Dad (voice tightening):
"At first, I thought he'd moved on. He was still my friend, still my business partner. But looking back… I was blind."
He leaned back slightly, the weight of the past years settling on his shoulders.
Dad: "He started making small decisions without me. Altering contracts. I didn't notice at first… until one deal nearly cost us everything."
Y/N's brows furrowed. Yuri stayed still, his jaw clenched.
Dad: "I confronted him. Calmly, as a friend. Asked why he didn't talk to me first."
He looked down at his hands.
Dad: "And that's when it slipped… just a few words, but they were enough."
His voice grew colder.
Dad: "He said, 'You took everything, even the one person I ever wanted.'"
The room fell into silence.
Dad: "That was the day I knew… Renzo wasn't just hurt. He hated me."
A long pause.
Dad (quietly):
"He betrayed me after that. Secret meetings. Hidden debts. He tried to sink the company from the inside."
He looked up, eyes red but steady.
Dad: "He wanted to destroy me… and everything I built—with her."
Dad (steady, but haunted):
"After I found out… I went straight to Haru. I told him everything. The numbers. The forged deals. The quiet setups Renzo had made behind our backs."
Y/N listened closely, her fingers gripping Yuri's hand tighter.
Dad: "Haru didn't hesitate. He called for a board meeting the next morning."
He closed his eyes briefly, recalling the moment.
Dad: "Everyone was there. Silence at first. Then Haru stood up and laid out the truth—emails, contracts, hidden accounts. Every move Renzo made was exposed."
He let out a tired breath.
Dad: "Renzo didn't deny it. He just sat there… calm, like he'd been waiting for it."
Y/N: "What did he say?"
Dad (soft, bitter):
"He looked straight at me and said, 'You and Haru took everything from me. And now you want to strip me of the last thing I have—revenge.'"
He opened his eyes again, voice firm.
Dad: "From that moment on… he hated us. No more pretending. No more friendship."
He looked at her, then at Yuri.
Dad: "And I know… he's not done yet."
Dad (voice tightening as the memory plays out):
"After Haru exposed everything… the room went quiet. No one spoke. No one defended him."
He paused, jaw clenched slightly.
Dad: "Renzo didn't argue. Didn't scream. He just stood up slowly… straightened his suit…"
Y/N and Yuri listened in complete silence, both still.
Dad: "And as he turned to leave… a smile struck the corner of his lips."
A bitter edge formed in her father's voice.
Dad: "Not a smile of defeat. But the kind that tells you—he's not done. That he's already thinking ten steps ahead."
He looked between them, eyes serious.
Dad: "He walked out of that boardroom like he hadn't just lost everything… like he'd just started something."
Dad (quietly):
"From that moment… he disappeared from our sight."
He looked down, voice heavy with the weight of time and silence.
Dad: "No calls. No addresses. No trace.. It was like he vanished into thin air."
Y/N felt a chill trace her spine. Yuri's hand stayed firm around hers.
Dad: "But I knew better. Renzo wasn't gone… just hiding. Watching. Waiting."
Dad (smiling faintly, eyes lost in a softer time):
"It was about a year later. You had just turned three… and I think Yuri was five back then."
Yuri blinked, surprised. Y/N looked up at him with a curious smile.
Dad: "Your mom planned a birthday surprise for me. Completely behind my back—didn't tell me a thing."
He chuckled lightly, the memory lighting up his tired features.
Dad: "She invited Haru and his family. We all went up to this hillside—quiet, breezy… beautiful."
Y/N smiled at the image, picturing it in her head.
Dad: "You were wearing a little white dress with red flowers. Yuri wouldn't let go of your hand the entire day."
Yuri glanced at her with a small, shy grin.
Dad (softly):
"It was… one of those perfect days, you know? No phones. No tension. Just laughter and fresh air."
But then his smile faded, ever so slightly.
Dad (his voice warming again, just for a moment):
"There was a resort nearby—that's where we stayed. A small, cozy place tucked into the hillside."
He smiled at the memory, his eyes distant but soft.
Dad: "You and Yuri were running across the garden, chasing a butterfly. Laughing like the world had no edges."
Y/N glanced at Yuri, her heart glowing for a second.
Dad: "Haru and I… we were on the patio, tossing drinks, teasing each other about who'd gotten older."
Dad (chuckling quietly):
"He said he still had better hair than me. I told him at least mine wasn't dyed."
Yuri smiled.
Dad: "Your mom and Yuri's mom… were sitting by the pool, feet dipped in the water. Talking, laughing, just glowing in the sunset."
A long pause. He let out a slow breath.
Dad (quietly):
"It was perfect."
Then his smile faded.
Dad: "Too perfect."
Dad (voice low, like it still echoes in his mind):
"But then… the storm came."
His fingers curled slightly against Y/N's hand.
Dad: "Renzo showed up. Out of nowhere. With men. Dressed in black. Silent. Cold."
Y/N's breath caught in her chest. Yuri sat upright, tense.
Dad (bitter):
"He walked right up to me. No shame. No fear."
His jaw clenched.
Dad: "And then he smiled. That same damn smile."
Renzo's voice echoed in the memory:
'Happy birthday, my brother… long time no see.'
A mockery. Every word dripping with venom wrapped in silk.
Dad: "He spread his arms out like it was some kind of show and said—"
Renzo: 'Surprise? All birthdays need surprises… you know that, don't you?'
Dad (his voice sharp now):
"I stood up. So did Haru. The air shifted—your moms froze. You and Yuri were still there…"
He swallowed hard.
FLASHBACK – NARRATION –
The garden was golden… butterflies in the wind…
Then everything changed.
Footsteps.
Black shoes.
Shadows where sunlight used to be.
Renzo.
He stepped forward with a twisted smile, his voice low and syrupy.
Renzo: "Hello, baby girl."
Y/N froze—tiny, just three years old—but something in his voice made her spine cold.
Yuri stopped too. His small hand still holding hers.
He didn't move.
Just stared.
Then—rushing footsteps.
Her mom.
She hurried, panic in her eyes, scooping both her and Yuri up in one swift motion.
Renzo's mocking tone followed like a dark breeze.
Renzo (raising an eyebrow, taunting):
"So… you guys think of me as something, huh?"
But while chaos crept in, not everyone was caught off guard.
Haru had already sensed something was off—
The way the wind moved.
The unnatural silence in the staff.
That feeling Yakuza men carry in their bones.
He didn't say a word.
Just a subtle glance toward the hill.
A flick of the wrist behind his back.
SOS sent.
The silent call to his gang scattered through the valley like smoke.
Haru didn't move rashly.
He just slowly placed his drink down…
Leaned against the patio railing…
And watched.
His eyes locked on Renzo—not with fear, but calculation.
Haru (calmly, to Fernandez ):
"Keep the kids close. We've got incoming."
The laughter faded.
The breeze stopped.
And then—
Click.
A gun.
Cold. Black. Pointed straight at her.
Renzo (his voice twisted):
"Shall I eliminate from the young ones…?"
Fernandez (her dad, yelling):
"RENZO!!! What the fuck is wrong with you?! If you want a fight—come to me! Not to them!"
Renzo laughed.
A sound that no longer belonged to a man—but a monster born from obsession and loss.
Renzo (sneering):
"If I eliminate her… you'll all fall into pieces."
"I want to see your life after that… the agony… the emptiness. That's the real punishment."
He took a step forward, eyes bloodshot—burning with rage, regret, and madness.
Renzo:
"You all snatched everything from me… and laughed about it."
He tilted his head, narrowing his stare at tiny Y/N again.
The gun raised once more—slow, steady.
Renzo (low and deadly):
"I won't spare any of you."
Click.
BANG.
The gunshot ,Time stopped.
Yuri's mom screamed and ran straight toward her son
Fernandez—his heart splitting—lunged toward his wife and little Y/N, arms wide.
Haru didn't hesitate.
His Yakuza instincts kicked in—he rushed forward and slammed a fist into the back of Renzo's head, sending him stumbling.
Renzo's men reacted in seconds, guns drawn—every barrel turned toward Haru.
Shadows moved.
From the trees, the roofs, the walls—Haru's gang revealed themselves.
Slick black suits. Silent movements.
Surrounded.
In the blink of an eye, Renzo's men were outnumbered.
Weapons cocked.
Haru (coldly):
"Did you think I wouldn't be ready?"
Renzo—dazed, bleeding from his mouth—staggered up, fury still wild in his eyes.
But it was already too late.
The trigger had already been pulled.
Y/N's mom didn't think.
Didn't hesitate.
She threw herself forward—
Arms around both Y/N and Yuri, her body the only shield between them and the bullet screaming through the air.
CRACK.
A sharp cry.
She staggered.
Her eyes locked with Fernandez's across the garden—then fell.
Y/N felt the warmth around her suddenly tremble.
She turned—her tiny hand stained red.
Fernandez (screaming):
"NO!!"
He reached her in seconds, falling to his knees, arms cradling his wife as her breath came short and sharp.
Yuri's mom held them, sobbing silently.
Y/N's mom looked at her husband, her lovely daughter
And smiled—weak, but full of love.
Y/N's Mom (whispering):
"They're safe… that's all that matters."
[PRESENT DAY – HOSPITAL ROOM – SILENCE FILLS THE AIR]
The story ended not with words, but with the ache of everything left behind.
his voice fragile now, like the memory had taken the last of his strength.
He looked at Y/N, eyes glistening.
Dad (softly):
"That's how your mother… left you to me."
Dad (quiet, broken):
"With love. With courage. With her last breath."
The room was quiet.
Even the machines seemed to hum slower.
Y/N's eyes brimmed with tears.
Yuri sat beside her, jaw clenched, holding her hand tighter.
No one spoke for a while.
Because sometimes, love leaves behind silence.
And in that silence,
everything is heard.
Y/N lowered her head, her voice cracking through the quiet.
Y/N (softly, tearful):
"I'm sorry, Dad… I didn't know before…"
Her shoulders trembled.
"All this time… I thought you hated me."
The words hung in the air, soaked in pain.
Her father's eyes widened, glassy with unshed tears.
He reached out slowly, gently placing his hand on hers.
Dad (broken whisper):
"How could I ever hate the only piece of her I have left?"
Y/N sobbed harder, leaning toward him. He weakly pulled her into a gentle embrace, despite the wires and weakness, and rested his chin against her head.
Dad (soft):
"I stayed away… because every time I looked at you, I saw her… and it broke me."
"But that was my failure… not yours."
Behind them, Yuri looked away, wiping his eyes silently
Fernandez gently pulled back from Y/N, brushing a tear from her cheek with the back of his trembling hand.
His gaze shifted—slow, purposeful—toward Yuri.
Their eyes locked.
Dad (quiet, but firm):
"Yuri…"
Yuri stepped closer, straightening his posture, sensing the weight in the moment.
Dad:
"Take care of my baby."
Y/N's eyes widened as she turned toward Yuri, her breath catching.
Dad (his voice cracking, sincere):
"Please… promise me you'll never make her cry. Not like I did… not like the world did."
A silence fell.
Yuri stepped beside the bed and gently placed his hand over Fernandez's.
Yuri (softly, with all his heart):
"I promise, Uncle."
He glanced at Y/N, his voice steady.
"No matter what happens, I'll protect her—with everything I have."
Fernandez smiled weakly, a tear escaping down the side of his face.
Dad (whispering):
"That's all I needed to hear…"