Chapter 70: Chapter 70

It goes without saying that any attempt at revenge against me is a problem in itself. Given the absurdly strict hierarchy between direct and collateral family lines in the main family, any line that tries something like this could face total ruin.

They must know this, which is probably why someone within the family is likely trying to block such efforts.

‘Or perhaps… did the main family take action?’

There’s a slim chance, but it’s possible. Perhaps they simply decided to eliminate a witness to my crime—straightforward, logical.

Of course, if that were the case, I would have received some kind of report.

“No reports from Prestige, right?”

“Oh… no. Apart from the inquiries regarding the drugs, nothing else.”

“Then it doesn’t seem to be from their side….”

I drew a tentative conclusion:

Someone killed the Chief Prosecutor with the intention of eventually killing me as well.

Someone else killed the Chief Prosecutor to warn me that there’s a person with the intentions in point 1.

Those were the two main possibilities.

Thinking deeper into it would probably just give me a headache.

So,

‘Why am I even thinking about this? They should be serving this information to me.’

I decided to stop thinking. I’d already come up with points 1 and 2; what more was there to ponder? I wasn’t a detective.

The solution was simple: pressure both sides and wait for someone to confess. Even if it was scenario two, they still tried to harm me, so they’d face punishment regardless.

‘If they’ve targeted me, they’ll be punished.’

“Eun-mi, secure the Prosecutor’s Office DB and figure out who the assailant is. If there’s any hacking trace, follow it.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Soo-ah, stay in touch with Prestige, consolidate any relevant reports, and compile a list of Jeon Seong-hyun’s family members and their backgrounds.”

“Yes, Master.”

+++

Do Eun-joo was furious as she watched the breaking news.

“Who did it?! Who dared do this!!!”

Of course, her anger wasn’t directed at mourning the Chief Prosecutor’s death.

Even if he wasn’t the one who directly killed her son, he was present at the scene and did nothing—so, to her, he was no different from the man who killed her son.

Yet her anger flared because this incident had made it more challenging for her to kill Go Muyeol.

After an outburst, she calmed herself, taking deep breaths.

Her fury solidified into a cold, calculating resolve, and her mind cleared.

She summoned her two sons.

“Was it you two?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if you were the ones behind the Chief Prosecutor’s death.”

Eun-joo turned to face them, and her sons flinched.

“W-what do you mean, Mother?”

“You called us so suddenly…”

“….”

Eun-joo silently studied her sons, both showing no signs of confessing.

“So it wasn’t you?”

“Wouldn’t it have been Go Muyeol?”

“What?”

“The Chief Prosecutor was a witness to his crime. There was no reason to keep him alive.”

Eun-joo looked at them incredulously.

“That logic applies to ordinary people. But for those ruling over this country from the clouds, controlling everything as they please, would they worry about such a thing?”

“But no matter how high he ranks, Go Muyeol is someone who only recently quit drugs, assuming he even quit at all. In other words, he’s still not in a clear state of mind. He might have considered eliminating the Chief Prosecutor just in case, or it could simply have been a thrill kill.”

“…A thrill kill?”

“He’s the kind of person who killed our Seong-hyun for an absurdly petty reason. Why would he hesitate to kill a Chief Prosecutor? Especially when he has a convenient justification: the Chief Prosecutor was a witness to his crime.”

“….”

Her disbelief grew.

“No. If it’s not you two, then no one else would have done it.”

“Mother!”

“Why are you suspecting us??”

“If the Chief Prosecutor dies, Go Muyeol will strengthen his defenses, and I would naturally hold back. Isn’t that what you were thinking?”

“….”

“Seong-hyun’s death is tragic, but that doesn’t mean I want to die with him. Isn’t that what’s really going on here?”

“….”

Faced with Eun-joo’s conviction, her sons stopped trying to deny it.

They simply looked at their mother.

“Mother.”

“Are you willing to risk your lives for Seong-hyun’s revenge?”

Do Eun-joo closed her eyes, biting her lip as if swallowing the bitter truth.

“Seong-hyun’s death is only the beginning. Do you really think he’d spare the rest of us?”

“We’re innocent. There’s no reason for him to kill us. If you hadn’t obsessed over killing him, we wouldn’t have gone this far, Mother.”

“Mother, please stand aside. We’ll handle it from here.”

“Hah….”

Do Eun-joo clutched her head in frustration.

Handle it?

What exactly do they intend to handle?

Her son was already dead.

Besides revenge, what else was there to achieve?

An apology from Go Muyeol?

Even if she received it, it wouldn’t bring her comfort—and it’s not like that was even feasible.

A promise from him to refrain from such actions in the future?

Equally pointless.

Then,

What result could they achieve?

All she wanted was his death.

If that wasn’t possible, was she supposed to beg?

Was she, as his mother, supposed to go to her son’s killer and beg him not to kill her remaining sons?!

“…No. I can’t do that.”

“Mother!!”

She shouted in frustration.

“To him, you both are already filled with reasons to die! Why don’t you understand that?!”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would we have to die?!”

“Because you’re the ones capable of revenge!”

“…!”

“Do you think they’d keep you alive, trusting that you won’t hold a grudge and strike back? Those people, who swap humans like machine parts—do you really think they’d spare you or me? To them, we’re already ‘dead people walking.’ Wake up!!”

“M-Mother….”

We’ve already been marked.

To avoid potential backlash, or simply to avoid unnecessary stress, he’ll have us killed.

So, in the end, there’s only one path.

“You two, stay put. No—leave the country. I’ll handle this myself.”

+++

The murder of Jeon Seong-hyun by Go Muyeol, followed by the killing of the Chief Prosecutor, stirred up a significant commotion among other family branches.

One person in particular was deeply shaken—Min Ji-ah, who was married to Do Eun-joo’s brother, Do Nam-joo.

Among all the extended family, she was one of the few with a shared bloodline and took pride in her Go-Ryeo Group heritage. Equally strong was her fear of the main family line.

“Are you going to control your family or not?”

“D-dear… it’s just that…”

“If your family’s antics end up harming me or our children, how do you plan to take responsibility?”

“Well, it’s not exactly my sister’s fault but more of our Young Master’s -”

Smack!

Min Ji-ah’s slap snapped his head to the side, splitting his lip and drawing blood.

“Are you insane? Shifting blame like that?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant -”

“Does everyone have to die before you understand? Huh?!”

Her furious yelling echoed through the large room, and Do Nam-joo closed his eyes tightly.

“Do you want all of us—me, our precious children, and you—to die before you finally get it?!”

“Dear….”

“Go. Go to your sister, your nephew—beat some sense into them, lock them up, whatever it takes to make them powerless. Don’t even think about coming back until it’s done. Got it?!”

“I-I understand, dear. Just please, don’t yell….”

Do Nam-joo left the room, his heart pounding as he closed the door behind him, his wife’s frustration lingering in the air. Min Ji-ah sighed, pressing her hand against her chest as though to ease the tension.

“Agh. This is driving me insane.”

Bzz.

At that moment, her phone rang.

Go Min-young

“!!!!”

Seeing the caller’s name, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a surge of anxiety. She swallowed hard, her mouth dry, and her heart raced, sounding as if construction materials were collapsing around her.

Kneeling down, she carefully held the phone with both hands. Even though her caller couldn’t see her, the posture made her feel slightly more at ease.

“D-Deputy Chairwoman…! M-Min Ji-ah speaking.”

There was a brief silence.

To her, it felt like an eternity.

“Did it really have to come to the point where I need to call you?”

“I-I’m so sorry. I’ll take care of everything promptly. Yes.”

“How?”

“M-my husband just left to handle it. He’s easily spooked, so he’ll keep his family in line. Whether he has to beat them down or lock them up—”

Go Min-young’s voice cut in coldly.

“Do you really think that’ll be enough?”

“…Excuse me?”

“If their child is dead, they’ll be blinded by rage. They’ll do anything. Take the most certain course of action.”

“….”@@novelbin@@

Then, the call ended.

Even after the line went dead, Min Ji-ah remained kneeling for a while. She eventually rose, steadying her suddenly shaken resolve. She’d almost considered calling her husband back, but she held off. Her overly sentimental husband would never be able to cut ties with, let alone kill, his sister.

She pressed a button on the desk.

“Have Director Lee come in.”

Soon, the large door opened, and a man entered, bowing deeply in respect.

“You summoned me?”

“It seems likely that Daejin Group stocks will take a hit soon. Prepare cash for the opportunity.”

“…Understood.”

With an expression filled with hidden meaning, he bowed once more before leaving the room.

Min Ji-ah looked at the now-empty doorway and muttered under her breath.

“If your son died, wouldn’t you know to keep a low profile and live quietly?”