The rain had stopped by morning, leaving the world washed clean. The estate felt strangely alive, as though it had been holding its breath all night, waiting for this moment.

She stood by the window of her room, her hood gone, the early sun catching the edge of her face. Her hair, once wild and untamed, now fell sleekly down her back. The girl who had left this house was gone. The woman standing here was stronger, sharper—yet beneath it all, there was still that ache of belonging.

The knock on the door was soft, hesitant. “Young miss,” came the maid’s voice, a little steadier than last night. “They are here.”

For a moment, her chest tightened. They.

She descended the stairs slowly, her footsteps quiet but certain. And then she saw them.

At the bottom of the staircase stood her family—the people she had not seen in eight years.

The first to step forward was Kim Alina, her eldest sister, now thirty. Her elegance was still intact, her presence commanding yet warm. At her side stood Jeon Archer, her partner and her strength, his protective gaze softening when it landed on the woman before them.

Alina’s lips trembled, but she smiled through it. “You’re here…” Her voice cracked, and suddenly, all the grace and poise of the eldest sister melted away as she rushed forward, pulling her into a crushing embrace.

She froze for a second before her arms slowly came up, hugging Alina back.

Then came Kim Larson, her second brother, taller, broader, and with the same sharp jawline that ran through their bloodline. He didn’t say a word at first—just stared at her, his eyes wet, before stepping forward and ruffling her hair gently like he used to. “Took you long enough,” he murmured, his voice breaking despite his attempt to sound casual. Park Yeona, his partner, stood just behind him, tears glistening on her lashes as she gave a respectful nod before stepping in to hug her.

Kim Heluria, her third sister, followed next, her eyes shining with a mixture of anger and relief. “You’re cruel,” she said, smacking her lightly on the arm before pulling her into a tight hug. Jeon Jackson, Heluria’s partner, grinned softly, his usual mischief dimmed by the raw emotion of the moment.

And then there was Kim Vincent, the youngest of her elder brothers. He hesitated for a moment, as though he couldn’t believe she was real, before closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around her. “Don’t disappear again,” he whispered, his voice shaking. Julia, his partner, stood behind him, smiling softly through her own tears.

The last one to step forward was not a sibling, but someone who had been a part of her soul long before she had left—Jeon Riyan, her childhood friend. He didn’t speak, just looked at her with that quiet intensity she remembered so well. Something in her chest stirred when she saw him—something she thought she had buried years ago.

Before she could say anything, Park Julian—Yeona’s elder brother—entered with his wife, Lee Liya. Julian’s usual cool demeanor softened as he smiled at her. “Welcome home,” he said simply, Liya giving her a warm, sisterly hug.

The tension that had hung in the air all morning began to melt.

What started as tears soon turned into laughter. Alina teased her about how much taller she had grown. Larson dragged her into the dining hall, insisting she eat with them like she used to. Heluria complained about how quiet the house had been without her. Vincent challenged her to a game they used to play in the courtyard.

Even Riyan, quiet as ever, stayed close to her side, his presence steady and comforting.

The house that had felt hollow last night was now alive again. The halls rang with voices, with warmth, with the sound of a family rediscovering the piece of themselves they had lost.

For the first time in eight years, she allowed herself to smile.

She was no longer just back.

She was home.

...... CONTINUE .....

The night had barely settled when the city began to buzz with whispers.

Screens lit up across the globe — from corporate towers to underground syndicate dens — flashing a single headline:

“KA GROUP CEO Makes Unexpected Move — Rivals Retreat Overnight.”

No one saw her face.

No one ever had.

The footage that aired showed only the same figure that haunted the world’s imagination — a woman dressed in black, her face hidden behind a sleek mask of silver and obsidian. The conference hall had been silent as she walked in, her presence colder than the marble floors beneath her feet. One glance from her was enough to make hardened men drop their eyes.

She didn’t speak much. She didn’t have to.

Her words were sharp, precise, delivered through the modulated voice she always used in public. Within ten minutes, she had dismantled an entire corporate scheme meant to sabotage KA Group and left the competitors groveling for a truce.

By dawn, the world knew once again why they feared her.

But in the estate, the atmosphere was different.

The family sat together in the living room, laughter still lingering from the morning’s reunion. Kim Larson had a playful argument going with Vincent, while Heluria and Yeona were busy setting up the dining table for the night’s dinner. Alina sat elegantly on the couch, sipping tea, while Archer quietly observed everyone.

The television was on in the corner, reporting the news about KA Group.

“Who is she, really?” Vincent muttered, leaning back on the couch as he watched the masked woman on the screen. “They say she’s only twenty-two but runs more than ten thousand companies. No one’s ever seen her face.”

“Even the mafia fears her,” Julian added from across the room, his voice serious. “Some say she’s not human. That she doesn’t show mercy. But others…” He hesitated, glancing at Liya, “say she protects her own more fiercely than anyone alive.”

Yeona shivered slightly. “It’s strange, isn’t it? She could be anywhere, anyone. And yet, she controls everything.”

No one noticed the quiet figure standing near the window, listening to every word.

Her expression didn’t change, but her fingers, resting against her side, curled just slightly.

If only you knew, she thought.

The conversation drifted into speculation — who the mysterious empress might be, whether she would ever show her face, whether she was even real.

But soon, the tension dissolved into warmth again.

Larson put the news aside and grabbed his sister by the wrist, dragging her toward the dining room. “Enough talk about scary CEOs and mafia queens. Tonight, we celebrate your return.”

Heluria grinned. “Yes. You owe us eight years’ worth of stories.”

Vincent smirked. “And you owe me a game of strategy.”

Alina touched her arm gently. “But first, dinner. You must be hungry.”

She allowed herself to be pulled into the noise, the warmth, the teasing. The house was alive again, just as it had been before everything had fallen apart.

But as the night deepened and laughter echoed through the halls, she slipped away to her room for just a moment.

Her phone buzzed once.

A message appeared on the encrypted screen:

“The deal is done. The rivals have surrendered. Awaiting further orders, Boss.”

Her lips curved into the faintest of smiles.

The world still feared her.

And no one — not her brothers, not her sisters, not even Riyan — knew that the girl who had just come home was the very shadow the world whispered about.

CONTINUE

The night was still when the first sign came.

A black envelope was delivered to the estate gates. No name, no stamp — just a single wax seal with the crest of a rival mafia clan.

Larson was the first to find it when he returned from a late meeting. His face darkened as he read the threat scrawled in crimson ink:

“This is your last warning. Leave the city. Or bleed.”

By the time the letter reached the family’s hands, the estate had turned tense. Guards were doubled at the gates, and Archer, usually calm and composed, barked orders to strengthen security.

Vincent paced the hallway, furious. “Eight years of silence, and they dare to threaten us now?”

“Someone is testing us,” Julian muttered, his jaw tight. “They must think we’ve gone soft.”

Alina’s eyes were sharp, but her voice was steady. “We will deal with this tomorrow. Tonight, we stay calm.”

But someone was already moving.

She had heard everything. The letter, the anger, the fear beneath their voices. When the house finally fell quiet, she slipped away into the dark.

Within an hour, the city’s underworld felt her presence.

In a warehouse on the far side of town, the rival clan gathered to celebrate their “warning.” Laughter echoed off the walls, their confidence swelling.

Until the lights went out.

The sound of boots echoed across the floor — slow, deliberate.

And then she appeared.

Dressed in black, her face hidden by the same silver-and-obsidian mask the world feared, she moved like death itself.

The leader of the rival clan tried to speak, but the words froze in his throat when she leveled a silenced pistol at his head.

Her voice, cold and distorted through the modulator, cut through the silence.

“You touched what is mine.”

No one dared to breathe.

She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. Her presence was enough to make men twice her size drop to their knees.

By the end of the night, the clan leader had signed a treaty surrendering his operations in the city. His men were left kneeling, weapons on the floor, too shaken to move as she walked away without looking back.

Back at the estate, dawn was breaking.

When Larson woke the next morning, he was stunned to find news spreading like wildfire — the rival clan had withdrawn overnight, their leader missing from public view.

“Someone got to them before we did,” Archer said, scanning the reports.

Heluria frowned. “But who?”

“Whoever it was,” Julian muttered, “they left a message.”

He tossed a slip of paper onto the table. It was short, written in the same elegant, sharp handwriting that had haunted the criminal world for years:

“No one touches the House of Kim.”

Silence fell.

Vincent let out a low whistle. “Guess someone’s watching over us.”

Aroua glanced toward the staircase, where she stood silently, watching them from the shadows. Her face was calm, almost serene.

Riyan’s eyes lingered on her a little too long, as if something about her stillness didn’t sit right with him.

She turned away before anyone could see the faint, dangerous smile that curved her lips.

The world would not touch her family.

Not while she was still breathing.

CONTINUE