2:00 p.m., MCO ;

"So you are trying to say that Rong Yufan is somehow connected to the Bleeding Avenues?", Rong Xinghe stared at Ashfakh Ali with disbelief, "Heh. Didn't saw that coming."

"We are Military, Xinghe. We signed up for this crap. I am not even shocked. That guy has always been a d*ck, you know?", the officer smiled, unloading the bullets from his gun, "I simply don't understand the obsession he has with you! Although your twin is a Rong too, you've been the only one under his radar all these years. Why?"

The girl stood up from her seat and closed the files in front of her lazily. "It was a prediction. A curse for the Rongs, actually."

"What?! Tell me more.", Ashfakh looked up at the girl, completely intrigued.

"I know.", the girl sighed, "As much superficial as it sounds, it is a fear the family has been holding onto. For years, now. In our baby-naming ceremony, a prominent Indian saint, an astrologer had shown up. He was a philosopher, my brothers told me once. Apparently, his words were like the cravings against rocks. Irreplaceable. Irremovable. Fate, people claim.

"Since he had shown up uninvited, and coincidentally, the Rong family thought of it as a token of good luck. They requested him to predict our future. That's where everything went wrong. When he looked at Xiao, he declared the usual. Success, beauty, the do-gooder. He said she would always be under the protection of her siblings. That she would live a normal life."

"But?", Ashfakh crossed his legs at knees, curiosity sparkling in his almond-brown eyes, "What did he predict about you?"

Rong Xinghe turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling window, "He predicted that my sword would rip out the heart of my eldest brother, Rong Yufan. That I would be the destruction of the Rong family. That the second twin was born with immense strength and intellect, and that the child's every decision would be well-thought and smartly-planned; I was born to live an extraordinary life. That my every act would change thousands of lives, at once.

"Anyhow, the Rongs worship their 'soul-heirs', their sons, more than anything. They wouldn't have let any harm direct towards Rong Yufan. He was their only son, actually.

"Now you know why I had always been their favorite prey, their most sought-after victim. Their Prince's life was hanging by the thread."

"Damn! So how true are that Indian saint's predictions? Did you ever check into that?", Ashfakh Ali asked, enthralled, "I mean... there must've been a reason the Rongs were so scared."

"Apparently, he had predicted the bomb blasts in WunCin City five years before it happened. Exact date. Exact time. Only if our country hadn't taken it for granted then, hundreds of lives could've been saved. So yes. I guess he is a trustworthy source.", the girl replied, "In fact, it's weird how every other astrologer had the same predictions, for us. Not the exact words, but each one of them warned that I would be responsible for the demise of the Rongs."

"Do you think you would hurt them personally, though? I mean... they are your family."

"Was.", the girl smiled, "Was my family. Past tense, Ashfakh. And no. I want them to live and see me succeed. That's the-better revenge."

"True.", the man nodded, "But aren't you forgetting your past? The time when you weren't someone who kept her emotions in check. Xinghe, I have seen the worst of you. Is there a possibility-"

"There is no possibility, Ashfakh.", the girl cut in, her tone stern, "That girl is left behind, in the past. She was buried years ago. Never bring that up again. Do you get me?"

"Got it.", the man raised his hand in surrender.

_______________

Meanwhile, Rong Family Mansion ;

"Are you sure you want to do this, President Rong?", the man asked over the phone, "We could simply kill the girl in Country X. Why put in all those efforts to travel to Country I, if we were going to kill her anyway?"

"Do you believe you are in any position to question me?", the man chuckled coldly as he played with the Rubik's cube in his hand, "Remember the specifications of the assassination. Choke her throat first. Let her struggle. Hit her head against the train glass. And then, push her down the train. Understood?"

"Yes, Boss.", the man replied as a glint of barbarity reflected through his eyes.

Rong Yufan then disconnected the call and fixed his gaze upon the cube in his hand. She used to play with it. The little adorable Xinghe. His innocent sister. The one who admired him ever since she was a kid. 'Teach me to fight, Bro Yufan!', she used to pull his sleeves, her eyes passionate and hopeful. Always the fighter.

This was exactly how she was supposed to die. On those cold railway tracks, in that freezing night. On her 13th birthday. It was both a shame and a miracle, that she survived that. Not only that, she even grew up into an independent, strong warrior. The highest Military Authority of Country X. The CEO of Rong Corporations. The Business Empire which had always belonged to him. Always the over-achiever!

When Rong Quiang had told him about the predictions after the twins' birth, he had laughed so hard his jaws hurt. That was ridiculous! How could a woman possibly ever hurt him? He never felt threatened by the saint's words. But her mind, her rage did intimidate him. Her willpower was frightening. He despised her ability to achieve and master almost everything she directed her curiosity towards, ever since she was a child.

She wasn't ordinary. He knew that. But she was still weak and fragile. She was still a woman. A woman who was a constant obstacle between him and his throne to the Rong Empire.

So she was bound to die. At his hands. 'It would be interesting when this girl's death will rule over every news headline tomorrow, dear sister!', the man laughed manically, 'A reminder to the past! A gift from your Bro Yufan.'