MELTING A FROZEN HEART

Prologue - HER

She was raised a fighter and she would fight for her right to be free until she clutches it in her fist, even if it takes every wakeful breathing second to attain it.

And as the saying goes, if your conviction is strong, the world conspires in your favor, the world was, for the first time, conspiring in her favor.

A chance she had been waiting and fighting for was finally a few seconds away from knocking at her door.

Only, this time, the chance was coming with a lot of blood.

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At 20 minutes past 3, she sat up, feeling strange.

"Amber, stop moving. You're disturbing our sleep.", the woman beside her said groggily.

Before a moment could pass, the huge sound of an explosion jolted them awake, a few dust debris raining on them from the rundown ceiling due to the impact.

Instinctively covering her head with her hands, she was grateful for the ceiling not breaking down, lest all of them would've been seriously injured.

She stood up, uncertain about what was going on on the floor above them.

"W-What's going on?"

"What was that sound?"

"What the f**k is happening?"

The women around her stood up too, questioning in panic and fear.

She ignored their panic filled questions and tried to focus on the sounds coming from up above.

She could hear multiple rushing footsteps, bullets firing and men yelling to-and-fro.

"What's happening?", she mumbled to herself.

The next few minutes passed by in the agonizing uncertainty of the situation and she was restless.

A few minutes later, the door at the top of the staircase that connected the cellar to the warehouse opened with a startling thud and a man ran in, tripping when his foot twisted in an awkward angle.

He fell down the stairs, but got up to his knees immediately, firing at the entrance to prevent the enemies from entering through the door and as a retort to the one that was firing from the door towards him.

"F**k! F**k!", he cursed, still firing.

The women snuggled to each other, scared.

However, she was standing aloof, her eyes trained on the man in front of them.

The master.

That's what they called him. That's how he wanted to be addressed.

He was the one who ran the bro**el business and managed its affairs.

Seeing him panicking, tense and slightly bleeding from cuts and bruises, her eyes subconsciously glimmered.

He was a monster. A psychotic one. He had always enjoyed inflicting pain and pleasured from listening to the women begging him to spare them.

She had been a victim too. The biggest one.

At that moment, when she saw him panicking, terrified and bleeding, her hands twitched, heart raced with a strange enthusiasm and her brain echoed with one word. Revenge.

She didn't know when her limbs acted on their own.

Taking a few steps towards him, she picked up the dagger that fell off of his sheath when he tripped down the stairs.

Since he was too preoccupied in firing at the door, he was unaware of her actions at his back.

Putting her right hand holding the dagger behind her back, she took a cautious step in his direction.