After Jasmine explained her blackmail tactic to the Commander, she turned to Ji-Han. When she realized that the extreme risk to her own life had become the key to such a large international objective, all her stress, fear, and suppressed anger erupted in a strange reaction.
She suddenly started to laugh.
At first, the laughter was soft, dry. But within moments, it turned into an uncontrollable, maniacal outburst. The laugh was loud, bitter, and wild—shattering the room's stark silence. Her eyes seemed to be ablaze, and the white streaks in her golden hair glinted under the lights.
The grim-faced spies and CIA agents in the room stared at Jasmine in shock. Such laughter was not normal for a captive whose life had just been in jeopardy.
"Why is she laughing like a maniac?" a CIA agent whispered, looking at Ji-Han.
Ji-Han gazed deeply at his beloved. He knew this wasn't laughter of joy; it was the result of two months of extreme mental stress, fear, and the ultimate triumph of proving her capability.
Jasmine covered her face with one hand, still laughing. She stopped and shook her head. The lingering trace of madness was still in her eyes.
"You don't know," Jasmine said, her breathing ragged. "None of you know... what I gave Dmitri."
Ji-Han placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jasmine, calm down. What did you tell him?"
Jasmine looked at Ji-Han, still smiling, her expression now mysterious.
"I told him... the file is encrypted with the biometric key of my heartbeat," Jasmine inhaled. "If my heart rate becomes abnormal... or stops within 12 hours, the file will be released."
The entire command room held its breath at this revelation. A heartbeat!
The Commander quickly asked, "Did he believe it?"
"Yes," Jasmine calmed down. "But to break his belief, a slight change in my heartbeat is necessary. I also mentioned my rendezvous two months from now."
Ji-Han slowly understood. Jasmine didn't just scare Dmitri; she put him in an extreme psychological game.
"Are you sure, Jasmine," Ji-Han asked in a calm, yet cautious voice, "that Dmitri won't just follow your heartbeat? He will look for the hidden meaning of your two-month plan."
Jasmine smiled. The smile was now cold, like the mysterious one in her modeling photos.
"Of course. He knows now that he isn't just fighting a Don; he's fighting a spy. But he thinks I only gained fame in these two months. He doesn't know what my real move is."
Jasmine's eyes turned back to Ji-Han.
"My real weapon is not in that file, Ji-Han. My real weapon is hidden somewhere else."
Jasmine looked at the Commander and Ji-Han with extreme confidence, still smiling. She seemed like the true mastermind of this entire operation.
💔 Dmitri's Despair: Love and Revenge
In that old, stone-built room in Moscow, there were only a broken door, some dead bodies on the floor, and the intense sting of defeat. Ji-Han and his team were gone. Dmitri, groaning in pain, somehow managed to stand up. His face was contorted with rage, but his eyes held a deep, unbearable wound.
He called his assistant, Yanova. "Get rid of all the guards! No one is to enter this room!"
Yanova quickly carried out the order. The door closed. Dmitri was alone now. The pain in his foot was less severe than the wound to his pride.
He quickly walked over and collapsed onto an ancient wooden chair in the corner of the room. His shoulder jacket was slightly torn, and a drop of blood was still tracing down his neck—the mark of Jasmine's knife.
But Dmitri wasn't crying for any of this.
He ran his hand through his long, blonde hair. His blue eyes suddenly filled with tears. Dmitri did not cover his face, as he felt no need to hide his weakness within this luxurious villa.
He wept. His body shook with a wild, deep cry.
This was not a cry of rage. It was the result of an unexpected, unknown emotion.
Jasmine.
For the past two months, seeing Jasmine's photos in international magazines, he had unknowingly become obsessed with her. Her courage, her beauty, her intensity—all of it pushed Dmitri toward a desperate madness. He wanted Jasmine by his side, to be a partner as powerful as he was. He sought to possess her, not through love, but through an ultimate display of power.
He cursed himself. "Why didn't I kill her! Why did I give her a chance! She is not my weakness, she is my fire of revenge! But... why did I want her so close?"
Dmitri slowly looked at the chains that had fallen on the floor. He walked over and picked up the shackles. They were still cold, but they held the warmth of Jasmine's fierce resistance.
"You are a spy, Ji-Han," Dmitri whispered, his eyes moist. "I could have fought for you, had you just been a Mafia Don and not a spy! But... I believed in you, Jasmine. I saw my reflection in your eyes."
His crying intensified. This was not the defeat of a Mafia boss, but the result of an insane man's oscillation between love and revenge. Jasmine had not just struck him with power; she had wounded the weak part of his heart that he had hidden for so long.
"Jasmine... I will find you. Whether you are a spy or not. You yourself will hand over that Master Key to me," Dmitri vowed, gritting his teeth. His tears stopped, and the old ferocity returned to his eyes. "If I don't get you, then Ji-Han—I will destroy your entire empire for that Master Key."
This Mafia boss's madness had now become personal, not just business.
💧 Jasmine's Tears: The Phone Call
Jasmine was sitting in a small, secure room in the secret operation center in Moscow. The room appeared to be part of a luxurious apartment, but the windows were bulletproof. The fog-covered Moscow city was visible outside.
She sat silently by the window. The maniacal laughter or the spy-like determination was gone from her face. Now, she was just an exhausted, overwhelmed woman. Pushing Dmitri, pulling out a knife, knowing Ji-Han's true identity—everything together was causing a severe storm inside her.
Jasmine pulled a small locket from the chain around her neck. Ji-Han had given it to her—smooth on the outside, but with the date of their first meeting engraved inside.
She held the locket in her right hand. She gently kissed the locket and then pressed it against her chest. She closed her eyes. At this moment, this locket was her reliance, her love. Whether she loved Ji-Han as a spy or a Don, this locket was the symbol of that relationship.
Just then, an encrypted satellite phone beside her rang. The screen showed an unknown, untraceable number.
Jasmine knew who was calling. Dmitri.
She quickly hid the locket beneath her coat, composed herself, and answered the phone. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she quickly tried to normalize her voice.
"Hello?" Her voice was cold.
On the other end, Dmitri's voice came through—hoarse, but with a clear, suppressed emotion.
"Jasmine," Dmitri said. His voice was broken, as if he had just been crying. "Do you know what you've done?"
Jasmine remained silent. A tear rolled down her eye, but she made no sound. Dmitri seemed to sense her silence from the other end of the line.
"You hurt me," Dmitri said. "Not physically... I don't hate Ji-Han, Jasmine. But I wanted you. How could you betray me like this? You with a spy..."
Jasmine's throat constricted. She silently bit her lip to keep her sobs from escaping.
"I didn't betray anyone, Dmitri," Jasmine said with great effort. Her voice was trembling, but she tried to make it sound like anger. "I told you the truth. You wanted to insult me. And I... I took my revenge."
"Revenge? Or love for Ji-Han?" Dmitri laughed. "Where are you now? Tell me. If your heartbeat stops, the file will be released. Are you ready to die?"
Jasmine closed her eyes. No sound would come out of her throat. Her inner weeping was now beyond control.
"Just... be quiet now," Jasmine said, her voice clearly breaking. "And listen... I will never give you that Master Key. And I am not with you either."
Jasmine quickly hung up the phone.
She put the phone down and took out the locket again. This time, she couldn't hold herself together. Her entire body began to tremble. She pressed the locket to her chest and began to cry silently. These tears were not for Ji-Han, or for her own risk—but for the extreme complexity of the relationship that had dragged her into this world of espionage. She hadn't let Dmitri see it, but she knew how emotional she was.