She held her breath for a moment.

"Theo, about…" She was about to explain when she recalled the only reason why that man would contact her. Her gaze turned indifferent. "You found out."

"Who is he?" He asked with a tremor in his voice. She knew that he would believe her no matter what she said, but this was not the time to make him trust her.

"Why should it matter to you, ex-husband?" She asked indifferently.

The word hurt him, so much that he remained silent, standing in the same spot for minutes. He smiled bitterly when he jolted. "Now I get it. No wonder you suddenly asked for a divorce. It makes sense now."

He threw her cell phone on the bed, trying not to lose his temper.

Even without needing an explanation, she knew that he had misunderstood her. He must have thought that she cheated on him. She wanted to explain herself, but when she thought about her sleeping daughter, she exhaled a sigh and started packing her belongings.

He went to the study only to return with a large box which made her curious.

"Don't forget this." He pushed the box to her feet, and only then did she realize that it was her desktop.

"You better hurry. I want to go to sleep." He rushed her impatiently.

Her eyes widened. Was he implying that she should leave right now, even though it was late at night?

He must have seen through her puzzled thoughts, and he scoffed. "I don't want to continue keeping another man's love under my roof. Who is to say that you will not complain to him about living in a pigsty?"

Her hands trembled at his sudden sharp words, making her drop the jewelry case in her hand. He was not intending to help her but when he looked down, a particular diamond necklace caught his attention among the simple ones.

She reached to grab it but he was faster.

"This necklace… the pendant is a symbol of The Dark Night. Do you know how dangerous it is to own anything that could make one mistake you as a member of a gang?" He stopped speaking when he realized that it was not an imitation. His eyes squinted at her. "Why do you have it?"

She grabbed it back from him and shoved it into her luggage. "It doesn't matter anymore. You have already come to a conclusion and it won't matter what I tell you."

"I only want an explanation!" He demanded, grabbing her wrist.

She flung his hand away. "Please send the signed divorce papers to my office tomorrow." She zipped up her suitcases and lugged them out the door, hoping she could catch a cab. Pausing at the door, she let go of the bags and ran back in, brushing past Theodore who was preparing to close the door.

"What are you doing?" He grabbed her arm when he realized that she was headed for Zaria's room.

"I want to say goodbye to my daughter." She annoyedly pulled her hand out of his grip.

"No! You will not touch my daughter." He blocked her path, pushing her away.

"Breaking news, I'm her mother!" She yelled at him.

He looked at her as though in surprise, before he burst into laughter. "As a member of The Dark Night, you dare to claim that you are a mother? Have you no shame?"

Thinking of everything, he stared at her in disbelief. "Why did you get close to me? Why did you marry me? Was I part of your mercenary mission?"

She remained silent.

"All those times you said you were meeting with a client, was it them you were meeting? Were you taking me for a fool all along?"

"I do not desire to explain what's in the past, but I do have a request. Give Zaria to me. She will be safer with me. I will ensure she has everything she needs." She stood her ground.

"Never. Get out of my house!" He shoved her towards the door. "Unless you want me to call the police and reveal who you are." He threatened.

"I was leaving anyway. My lawyer will discuss it with you tomorrow." She calmly grabbed her bags.

"Lucy…" She heard him call her name which made her stop, only to hear his cold words, "If you have a brain, you will not think of fighting for my daughter's custody. Because as long as I'm alive, I will never allow my daughter to be raised by a criminal."

Her eyes stung, but she smiled bitterly without turning to face him. It was just a pendant. How could he simply dismiss her for being a criminal without asking why she was involved with The Dark Night?

_

It seemed like a joke but Lucy knew that after divorcing Theodore, she had to rush back to Russia.

Knight was as expected, waiting for her at his villa. She felt nauseated just looking at his face. This jerk was the man her parents had sold her to, despite knowing that she was married. Or perhaps, it was her marriage to Theodore that made them sell her to the bloodthirsty leader of The Dark Night.

"You finally divorced that jerk, my dear Lucy." He drawled her name in the way that disgusted her the most.

"I did." She could only put up with it for now.

"Let's celebrate. It's great news." He brought a bottle of wine and two glasses, pouring some into hers.

She panicked. When she did the required medical test for emigration, she found out that she was pregnant. She definitely couldn't drink wine.

"I don't want to drink wine." She made an excuse. "I've been drinking a lot lately. I will substitute it with water."

To her dismay, he saw through her lie. "Is it that you don't want to, or that you can't? Are you pregnant?" He laughed after making a right guess that made her freeze.

A slap landed on her cheek. "You really are pregnant, you little b*tch! Your whole family owes me yet you dare to betray me again?"

Her fists clenched. She would make him pay for it.

"And your little daughter…" He suddenly laughed like a maniac. "She's actually quite pretty and looks brave for her age. If I groom her, do you think she could be stronger than you in future?" He looked down at her threateningly.

"You promised to stay away from her!" She yelled. As expected, men like him never fulfilled their promises. She had divorced Theodore and came to Russia. Why was he still threatening her with Zaria's life?

"I will keep my promise. Just get rid of the seed of that jerk. I don't want my woman giving birth to another piece of trash."

His words were revolting. "My dear Lucy, I will forget about that bastard and his little brat if you get rid of this child and marry me. Think about it… you will be wealthy and comfortable. If I'm in a good mood, we can have kids of our own. Don't you think it's awesome, dear Lucy?"

Her eyes narrowed. " Okay."

"Good Lucy. You finally know what's good for you." He raised his glass to her.

She stood with a smile. "I'm going to cook. Help me book an appointment with the hospital."

He was shocked that she was actually taking the initiative to book an appointment, so he made a call as soon as she went to the kitchen.

When he was done giving instructions, he added an order to whoever he was speaking to. "The little girl in Olphire, keep her alive. I may need her later."

Unbeknownst to him, Lucy had eavesdropped on him and heard the last part. She furiously chopped the vegetables to suppress her anger. She looked down at her stomach when she calmed down. 'I will not let anyone hurt you or your sister.'

He entered the kitchen, brimming with a smile. "WestHill Hospital, tomorrow at 9a.m."

"Okay." She knew it was the abortion appointment.

"What are you cooking?" He closed in to peek.

"Why don't you take a look?" She tried not to push him away.

"It looks tasty. You are getting better with the knife too. I'd like to see your performance back in the field." He joked as he saw her chop tomatoes at a scary speed. He couldn't help imagining the knife thrust into someone's heart instead.

"You can see it right here too." She laughed and turned, stabbing the knife right into his chest. As he held it to resist her push, she grabbed another knife and stabbed him innumerable times.

"I planned this before I came here. Of course I would succeed." She gloated as he bled out. "Don't worry, I will not be punished for your death—if anyone cares about it to start with."

"The Dark Night will never let you off!" He threatened as he tried to drag his injured body towards her.

She stepped on his hand mercilessly. "Don't worry about The Dark Night. The organization will be taken good care of. After all, I'm their new master. Surprise!"

_________

AN

Finally, part of Lucy's past. Would you like to know more?