situation. She had just been planning on visiting Cecilia and preparing some breakfast since it was the weekend and she was able to spend her time with the people she cherished the most in the world. But alas, she soon learned that Adam had been present in the Park when the gas leak took place and while he didn't die due to the poisonous gas leak, he was still severely affected by the side effects of the hazardous incident.

Shuri had never felt her heart beat so violently against her chest before, not even when she heard about the heart condition of her best friend. Be it Adam, or even Cecilia, she realized once again how dependent she had become on those two people. They were her only true family and Adam was like the little bottle of sunshine that illuminated her dark and dismal life without a single shred of light to light it up. Well, before he and his mother came along that is.

There was a reason that she had decided to leave him everything she owned eventually, after all.

She nearly had a mental breakdown at the thought of losing him. She begged and screamed when she finally reached his home, asking Cecilia why the hell she wasn't sending Adam to the hospital to take care of him and figure out what was wrong with the boy.

But Cecilia had been adamant in her stance.

Shuri was not stupid. She didn't know what, she didn't know how, but after spending nearly 20 years with Cecilia, there was no way she didn't know that something was amiss with her best friend. That Cecilia was hiding a very big and deep secret from her all this time.

But until now she had always ignored that fact about her best friend. She had turned a blind eye because she thought it was not worth it to dig up whatever past Cecilia was trying to bury from the world. Everyone had their secrets after all.

But this… It had just been too much for her to endure anymore.

For the first time in their entire relationship, Shuri shouted at Cecilia with all her might. This wasn't some friendly banter. She shouted, cursed, and called her friend with every name and profanity that was possible to be uttered on this earth.

'You are so stupid. Fuck'

Shuri covered her face with her hands. She wouldn't have felt so bad, as she was feeling right now, if Cecilia had raised her voice as well. But, she did not do any of that. Cecilia only looked at her with an indifferent expression, neither giving excuses nor trying to argue with her.

But the emotions of pain in her eyes had been too raw and real. It was clear that she wanted to tell her something but for one reason or another, she was not able to convey them to her.

Cecilia loved Adam more than anyone else in the world. How could she willingly leave Adam at home if there wasn't an important reason behind it?

When she realized this fact, all the wind left her sail. She had acted childishly and hurt her only true friend. Shuri had never felt so small and stupid in all her life as she did now, but what could she do? She wasn't able to control herself when she saw Adam in such a condition.

It had been four days since then. She had left in a hurry… like a thief feeling too ashamed to face her longer.

She would sometimes write to ask how Adam was but outside of that, she could not face Cecilia anymore.

She was acting like a very bad friend.

'Fuck!'

Shuri took a third bottle of alcohol and began to fill her glasses with it.

The last few days had been rough on her. Very much so.

She had hurt her best friend, Adam was still in a coma, and she had received the final proof of her husband cheating on her.

He had a second family in japan. A virtuous wife who waited at home for him and even a three-year-old young girl.

She had expected that her husband had been cheating on her for quite a while. But… She had thought it would simply be a fling. Something with some top model or some younger girl easier to the eyes.

In a corner of her mind, she could have perhaps forgiven him for this. She understood that she worked like a maniac sometimes, and her husband could feel that she was not taking care of him or their relationship because of that.

She knew that this was just her acting as a pushover. But she had loved him for years and was willing to give him a second chance. Even if their marriage was never the same and trust once broken was even more difficult to build…

But this…

'Fuck.'

Shuri wanted to cry her soul out. No, she could already feel the tears streaming down her face.

He looked so happy. How long had it been since she saw such a sincere smile on his face?

Those photos and the information she had received had been no different than a knife plunging deep into her heart.

She felt miserable and she felt utterly alone. There was no one with whom she could share her pain at the moment and she couldn't show her pain outside as she had to keep a strong front to not be underestimated by her colleagues and rivals.

Her hazy eyes fell on a card. This had been sent to her around one week ago. Supposedly, it was a good place to relax and have some simple fun.

What was the name again?

She took the card and squinted her eyes slightly. The darkness of the room and the alcohol in her system were not helping her a single bit.

In the end, she was finally able to get a good read on the name engraved on the card.

The name was — Wild Hunt.