Jasmin stepped out of the warmth of the Jasmine Coffee House and onto the cold, snow-covered streets of Russia. Two thoughts dominated her mind: the VIP Golden Card from Aliya clutched in her hand and the parting message from her cousin—"The real story begins now."
Then Jasmin came out and started walking outside.
She walked with her signature slow, confident catwalk, as if the city streets were her personal runway. Her spy mind quickly analyzed the situation, but her inner model never lost her composure, even in extreme circumstances.
Suddenly, a terrifying roar of a high-speed engine and the screech of tires came from behind.
Just then a Bentley car came so fast that it wasn't just speed; it was an extreme display of recklessness. As the car rounded the corner, it flung the ice and slush accumulated on the roadside with massive force directly at Jasmin.
The ice and slush fell on Jasmin's body, and Jasmin fell down.
Struck by the sudden impact, Jasmin lost her footing on the slippery road and tumbled. Her expensive clothes were smeared with ice and dirty slush. A fierce blue rage burned in her eyes.
How strange! A police car was behind it.
The loud wail of a siren came from behind. A Russian police van was chasing the Bentley! Jasmin realized she had stumbled into a high-speed chase.
Then the car drove ahead, evading the police right in front of Jasmin.
The Bentley expertly swerved into a narrow alley, successfully evading the police. The police van slowed down slightly as it prepared to take the turn to pursue.
Just then, the Bentley abruptly stopped. The driver, it seemed, couldn't completely ignore Jasmin.
Then the car stopped. The window opened...
As the window rolled down, a sarcastic voice floated out— "Hello Kitty!"
Then the face appeared. A face contorted with anger, pain, and a strange obsession—it was Ziaisko, newly fixated on Jasmin.
"Jasmin," Ziaisko chuckled. "Lying in the snow! You look as fragile as Maria, but you know you're pure fire underneath! You ignored me and walked away, didn't you?"
Jasmin did not reply this time. Her entire focus was on ignoring him. All of Ziaisko's recklessness, his police chase—it was all a futile attempt to catch her attention.
Jasmin ignored him and walked away, and the car started moving.
Jasmin brushed off the ice and mud and stood up. Her model's pose returned. She walked past Ziaisko, completely ignoring him, as if he were an annoying insect. Fuming, Ziaisko sped off in the Bentley.
Just as Jasmin was walking away in her model-like stride, Ziaisko returned.
Then, as she walked like a model, Ziaisko came back again.
This time, the Bentley screeched to a halt beside her, and instantly, a deafening Russian song began to blast.
He played a loud Russian song in the car.
The song was ultimately irritating and at maximum volume. Ziaisko looked at Jasmin through his lowered car window.
Jasmin got angry.
Jasmin stopped short. She leaned toward Ziaisko's car, her eyes blazing with intense hatred.
"This is such a nuisance! You are exactly like your brother!" Jasmin said in a low voice choked with fury.
"Dmitri wants to imprison me with his power, and you want to annoy me with your obsession! Both of you think my life is your plaything! Stop bothering me, Ziaisko. I am not your weakness now; I can be your destruction!"
Ziaisko's face went pale. Jasmin's words struck not his pride, but his fear. He quickly turned off the music and sped away in the Bentley, disappearing at a high velocity, not daring to return this time.
Jasmin pulled Aliya's VIP Golden Card from the pocket of her wet jacket. There was no time to waste. She had to decode this card. Ziaisko was momentarily scared by Jasmin's harsh warning, but his pride and obsession would not be so easily quelled. He quickly stopped his car again beside Jasmin and leaned out.
This time, Ziaisko mixed a kind of frantic pleading into his voice instead of pure anger. He knew that, at this moment, Jasmin could only be controlled through sheer persistence and manipulation, not force.
Then Ziaisko said, "Come into my car!"
His tone was a blend of command and request. He waited for Jasmin's decision.
Jasmin closed her eyes in annoyance. This man was wasting her time.
Jasmin replied coolly, as if giving an order to a trivial employee.
Then Jasmin said, "No."
Ziaisko did not give up. His face flushed with anger. He knew Jasmin's weakness—she easily gets angry.
"Jasmin! Yes, come! Don't act like this! I'm getting angry though!"
Ziaisko's last sentence was a direct threat. He wanted to frighten Jasmin with his rage, though Jasmin knew this was the rage of a lover, not an enemy. At this moment, Jasmin needed to get to a safe place quickly with her wet clothes and the Golden Card. The safety of Ziaisko's car was far greater than walking outside.
Jasmin pondered for a moment. She was in a mafia game now. It was wiser to get into his car and head to a fortress or another safe location than to argue with the police-chased Ziaisko while standing outside. Besides, talking to Ziaisko might reveal his current vulnerabilities.
With a sigh, Jasmin made her final decision.
Then Jasmin sat down inside the car.
Jasmin did not break the silence; she simply opened the back door and, with her snow-caked boots, sat down on the luxurious seat of Ziaisko's Bentley. Her entire body was rigid with anger.
A triumphant smile played on Ziaisko's face. He knew he had succeeded in getting Jasmin into his car, whether through persistence or threat.
"Where to, cute little girl?" Ziaisko asked as he started the Bentley.
Jasmin gently touched her Golden Card. "Where we are going now, you will not know, Ziaisko. But you are my driver now. Answer me directly, why were you evading the police?"
The story was now in Jasmin's hands. She was in the Bentley with Ziaisko, holding the secret weapon given by Aliya. Jasmin sat on the luxurious Bentley seat in her wet clothes and directly challenged Ziaisko, demanding to know the reason for his reckless driving and evading the police.
Ziaisko answered, but his tone was boyish, as if trying to downplay his offense.
Then Ziaisko said, "Oh, no! It's just because I was driving fast."
Ziaisko implied he wasn't fleeing a serious crime, but merely driving at the normal speed of a mobster, which the Russian police did not tolerate. Jasmin did not believe his simple explanation but did not argue. She was not willing to be diverted from her goal.
Ziaisko started driving the Bentley. But suddenly, he did something unexpected.
Then suddenly Ziaisko grabbed Jasmin's foot.
Ziaisko quickly reached back and grabbed the foot of Jasmin, who was sitting in the back seat. Jasmin's foot was still cold and covered in slush. This touch was unexpected and extremely personal. Such behavior from a Mafia boss was completely unusual.
Jasmin was unprepared for such a touch. This touch did not evoke anger or fear, but rather a sign of shame on her face.
Jasmin blushed red with embarrassment.
Jasmin quickly tried to pull her foot away, but Ziaisko held it tightly, as if he refused to let her go anywhere.
"Your foot is cold," Ziaisko whispered, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. "I don't like seeing you suffer so much, Jessy. You can ignore me, but I love you. Dmitri only wants your body, but I want all of you."
Jasmin was overwhelmed with anger and shame. She glared at Ziaisko with a fierce look.
"Let go of my foot, Ziaisko!" Jasmin commanded in a suppressed voice. "If you don't let go of my foot now, I will jump out of this car! Your love and your brother's love are the same to me—both are just attempts to control!"
Ziaisko slowly released Jasmin's foot. But in his eyes was the obsession that savored Jasmin's embarrassment. He knew he had succeeded in striking at her personal space, if not her heart