CHAPTER 16

"And last, if you're going to leave our organization, you need to find a replacement, and if you can't find one or you don't want to, we're going to kill you. It's just simple, right? You have a choice, Sarah. Find your replacement, or I'll kill you right now, and if you don't want to be killed, you don't have a choice but to join El Orden Del Abismo."

Is he crazy!? My vision was blurry from the non stop tears streaming down to my cheek. I couldn't stop the sob that escaped my lips and continued to sob uncontrollably in front of him. The gun he was holding was still pressed against my neck.

"Now tell me, Sarah. What do you want? Live or die?" he asked me.

"If you join El Orden Del Abismo, you can help your mother pay off her debt. You can help your family escape poverty. Think wisely. You graduated with the highest honor, yet you can choose the right answer."

"I-I just want to go home, Atlas. Please let me go," I sobbed in response. I couldn't wipe the tears from my cheeks, and I knew my face was completely wet. My hands were shaking with fear as I continued to look up at him while he was now looking down at me.

He chuckled softly at what I said. He shook his head, and I noticed that he moved the gun away from my neck. My heart was racing like crazy, I took the opportunity to escape. I pushed him hard.

I turned around and twisted the doorknob to get out, but I didn't succeed. Three men were standing in front of me, all wearing black fitted polo shirts and black pants, muscular and intimidating to look at because they were all so tall. If I pushed them, it wouldn't make a difference because they were like walls. All three of them were standing with their arms crossed, looking at me emotionlessly.

"N-no... no..." I muttered to myself while shaking my head. Tears streamed down my face again as I looked back at Atlas when I heard his low chuckle.

It's like he expected me to do this. That's why his three men were here, right? He expected me to escape because he knew I wouldn't agree.

"You can't escape, Sarah," I heard Atlas say as he walked towards me.

I gasped for air as I felt like my vision was spinning. I could barely hear what he was saying, and I was going deaf because I felt like I was going to faint.

"You're trapped here... you're trapped in this organization."

My knees weakened, and my eyelids felt heavy. I felt myself fall to the floor and was completely swallowed by darkness.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

I quickly sat up in my bed when I woke up and automatically looked around. It only just occurred to me that I wasn't in my own room. I was still in Atlas' basement. I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. I was still wearing the same thing, and it hadn't been changed.

I was in a small room. The walls were painted white, and there was a glass window near the closed door. The only furniture in here was the bed I was lying on a moment ago and a small table with a chair beside it, where a mini digital clock was placed. It was 7 am in the morning, and I woke up in Atlas' basement. I stood up and looked out the glass window, my brow furrowed when I saw a room just like mine across from me. There was no one there, but the light was on inside.

I tilted my head to look for the end of the hallway, but there was none. It seemed like I was in a different part of Atlas' basement. I sighed as I felt my hair stand on end. It was accompanied by the cold breeze coming from the split-type air conditioner as I remembered what happened before I passed out.

Am I never going to get out of here? So many questions were running through my mind because of what Atlas said. Did someone put me in their organization? I don't know who did it, and I don't know why they needed to involve me.

My breathing was getting faster again, I'm getting paranoid. I was scared of what might happen now. I hugged myself and went back to bed. I took several deep breaths to calm myself.

"I just want to go home," I whispered to myself.

I hugged my knees and buried my head in them when I felt tears streaming down my face. I cried silently and poured out all the emotions that had built up in my chest. I still felt hot and my head ached, I still hadn't recovered from my fever.

I don't know how many minutes I cried on my knees. My eyelids were sore and heavy, and I knew they were swollen from all my crying. I only lifted my head when I heard the door open.

Atlas with a serious face entered the room and he was wearing a lab gown. He took off his face mask and approached me.

"You're awake. Get up, and we're not done with the contract we were talking about," he ordered me.

I shook my head. "I don't want to."

"Don't be stubborn, Sarah. You're only going to make things harder for yourself. If you leave here, you might not make it home alive," Atlas replied.

He put both his hands in the pockets of his lab gown and turned to leave.

"Follow me to my office. Don't be hardheaded."

I swallowed hard as he walked away from the room. I had no choice but to follow him, even though I was scared. As soon as we left the hallway with many empty rooms, I saw the hallway we entered when we went to his office.

"Sign this, and I have more things to do," Atlas began as soon as we entered his office.

He moved quickly while taking care of the contract I was going to sign. My lips trembled, and tears were about to fall again as I looked at the contract on his desk. I looked at Atlas, who was now leaning against the side of the table, looking at me.

He raised an eyebrow at me and pointed at the contract on the table, telling me to sign it so we could be done.

"Don't be stubborn. My patience is short, and I don't want to hurt a woman for no reason. So please sign there so that we can finish this."

My lips trembled, and I wanted to protest, but I felt like I was losing strength to do so. I just silently cried in front of him as my gaze shifted between him and the contract.

"Your life will be easier if you work here. I know you want to help your family, especially your mother, and give them a comfortable life. Why don't you join? It would be embarrassing if you didn't follow the request of the one who sponsored your scholarship. Do you think you'd be able to finish your studies if it weren't for me?"

A hot tear rolled down my cheek, and I shook my head at him.

"N-no," I sobbed in response.

I wiped my tears and kept looking at Atlas even though my vision was blurry.

"You're being ungrateful," he said to me coldly. "I'm not asking for much in return for sponsoring your education. Was signing a big deal? It wasn't, right?"

"But I really don't want to, Atlas," I replied while crying. "I'll do anything you want, really. But I don't want this. I won't join—"

Atlas had helped me a lot, allowing me to finish my studies. If he wanted to be repaid for all his help, I would be fine with that. I would be willing to pay him back, but not in this way.

"I have a deal for you, Sarah. If you sign the contract, you'll owe me nothing, and if not, you probably know what will happen, right? I don't want to repeat it because I know you're smart enough to figure that out."

"I won't agree, Atlas. I'll do anything you want here in your basement, but I won't join—"

"That's all I want, and nothing more," he interrupted me, his voice cold and serious.

"Atlas, please..."

"Sign it," he said firmly, pointing to the paper on the table.

Many thoughts were running through my mind, and I didn't know which one to prioritize. I wanted to escape but I knew I wouldn't succeed. What Atlas said earlier was like a broken record in my mind.

"Just think about your family when you join our organization. You'll be able to give them a comfortable life and they won't have to struggle anymore. Isn't that what you want? I know that every child wants to do that for their parents. So if I were you, I'd sign it already, and later we can discuss what you'll do once you become a member of El Orden Del Abismo," Atlas said.

Atlas wasn't wrong. One of my dreams was to give my mother a good life once I graduated and had a stable job. I dreamed of building a beautiful house for my mother and having my siblings have their own rooms. Even if they weren't kind or good to me, it was okay with me. The important thing was that I loved them.

I felt like I was losing my mind, and I didn't know whether to sign it or not. I closed my eyes when I felt my head ache, and I heard many voices in my mind. Atlas' voice, saying that if I signed, my mother's life would be better, and my mother's voice, always complaining about the many bills, especially the debt.

"You'll be able to give them a comfortable life, and they won't have to struggle anymore, Sarah."

I opened my eyes and, trembling, reached for the pen beside the contract. At the bottom of the second page was the blank, overprinted signature. I wrote quickly, and it was done.

I had signed the contract.

"Thank you for signing the contract. Welcome to our organization, Sarah. You're now a member of El Orden Del Abismo."

I couldn't answer Atlas. I cried silently as I looked at him when he spoke. As my chest tightened, I looked at the contract one last time, now with my name and signature on it. I couldn't explain how I felt. I was scared of what might happen—if it would be good, bad, or if it would be a big help.

Atlas told me that I could help my mother live a comfortable life by joining their organization, but I was still scared because I knew nothing about what I had gotten myself into.

Now that I'm a member of their organization, I know and feel that something will change, not just for my family.

But also for myself and for my life as a member of El Orden Del Abismo.

SHANGPU