The moment they entered the mansion, the atmosphere changed completely.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Soft golden lights illuminated the enormous hallway while expensive paintings and dark wooden furniture gave the mansion a heavy feeling, almost like the walls themselves carried old memories inside them.
Yuna stayed close beside Ethan while servants quietly bowed their heads as they passed.
Then suddenly—
A deep voice echoed from the living room.
"Ethan."
Yuna immediately noticed the change in Ethan's posture.
His shoulders stiffened instantly.
His expression turned cold again.
Slowly they both turned toward the man standing near the fireplace.
Tall.
Older.
Sharp grey eyes almost identical to Ethan's.
Power radiated from him quietly even without trying.
Ethan's father.
The man looked toward Yuna first before speaking calmly.
"So this is the girl."
Ethan stepped slightly in front of Yuna automatically.
"She's not here to meet you."
The coldness in his tone immediately filled the room.
His father remained calm. "I only wished to speak with her."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Sharp.
Protective.
Yuna glanced toward Ethan carefully.
The tension between father and son felt years old.
Painfully old.
Ethan's jaw tightened faintly while continuing coldly, "She's here to meet my mother. Nothing else."
His father sighed quietly before placing down the teacup in his hand.
"You still hate me that much."
Ethan's expression didn't change.
"I don't hate you."
The older man looked almost surprised for a second.
Then Ethan finished quietly—
"Hate requires emotion."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Yuna felt the atmosphere tighten instantly.
Even the servants nearby lowered their heads awkwardly before quietly leaving the area.
Then unexpectedly, Ethan's mother appeared near the staircase upstairs.
The moment Ethan saw her—
His entire expression softened immediately.
Completely differently from before.
"Mother."
Yuna noticed it instantly.
The respect.
The warmth.
The gentleness in his voice.
His mother smiled softly seeing him. "You came."
Ethan nodded quietly.
Then she looked toward Yuna warmly.
"And this must be Yuna."
Yuna smiled politely and bowed slightly. "It's nice meeting you."
His mother's eyes softened immediately. "You're even prettier than Ethan described."
Ethan looked mildly annoyed. "Mother."
Yuna blinked in surprise before smiling slightly.
"You talked about me?"
Ethan ignored that completely.
But before the atmosphere could soften further, Ethan's father spoke again calmly from behind.
"May I speak with her for a few minutes?"
Ethan immediately turned cold again.
"No."
"Ethan," his mother said softly, "listen first."
"There's nothing to discuss."
Yuna looked between them carefully now.
The tension hurt to watch.
Father and son stood only a few feet apart, yet emotionally they felt impossibly far away from each other.
Then slowly Yuna touched Ethan's arm gently.
He looked toward her immediately.
"You should go meet your mother properly," she said softly.
His brows furrowed instantly. "Yuna—"
"I'll be fine."
"No."
A direct answer again.
Yuna smiled faintly. "Nothing serious will happen."
Ethan clearly still looked unwilling.
His eyes moved toward his father suspiciously before returning to her again.
Yuna squeezed his hand gently. "Go."
For several seconds Ethan stayed silent.
Then finally—
Reluctantly—
He nodded once.
But before leaving he looked directly at his father and said coldly—
"If anything happens, this conversation ends immediately."
His father only sighed quietly.
Ethan glanced toward Yuna one last time before finally walking upstairs toward his mother.
Yuna watched him disappear near the staircase.
Then silence settled again downstairs.
His father gestured calmly toward the garden outside.
"Would you join me for tea?"
Yuna hesitated briefly.
Then nodded softly.
Outside, the night air felt cool and quiet.
The garden behind the mansion looked beautiful beneath soft lantern lights. Flowers lined the stone paths while a small fountain quietly echoed nearby.
Yuna sat carefully across from Ethan's father at the tea table.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then finally he poured tea calmly into her cup before saying quietly—
"You're nervous around me."
Yuna answered honestly. "A little."
"That's understandable."
His voice remained surprisingly calm.
Nothing like the terrifying image Yuna imagined.
That somehow made things more confusing.
Then Ethan's father looked toward her properly and spoke quietly—
"I'm not the monster Ethan described to you."
Yuna froze slightly hearing that.
The older man sighed softly before continuing.
"I simply fail at expressing things properly."
Yuna stayed silent while listening carefully.
"He told you about his childhood, didn't he?"
She nodded faintly.
"The dog."
A shadow crossed the man's face briefly.
"Yes."
Yuna expected anger.
Or defensiveness.
Instead he looked… regretful.
"That day changed everything between us."
The garden grew quieter around them.
"He started fearing me after that."
Yuna lowered her gaze slightly.
But then his father continued quietly—
"The dog came home poisoned."
Her eyes lifted immediately.
"What?"
"He accidentally ate rat poison somewhere outside," the older man explained quietly. "By the time he returned home, he had already become aggressive and unstable."
Yuna listened carefully.
"He ran into my office and destroyed important papers." A faint sad smile crossed his face. "Ethan adored that dog."
Then his expression darkened slightly.
"I picked the animal up myself to remove him from the room."
Silence.
"And then a bullet came through the window."
Yuna's eyes widened completely.
"The shot was meant for me."
The words settled heavily into the quiet garden.
Yuna stared at him speechlessly.
"The dog died instantly," he continued quietly. "And my men killed the attacker."
Yuna's heartbeat slowed painfully.
Because suddenly—
The memory Ethan carried his entire life looked completely different.
Not his father cruelly murdering a dog out of anger.
But a child misunderstanding a violent moment.
His father sighed softly.
"But Ethan only saw blood."
The night air suddenly felt heavier around them.
"He ran away before anyone could explain."
Yuna looked down silently.
The older man took a slow sip of tea before speaking again.
"We are not innocent people, Yuna."
The honesty in his voice surprised her.
"We are mafia."
The word landed coldly between them.
"But not monsters."
Yuna stayed completely still.
His father continued calmly—
"We kill criminals. Traffickers. Men involved in drugs, weapons, human selling." His gaze hardened slightly. "People the law often protects with money."
Yuna's chest tightened faintly.
Then suddenly—
"I know who your father was."
Her breath caught.
The older man looked directly at her now.
"Richard Blackwood."
Yuna's fingers slowly tightened around the teacup.
"He was one of the men I ordered killed."
Silence.
The fountain echoed softly nearby while Yuna struggled to process the confession.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Not because of the confession—
But because he sounded sincere.
"But stopping people like him sometimes requires blood." His voice lowered. "Your father sold children."
Pain crossed Yuna's face instantly.
Even now hearing it hurt deeply.
"I know Ethan told you already," the older man continued softly, "but I wanted you to understand something."
Yuna looked at him silently.
"We don't kill innocent people."
The garden remained silent afterward.
Yuna's thoughts spun painfully now.
Everything felt confusing.
Ethan's childhood.
The misunderstanding.
The truth about the dog.
The mafia.
The crimes.
The violence.
Nothing was black and white anymore.
Then quietly his father added—
"Please help him understand me someday."
Yuna slowly lifted her eyes again.
For the first time tonight—
The powerful feared mafia leader looked less dangerous and more… tired.
Regretful.
Like a father who failed somewhere important years ago.
Then suddenly—
From near the mansion doors—
Yuna noticed movement.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Ethan stood there silently beside his mother.
His mother looked worried.
But Ethan—
Ethan's face had gone completely still.
Cold.
Unreadable.
Yuna immediately stood up softly.
"…Ethan."
His eyes slowly shifted toward his father.
The night air became suffocatingly quiet.
Then Ethan spoke calmly.
Too calmly.
"I heard everything."