Chapter 557: Tinie’s Recording

“…Go!”

Betty clasped her hands together as her heart thudded, growing nervous for reasons even she couldn’t understand. Ever since this guy named Omen had arrived—dragged here by Red, to be exact—things had been chaotic on the secret floor.

It wasn’t Betty’s job to look after them.

Even Ashley had told her not to worry about the guys, but she couldn’t simply let them die.

Betty constantly worried about them, knowing Ashley’s men needed their strength to protect the madam. She couldn’t allow them to grow weak, especially when the situation within Dominion had become strangely quiet—ominous, even.

As Betty hoped they would settle down once a winner was declared, Omen suddenly clapped. Her head whipped in his direction, and she caught him raising both hands.

“Heh.” Omen smirked as he spun his chair to face Gin and Warriyo. “See? I told you I’d crack it in less than a minute.”

“Damn it!” Warriyo hissed under his breath, slamming the bottom of his fist against the table.

As for Gin, his face soured. His finger hovered over the Enter key. He only needed to press it, and he would have been done!

“Amateurs,” Omen snickered. “I can’t believe the two of you were the ones who helped Ghost find me.”

Even now, Omen was still bitter about that fact.

He knew people had been trying to locate him, and he had made sure they wouldn’t succeed. Yet somehow, these two had found him, and Ashley herself had come to pick him up.

“Ahem!” Betty cleared her throat as she stepped forward. “If you’re done, I think you should… check the files now.”

That snapped the three men out of their argument, reminding them that this wasn’t a game. It was information Rum had sent them.

“Right!” Gin slid his chair across the floor, stopping beside Omen’s desk. Warriyo rose to his feet and marched toward them.

Within seconds, they stood on either side of Omen.

“Give me some space—”

“Click it,” Warriyo intoned. “Let’s see what it is.”

Gin glared at Omen.

The latter clicked his tongue and turned back to the screen. He wanted to stall and rile them up further, but Ashley’s face suddenly flashed through his mind. A shiver ran down his spine at the memory of her smile, knowing it was ten times more dangerous than any threat.

“Fine,” he relented, pulling his swivel chair closer to the desk. “Let’s see what your friend sent you.”

Betty craned her neck as the trio solemnly crowded around Omen’s desk. The corners of her lips curled into a smile.

“I guess I don’t have to worry about them for now,” she hummed. “Guys, the food is here. Don’t forget to eat. There’s also some fruit, so…”

She paused and smacked her lips. “Never mind.”

Betty quietly walked away without checking what the men were looking at. Her boss had told her to focus on Project Green’s affairs, and that was exactly what Betty had been doing.

Meanwhile, Gin, Warriyo, and Omen stared at the files. Their brows furrowed as they skimmed through the data until they spotted a recording.

“That—” Gin was about to point out the recording when Omen clicked it instantly.

Gin narrowed his eyes at him, only to see a smug look on Omen’s face.

“It’s me.”

The voice coming from the monitor snapped them out of their silent glaring contest.

Warriyo’s brows drew together as he studied the person on the screen.

“Isn’t that… that guy?” he asked, momentarily forgetting the man’s name.

Gin stared at the screen, confusion etched across his face. “Tinie.”

“Tinie?” Omen mumbled. “What kind of weird name is that?”

“Just play it!” Gin and Warriyo barked, making him flinch slightly.

Rolling his eyes, Omen clicked Play and leaned back.

The recording began with Tinie adjusting the camera. He glanced down and checked it several times before leaning back in his chair. From the background, it appeared that he had recorded the video inside the last apartment he had stayed.

Tinie stared into the camera longer than necessary.

As he did, the trio watching felt as though the man was staring directly at them.

“What kind of creepy dude is this?” Omen mumbled as he sank deeper into his seat.

After drawing another faint breath, Tinie parted his lips.

“Whoever is watching this… it means I’m already dead,” Tinie began, causing the trio’s brows to furrow. “And I hope whoever is watching this is one of the right people. If not, then what can you do about it? I’m already dead.”

Gin and Warriyo exchanged glances while confusion spread across Omen’s face.

“So, this guy… is dead?” Omen asked. A shiver ran down his spine when the two nodded. “Then this is creepy. It feels like I’m talking to a ghost.”

Still, the three continued watching.

The recording was several minutes long. Since Tinie had been poisoned before he could be interrogated, these might have been the closest thing to his last words.

“When I joined Dominion, I took an oath to become part of the family and uphold its code. However, a few years later, I noticed several things that caused me alarm. I raised my concerns with my superior at the time, thinking I was doing the right thing. Unfortunately, doing what I believed was right only opened the doors of hell for me.”

Tinie paused and exhaled.

“A few weeks later, someone approached me and told me things that made me question everything I believed about Dominion. Because of that, I was given the chance to see what they called Dominion’s future,” he continued. “That is how they recruit people. First, they attack your beliefs and everything you fight for. Then, they show you how rotten the organization is and make you believe Dominion will fall sooner than anyone expects.”

“They make it sound as though they’re giving you the privilege of choosing a side before it’s too late,” he added, his eyes never leaving the camera. “I found myself in that situation. After thinking it through, I decided to join them… so I could extract as much information as possible for my fallen friends.”

Ashley watched the recording Gin had sent to her phone. Seated in the back seat of the car, she listened to Tinie’s confession through her earbud.

Her lips parted.

“…If he didn’t die, I would’ve recruited him.”