CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48

Park min’s POV

I was taken to jail, until... the sound of the door unlocking made my blood run hot, my body tense.

The officer stepped back, giving space, and I thought for a split second that maybe this was it maybe I could finally breathe. Then the click of high heels, this may sound cliche but I’ll recognize those heels no matter where I saw them, that was definitely my mother.

"Min."

My mother. Madam Park.

I didn’t move. My chest still throbbed from the blackout, my hands still shaking from the residue of power and rage, but my eyes stayed locked on her. She just stood there, calm, controlled, the smell of her dominance cutting through the stale jail air like a knife. Typical my mom.

"You’re in jail again." she said softly, like I was a criminal she was mildly interested in.

I laughed, in a low bitter sound. "You’re my mother. Shouldn’t you be helping me? Or are you just here to watch?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Helping you? Park Min, you think you’ve ever mattered enough for me to care? You think I’ve ever been on your side?" She leaned against the wall. "Don’t make me laugh. I didn’t raise you for you to crawl to me. I raised you for power. And if you want anything from me now, you’re going to do it my way."

I ground my teeth. "I don’t need your help. I don’t need anything from you. I have one goal, one single thing in my head right now, and that’s Yu Jin. Everything else can rot."

She smirked, cold. "Always so single-minded. I almost admire it. Almost."

Before I could spit something back at her, the door opened again, and he stepped in, Really universe?

Reallyyyy I screamed to the universe.

Min Ho. Calm. Sharp and what? Smug. My cousin.

"Mother," he said quietly.

They both kept bantering on and on about what I couldn’t hear and/ or understand.

"I told you to let your cousin go," Madam Park snapped. Her voice carried authority that could make anyone flinch. My mother yuhuuuu

Min Ho shook his head. "I can’t. Not if the commissioner doesn’t approve it. I have no power over that." he smirked.

I laughed, sarcastic. "Of course. He had told the other commissioner that I shouldn’t even be set free."

He didn’t even look at me. His eyes were on her, calculating.

Then as if that wasn’t enough, another being came into the room again. A presence that could crush an entire street in an instant. Mr. Kim. Min Ho’s father. Bigger, louder, alpha in every sense. His scent hit the room in a dangerous, sharp manner. If there was someone who had more power than Min ho it was his father.

"You won’t let him go," he barked. "Do you have any idea what you have locked up? You don’t even know what class he belongs to, what he’s capable of! A wild alpha like him shouldn’t be left unchecked!"

Madam Park’s nostrils flared. Her scent surged back at him, sharp, dangerous, intoxicating. "I don’t care what you think! I have connections they can’t touch! Park Min will leave when I say he leaves!"

The police officers froze, shifting uncomfortably. Two of them muttered nervously. "Sir... Ma’am... your pheromones... it’s dangerous... step back, please."

I could feel the tension in the air. I could feel it choke the officers, the officers who had been trying to keep me behind bars. I could feel it push against my chest, making it impossible to think. All I could think about was Yu Jin.

The feud between my mother and her brother was no news to anyone. They grew up hating on each other. They were step siblings who only wanted nothing but money. And if there’s one thing about I and Min ho, it was the fact that, that same rage grew up with us.

Madam Park’s eyes flicked to me. "Park Min," she said, soft but deadly. "You want my help? You want me to get you out of here?"

I stayed silent. My chest ached. My hands shook. Every nerve in my body screamed at me.

"If you don’t beg me," she said, stepping closer, and I could smell the dominance, the power, the centuries of control in her blood. "If you don’t go down on your knees and show me that you need this... even though I’m your mother, I won’t lift a finger. Not one damn finger."

I didn’t even think. My knees hit the floor. My hands stayed clenched at my sides. My chest burned and my mind narrowed. Yu Jin. That was all that existed. Everything else the hatred, the insults, the power struggle—l nothing mattered.

"Good," she said. Her lips curved into a smirk, satisfied with the sight of me kneeling. "Now we can talk."

Min Ho’s voice cut through, calm, sharp. "Aunt, you can’t just..."

"I can do whatever I want," she snapped. "Don’t test me, Min Ho. Don’t even think about it."

Min Ho’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t push. He knew better than to challenge her directly. Not now, even his father wouldn’t protect him.

And then Mr. Kim stepped forward, furious. "You can’t let him go! He’s dangerous! They don’t even know what kind of alpha he is! You don’t just release a wild alpha into the world!"

Madam Park leaned forward, eyes blazing. "I don’t care what you think! You want him locked up forever? You think your petty threats scare me?"

The air in the room pulsed. The officers stepped back, hands raised, worried. "Sir... Ma’am... this is illegal... you’re affecting the whole block...."

She ignored them. Mr. Kim growled and surged forward, and I could feel the tension, the battle of power between them. The room practically vibrated. My chest tightened. I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to move, but I was on my knees.

"Park Min," Madam Park said again, stepping closer until I could smell her every move. "If you want out of here... if you want to do anything at all... you have to ask. You have to beg."

My mind went blank. Everything in me screamed, tore, shattered. Only one thing existed: Yu Jin. My goal. My life, my purpose.

I kept my knees on the cold floor. My fists clenched. My head barely lifted, only enough to see her eyes. "I... I... please," I managed to whisper. "Please... help me... Release me so I can get Yu Jin back."

Madam Park’s smirk widened slightly. She stepped back, satisfied for now, but I could feel it. She would test me further. Push me harder. She would make sure I was desperate, raw, broken.

Min Ho stayed silent. His father still glared. The officers didn’t move. The tension in the air didn’t ease. My body trembled. My chest burned. My mind, my soul, my entire being focused on one single mission: get Yu Jin back.

No one was ready to make the move until the big dragon came. When he opened the cell and I stepped out, I was ready. So ready I was going to kill whoever had my man.