"I..." Claudia attempted to say something, yet as she brought her hand to her itching cheek, the sheer shock caused by Tom's action made her unable to utter a word.

"Boys," Tom said while squinting her eyes. "Get her. I need to talk with her in the car," he ordered before spitting on the ground and turning away.

'Why, why, fucking why?!' Tom's mind was in disarray. All kinds of options, possibilities, and risks continued to spin his brain around. 'Why did she came here? Why now? How should I turn this situation around? How can I protect her?' Question after question continued to appear in Tom's mind, almost making him stumble on his way to the car.

Click. The mechanic sound of the doors opening sounded like an angelic choir to Tom. He sat in the back of the car, only for his brothers to forcefully throw Claudia on the other seat. But rather than just leaving them alone, while one of Tom's brothers sat at the driver's seat, the other made sure to squeeze into the back as well.

"This will be unnece... or nevermind. We need to make sure it looks like she's a real problem for me," Tom muttered, initially wanting to chase his brother to the other front seat before changing his mind.

Through this entire situation, Claudia was too overwhelmed by shock to react, protest or fight back. But this useful state of her mind could only last for long.

"Why did you come here?" Tom asked while hiding his face in his hands as soon as his brother drove out.

"I... I just wanted to see you," Claudia said meekly with her head lowered as low as she could. Her body was trembling, proving that she, just like Tom's brother, failed to notice how fake this entire situation was.

Tom turned silent. He took a moment to sort his thoughts out while attempting to figure out a plausible way out of the ditch Claudia's appearance threw him and the girl herself in.

"But what was this all about!" Claudia asked, already infuriated. It seems that the time Tom took to calm down, she used to turn her terror into fury.

"Shut your crap!" Tom's brother shouted while raising his hand to hit the girl.

"Stop it," Tom quickly ordered before releasing a deep sigh. "Don't take what I did back then for real. It was all just an act," he explained, still refusing to raise his head.

'What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?' Tom's thoughts continued to mess his head up. When it came to risking his own health and fortune, Tom didn't mind at all. He was ready for all the necessary sacrifices when it came to his grand scheme.

'But Claudia has nothing to do with it!' Tom pointed out in his thoughts as he bit his bottom lip.

"Oh!" Tom's brother moaned as he understood the situation. He then turned his head to the girl and lowered it in apology. "I'm sorry for how I treated you. I had no idea it was an act," he apologized while explaining himself.

"Am I the only one who has no idea what the hell is going on?!" Claudia flared up even more. It appeared that Tom's brother's apology failed to calm her down and only backfired on everyone.

"For now, please stay silent. I'm trying to figure out how we can fucking save your damned life!" Tom spoke out in a harsh tone, still refusing to move his head an inch.

"Boss, we are being followed," the driver spoke up while making sure not to make any unnecessary movements.

"HOLD HER!" Tom shouted while using every last bit of his mental strenght to hold himself still.

"AUCH!" Claudia moaned in pain when Tom's brother moved his hand on her neck and tightened his fingers on her throat. But rather than choking her up, he just made it so that moving her head even a little would mean pushing his fingers even deeper into her flesh. "STOP IT!" she shouted, only for Tom's brother's fingers to tighten even more.

"Just don't look back and continue acting like that," Tom ordered as he finally brought his head up. His eyes were clear, showcasing how he managed to come to his senses in a single moment.

'Right now, I can't pretend I don't know her. The Online Hub is sure to track her now that they know I know her,' Tom thought, forcing himself to ditch the despair and think logically. 'That means I can't just leave her alone. But what are the other options? Keep her in the family? Send her away, somewhere safe?' Tom suddenly chuckled, putting a weird look on both Claudia's and his brother's faces.

'As if there was a single place safe from their clutches in the entire damned world,' Tom's chuckle vanished when he bit his lips once again.

"Brother, once we get out of the city, speed up to the car's limit. We need to get at least half of a minute without them watching once we arrive at my place," Tom relayed his orders before resting the back of his head on the seat's pillow.

"Claudia, I'm sorry," Tom finally addressed the topic that everyone in the car was curious about. "I need to apologize for both for what I did and for what I'm about to push you in," he kept his head straight as he continued in a weak voice.

"What do you mean? Wait, more importantly, you don't hate me?" Claudia attempted to change the topic, showing a funnily vulnerable side to her.

"And why would I hate you?" Tom asked as he rapidly turned his face towards the girl. He also made sure to put a wrathful expression on his face before speaking. "But you just had to pick the worst timing and worst place possible. Now that they know about you," Tom turned silent, unable to voice out what kind of conclusion he came to.

"I understand..." Claudia suddenly spoke up while following Tom's act and looking at him as if he was the most smelly piece of garbage in the entire world. "No, I lied. I don't understand what's going on at all, but I can tell that it's not a joking matter," she explained herself while acting as if she just threw a litany of insults at Tom.

"Let's say that you just jumped into a pool of shit by coming here," Tom explained with a metaphor. "And by talking me up, you made a dive."