Erase

Act 63: The Ransom

After an encounter with Evelyn Lau, the leader of the White Lion triad, Mayuka Goto was kidnapped and abducted by the Triad's men.

Her friends Yuichi, Jun and Shino, quickly set out to stop Lau and rescue Mayuka from their grasp, but they were caught by the TMPD, and sent to jail.

Eventually, Ren Hong, a member of the opposing Red Lion triad, offers them freedom, in exchange for a chance for revenge.

However, the three of them weren't the only ones who were shook by Mayuka's kidnapping.

THE NEXT DAY

-Goto Residence 8:10 AM-

The next morning after the incident, while preparing for their respective jobs, Mayuka's adoptive father Michiru and his partner Akira, were worrying about Mayuka and her possible whereabouts.

"Honeybunch... Mayu-sweetie hasn't went home yet, right...?" Said Michiru.

"Not yet... I'm honestly getting scared myself." Akira replied. "Usually, she'd tell us in advance if she's gonna be spending the night somewhere else..."

Suddenly, Michiru received a message on his phone from an unknown contact.

"Honeybunch, I got a message... but I don't know who the sender is..." Said Michiru. "Should I open it...?"

"Hmm... could it be...?" Akira replied. "I got a bad feeling about this."

Michiru then checks the message to read what it's all about.

"Subject: Dear Goto Mayuka's parents...

We have your daughter in our captivity. If you want to see her alive, make sure to go to the alleyway near the train station by 10:15 and pay us a sum of ¥500,000. If not, then prepare to kiss your daughter goodbye."

Both Michiru and Akira were shocked by the news

"I can't believe this!" Said Michiru, distraught. "Mayu-sweetie has been... kidnapped?!"

"A million yen?!?" Akira added, seething in anger. "Where do they think we can get such money?!"

Michiru was getting really uneasy. Mayuka's life and safety are on the line, but they do not know where they can get such money to pay for her ransom. Both of them are at a loss on what to do.

"Honeybunch... what should we do???" Said Michiru, on the verge of tears. "What if... What if Mayu-sweetie will get killed by-"

"Calm down, Sugarpie. Just... calm down..." Akira replied.

"But... Mayu-swe... Mayuka! She's in grave danger right now!!" Said Michiru.

"I know... that's exactly why we should calm down." Akira replied. "If we panic, we might not end up thinking straight."

"By the way... did the sender say something about a time limit... right?" Akira continued.

"I... don't think so. Lemme check..." Said Michiru.

As Michiru checked his phone again, he received another message from the same sender. This time, it read:

"Subject: Dear Goto Mayuka's parents...

Almost forgot. Make sure to pay up until Sunday this week, or else your daughter might end up... y'know."

"S-Sunday? But today's Thursday!" Said Michiru. "That means we might not have enough time to..."

"Calm down, Michiru..." Akira replied. "Let's see what I can do about this..."

"It's all my fault... if only I stopped Mayu-sweetie from leaving home last night..." Said Michiru. "Then none of this would have happened... and she would still be here with us..."