Rie ditches her car and heads toward the restaurant with Midori.
"I heard that Kamiyama Takeshi is also there." Midori tells her on the way to the restaurant, "Three people are already dead. The killer is posting pictures of the people who died by his hands using their own phones."
"Shit!!!" Rie curses under her breath. Takeshi is there? Kiyohira must have come there then. Why did Takeshi go there? What is this hostage situation? How many enemies does she have?
Is it related to the Consortium?
Rie furrows her brows. The Consortium shouldn't harm them.
They enter an alley which is a shortcut to the restaurant in the market. The roads are jammed. Rie doesn't think before following Midori as they enter another alley since she knows about this shortcut too.
Suddenly, she is struck by something hard on the back of her head. Rie drops on the floor, holding onto the back of her head. Blood soaks her hair, trickling down on her neck. Her eyelashes flutter. She looks at the person standing in front of her.
Takeshi Seiji.
Why?
Midori screams, "Don't come near me."
"Didn't I tell you that you can't go near her?" Takeshi Seiji hollers at Midori. "She is mine!"
"Touya is in there." Midori cries, "He will die."
"You can't save him!" Takeuchi Seiji takes another step toward her. "Only the Consortium can save him."
The voices are fading out. Rie closes her eyes, falling into an unconscious state.
***
In the restaurant, Takeuchi Touya plays with the gun in his hands while sitting on a chair as he keeps his eyes on everyone.
The manager, two waiters, and Adachi Kase are dead. Fifteen people are left to die.
Takeuchi Touya, the eldest son of Takeuchi Seiji, eyes Kamiyama Takeshi with interest. He asks him curiously, "Do you know that we are stepbrothers?"
Kamiyama Takeshi senses Iori trembling beside him. He squeezes her hand tightly. "I think that you are mistaken."
"Oh, I am not mistaken about it." Takeuchi Touya smirks at Takeshi, "My father was your mother's first husband. Your sister-in-law is my adopted sister. Can you guess who I am?"
Is he Takeuchi Seiji's son? Kamiyama Takeshi widens his eyes in shock. "Why are you doing this?"
"Why?" Takeuchi Touya leans forward, resting his elbows on his t.h.i.g.hs. He narrows his eyes. "Is it not fun?"
"You also killed Sawano Shusui," Iori utters with a weak voice. "Why did you kill him?"
Takeuchi Touya becomes silent for a moment. His dead eyes stare deep into Iori's eyes. "I had to kill him because of you."
Iori's heart drops to her stomach. "Is it because of the evidence?"
"More or less." Takeuchi Touya shrugs. "I made it quick."
"You killed him." Tears stream down on her cheeks. "He loved you, you bastard!"
"And I had to kill him because of you." He gnashes his teeth and glares at Kamiyama Takeshi. "Because of Umezaki Rie, my parents got a divorce. She ruined my family. If my mother hadn't gotten a divorce, she wouldn't be working and my younger sister wouldn't have died in that accident. You already knew about them. Why didn't you stop your woman?"
Iori is at a loss for words. How could this man blame everything on Umezaki Rie and her? She doesn't know much about what happened back then, but this barely makes any sense.
"It was your parents' decision to get a divorce. How did my sister-in-law cause it?" Takeshi asks him calmly. "Do you even know what happened to her?"
"She was taken in by my father, even though they weren't related by blood." Takeuchi Touya sneers at him. "She got home and food. What else could he give her? I heard that the fiasco was about bullying. What's the big deal about it? Having some difficulties in life helps people become stronger. She was also freeloading. Did he have to act like her father when the woman who adopted her also abandoned her?"
Kamiyama Takeshi clenches his teeth. He knows what kind of things she went through.
"Then, you also faced some difficulties. Are you strong now?"
"Am I not?" Takeuchi Touya points his gun at Takeshi. "The one who holds the gun is certainly someone with power."
"Having that power doesn't mean that you are strong," Kinoshita Iori shouts at Takeuchi Touya.
Takeuchi Touya pulls the trigger. A deafening sound of a gunshot is heard, screams following the sound.
Takeshi pulls her toward him and whispers, "Don't look."
Blood soaks her feet. Iori realises that the woman next to her is dead.
"I guess I am a little rusty." Takeuchi Touya clicks his tongue. "It can't be helped. Next time, I will do a close up shoot. It's hard not to miss then."
"Don't antagonise him." Takeshi murmurs to Iori quietly, "We need to keep him calm before the police can help us."
Iori nods. Takeuchi Touya is insane. It's best to stay quiet and wait for help.
"Honestly, I wasn't going to get bothered about you and your family." Takeuchi Touya stretches his arms. "I did love Shusui. After he died, I didn't have anything to lose anymore. My youngest brother is in the care of the great one. He will have a good life."
The great one? Takeshi frowns. Is it related to the Consortium? He didn't hear anything about the great one. If Takeuchi Touya is talking about the Consortium like that, it probably means that he won't let anyone go.
Takeshi has no intention of dying here with Iori. He promised his nephew that he would give him cousins.
His brother will die from the workload if he dies here.
He won't be able to play games with his sister-in-law.
Most importantly, he won't be able to have a wedding night with Iori.
They won't die here. Not like this. He wants to live a long life with his wife.
But how will he be able to stop Touya?