Right then, my heart raced, and I looked away from the villagers. I did not know whether I should describe them as foolish or naive.
Soon, we arrived at the largest factory on the island. The workers there must have been pre-informed, for they were standing in a line outside, waiting to welcome us.
All of them were wearing blue uniforms, and they were all young, energetic people. Like the generations before them, it seemed like all they needed was an order before they began working until the sun went down.
“Welcome, Mr. Hall!”
Both of us came down from the car as they greeted us enthusiastically. However, Nathaniel did not stop to talk to his admirers. Instead, he walked past the crowd emotionless with a managerial-looking young man and entered the factory. I had to follow him closely so that I would not be pushed to the side by the workers.
The assembly line in the factory continued its usual routine, seemingly undisturbed by our arrival. Perhaps it was because the employees there were all well-trained enough to not do anything out of the place while they were working.
However, I noticed something odd. Regardless of whether it was the group of people outside welcoming us, the workers at the assembly line, or even the supervisors, they were all young men.
I could not believe that I could not find a single woman in a factory of that size.
Even as I stepped into the elevator, I was ruminating about whether or not I had somehow missed out on seeing the female employees. Right then, the walkie-talkie in front of me buzzed, and I raised my head. Then, I saw a flash of white on the screen that had been showing the floor number earlier before the display turned into a scanning window.
The manager who had led us in then leaned closer. It only took a second for the words—successful recognition—to appear on the screen.
Just as I was looking around and waiting for the elevator to go up, loud groaning sounds came from behind me. Then, it was the feeling of falling as the elevator began moving downward.
Almost a minute later, the elevator slowly stopped. When we stepped out, I noticed a fork that branched out into three tunnels. Each of the paths was in complete darkness, so I could not see where it led to. Furthermore, we were underground, so it was humid. It only made the darkness of the paths even creepier.
Right then, Nathaniel turned to look at me. A smile that did not reach his eyes appeared on his face as he said, “Maybe you’ll change your impression of me after seeing my factory.”
As if, I thought as I frowned at him. “I’ve seen it, but nothing’s changing. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Instead of getting angry, Nathaniel chuckled and looked toward the front instead. Then, he clapped.
In the next second, a rhythmic clicking sound came from the dark paths before the row of lights slowly turned on, starting from the ones closest to us. They lit up the concrete path, and at the end of the path, a steel door slowly opened to reveal a whole new world to me.
Who would have ever thought that there would be a factory deep underground which was identical to the one above ground?
Despite myself, I walked toward the center path and into the illuminated world. When I locked eyes with one of the employees, I knew I was not hallucinating.
Perhaps a better way was to say the underground factory was Nathaniel’s real factory. Here, what they manufactured was not unnamed parts but ice.
Not only had that man make himself a god to others, but he had also created a world for himself.
The place I was in was meant to be a bomb shelter, but he had made it into a drug factory.
On the conveyor belts were packets and packets of crystals. I could not help but think about the ferocious look Joseph had when he was controlled by ice.
What was on the belts were not mere chemicals but lives; human lives.
“Are you surprised?” came Nathaniel’s voice beside me. “Even Citraine’s largest group of drug dealers have bare minimum factories. They can’t exist anywhere, so they’re usually shabby places. But look, the place I’ve made here is essentially a masterpiece!”
The way he was gleeful about his factory made me tighten my fists to hold myself back from wanting to destroy the entire place.
“What about the people? Don’t you know how many lives and families you’d ruin by creating so much ice?” I asked.
A cold look appeared in Nathaniel’s eyes as he muttered, completely unperturbed by my words, “Everyone has to pay the price for their choice. Everyone’s the same. It’s just that the strongest will survive.”
“But they shouldn’t even have this choice in their life!” I yelled out, arguing with him as fury overwhelmed my mind. However, a second later, I belatedly realized I was only wasting my breath, so I buried my face in one hand and bitterly laughed.
“Don’t do that, Sienna. I’m not as fragile as you think I am,” Nathaniel abruptly said as though he was teasing me.
Calm down, Sienna Stanhope. I kept repeating that to myself in my mind. Only when you’re calm can you continue to fight with this heartless creature.
It was that moment I thought about Anthony. Did he come here too? Is that why he decided to strike a deal with Nathaniel? But fate plays cruel jokes on people sometimes.
Just as the last thought flashed past my mind, a faraway elevator slid open.
The pale man who had to be supported by Joseph to stay upright was none other than Anthony.
His breathing was heavy, and it seemed like he had sustained an injury to his left chest. Blood had stained a large section of his clothes, and when he lifted his head, our eyes met. However, he only spent a second looking at me before he turned to glare at Nathaniel.
Joseph was hurt as well. That man was wearing a thin dress shirt with dirt and blood coating it. He looked much more disheveled than Anthony, but his glare was much more feral than Anthony’s. Like Anthony, his glare was directed at Nathaniel.
Staring at them ached my heart so badly to the point I could barely take in any breaths. A beat later, I choked out, “What happened?”
Anthony pressed down hard on his wound before forcing a sneer onto his face. “Yes, that’s what I want to ask too. What’s going on, my dear brother?”
Nathaniel glanced at him before half-heartedly gasping. “Oh my, did the cops find you when you were doing the deal? Why are you careless?”
Please. Did you even try to put on a convincing act? It’s as if you’re scared that no one would realize you’re the one behind this.
A chill ran down my spine, and I abruptly recalled Nathaniel messaging someone when I went into the car a few hours ago.
Now that I thought about it, I realized that he had planned for everything. Bringing me to the factory for a tour was a lie, and having Anthony intervene in the business was a lie too. He wanted to use this opportunity to make me see Anthony hurt for his choice.
So that was what he meant when he said that everyone had to pay the price for their choice.
His words were not only directed to the people on the island but also to me.
I was foolish enough to presume that Nathaniel would stick to the rules and protect the man I love; I was foolish to assume that Nathaniel would be too preoccupied with the game to care about Anthony. As it turned out, I had underestimated how cruel he could be.
He wanted to play the game, but he also wanted to kill Anthony.
What do I do now?
My hands shook. Before I could think of anything, I slapped Nathaniel.
Smack!
At that very moment, the world fell silent.
One observant employee who witnessed the scene dropped his jaw and nearly made a mistake in his work. Despite recollecting himself, he could not wipe away the look of shock on his face.
No one thought that their god—Nathaniel Hall—would be treated in that way.
Nathaniel’s face was turned to the side by the force of the slap, and he did not turn his head back as he went still for a moment.
When the numbness of my palm traveled up my arm, I finally sobered up a little.
Oddly enough, the most genuine reaction was my only way of getting away with things when I was around Nathaniel.
I nervously gulped before shooting him a glare. “You deserved this.”
It was then Nathaniel came back to his senses and turned to me. As he grimly stared at me, he cracked his stiff neck.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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