Chapter 1 – English Version

“The First Betrayal”

Even if people know that one day everything in their lives could be taken away from them, they never truly believe it will happen.

I didn’t believe it either.

I was twenty-four years old. I thought my life was only just beginning, and I believed that the years stretching out before me would one day give me everything I wanted. I had a job. I had a life waiting for me when I returned home, hopes I couldn’t quite put into words, and a woman for whom I was even willing to humiliate myself.

Back then, my name was Bahadır Ufuk.

I worked in the insurance department at Özdemir Holding. From the outside, I was just an ordinary employee. Every morning, I entered the building at the same time, walked through the same corridors, sat at the same desk, and dealt with paperwork prepared to protect other people’s lives and assets.

The irony was that, in the very building where I calculated people’s losses, I would one day learn how easily my own life could be deemed expendable.

From the outside, Özdemir Holding was a powerful, respected, and well-established company. When people entered that building, they saw success, money, and power. But ever since I had started working there, I had noticed other things as well. Conversations behind closed doors, phone calls that abruptly ended, documents that mysteriously disappeared, and the way people seemed more careful with their expressions than with their words when looking at one another…

I couldn’t claim to know everything. Besides, back then, there was only one thing I wanted to know.

Asena Özdemir.

I couldn’t remember exactly when I had fallen in love with her. Perhaps it had all begun one day when she smiled at me as she passed me in the corridor. Or perhaps it was when she addressed me by my name, even just once, instead of treating me like an ordinary employee in front of everyone else.

To me, even the smallest gesture meant far more than others could imagine.

Sometimes, simply hearing her voice from inside her office as I passed by was enough to brighten my day. Sometimes, I would spend hours thinking about a brief glance she had given me. Yet I didn’t need to try very hard to understand how little space I occupied in Asena’s life.

She was Muzaffer Özdemir’s daughter.

She was twenty-two years old. She was beautiful, confident, and knew how to draw everyone’s attention whenever she entered a room. What I had to offer her, on the other hand, was limited. I had a salary, an ordinary life, and dreams I had yet to fulfill.

I didn’t know exactly what Asena wanted. But I knew what she didn’t want.

Me.

Although she had never said it to my face with complete honesty, some things didn’t require words to be understood. The distance between us, the brevity of our conversations, and that faint coldness that settled over her face whenever I tried to get closer to her were enough.

Still, I couldn’t give up.

Sometimes, a person becomes more attached to waiting for something they will never be given than to the thing itself.

I wanted to believe that one day Asena would look at me differently. Perhaps one day, my money, my surname, or who I was wouldn’t matter to her. Perhaps she would truly get to know me.

Perhaps…

Back then, I didn’t realize that I had built my life around a single word.

Perhaps.

That day, everything at Özdemir Holding had started out normally.

I had files on my desk that needed to be completed. Phones were ringing, employees were hurrying through the corridors to get somewhere, and office doors were opening and closing. The building’s familiar hum had become the kind of background noise people gradually learned to stop hearing.

Until the first gunshot rang out.

At first, I couldn’t understand what had happened.

When the sound echoed through the building and faded away, no one moved for several seconds. Everyone wore the same expression, caught somewhere between shock and denial. It was as if someone would soon come out and explain that it had all been a misunderstanding, everyone would return to their desks, and life would carry on as usual.

Then came the second gunshot.

And then the third.

Screams spread through the corridors. Some people shouted at us to get down, others ran toward the exits, while the rest stood frozen, unable to decide what to do. The sound of shattering glass mingled with the gunshots.

When I raised my head, I saw the fear on people’s faces.

At that moment, I realized that this place wasn’t as safe as it appeared from the outside.

I grabbed the edge of my desk and stood up. My heart was pounding as if it were about to burst out of my chest. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Should I run? Should I hide? Or should I try to help someone?

Then Asena came to mind.

I stepped into the corridor, hoping to find her. As I tried to make my way through the chaos around me, someone slammed into my shoulder, and then someone else grabbed my arm and pulled me back. They were saying something, but I couldn’t make out their words.

I couldn’t find Asena.

Even today, I can’t fully describe what went through my mind during those few minutes. I was afraid. I won’t deny that. But amid all that fear, my need to find out whether she was safe weighed more heavily on me.

Eventually, we learned who the attackers were.

They were a large mafia group.

I didn’t know why they had come. But it was obvious that they hadn’t attacked a random location. The damage they had left behind, the terror etched onto people’s faces, and the panic that followed all made it clear that this was no ordinary act of intimidation.

Muzaffer Özdemir soon took action with his men.

I had seen him angry before. But the expression on his face that day was different. He was trying to keep his anger under control, issuing short, decisive orders to those around him. It was as if he had lost something and was prepared to do whatever it took to get it back.

I didn’t know why I was there.

Still, they took me along with them.

Perhaps I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps someone needed a document, some information, or simply an extra man. Whatever the reason, I soon found myself in the same vehicle as Muzaffer’s men.

I didn’t ask where we were going.

Truthfully, I wanted to ask, but I could see that no one was in any position to explain anything to me. Muzaffer was sitting in the front seat. I couldn’t see his face. Every now and then, he glanced at his phone and gave his men brief instructions.

After a while, a bad feeling began to settle inside me.

I couldn’t connect it to any logical explanation. I simply felt that we were heading in the wrong direction. Looking out of the vehicle’s window, I noticed the familiar streets falling behind us and the surroundings gradually becoming more deserted.

Then everything happened very quickly.

Our way was blocked.

Weapons were suddenly pointed at us. When the driver slammed on the brakes, my body lurched forward. Doors flew open, and shouts erupted. As Muzaffer’s men reached for their weapons, I realized that the men on the other side vastly outnumbered us.

Just a few minutes earlier, I had thought I was merely caught up in a dangerous situation.

I was wrong.

We were in the middle of a trap that had been set specifically for us.

At gunpoint, we were forced out of the vehicles. They checked our hands, searched us, and dragged us to a secluded place without telling us where they were taking us. When I looked around, I saw an abandoned structure. Its walls were weathered, and the surrounding area was silent. It was obvious that no one would hear anyone shouting here.

When we entered, the man I assumed to be the group’s leader stepped forward to face us.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of panic on his face.

From the way he looked at Muzaffer, it was clear that he knew who he was. In fact, he seemed as though he had been waiting for this encounter for a long time.

“After all these years, the money you’ve accumulated, your reputation, your men…” the man said.

“Did you think any of it would protect you?”

Muzaffer clenched his jaw.

“What do you want?”

The man smiled faintly.

“I don’t want money.”

Muzaffer’s expression remained unchanged, but the atmosphere in the room grew heavier. As I waited for the man’s next words, I realized that, for some reason, I had been holding my breath.

“You will give me your daughter.”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
Asena.
Asena was the one this man wanted.

For the first time, Muzaffer looked genuinely shaken. He stepped forward angrily, and one of his men tried to stop him. The man standing opposite him, however, didn’t even move.

“Forget it,” Muzaffer said. “I will never give you my daughter.”

“Then you know what will happen to all of you here.”

What followed was a series of threats, raised voices, and exchanged glances. I was trying to make sense of everything being said. These men weren’t simply trying to frighten Muzaffer.
They wanted something in return for something else. Perhaps it was a score that needed settling, or perhaps it was the continuation of something that had begun long ago…

But the truly terrifying part was watching Muzaffer gradually fall silent.
First, he refused to give up his daughter.
Then, he listened to what the man in front of him had to say.
Finally, he lowered his eyes to the ground.

And at that moment, I felt something inside me begin to break.
Because sometimes, a person can see the disaster waiting for them in someone else’s face before it even happens.

After a while, a deal was made.
Asena would be handed over to them.
In return, they would release us.

But the man had one more condition. He said the blood feud between them couldn’t go unanswered and demanded that Muzaffer leave someone behind. A price had to be paid.

I waited to hear what Muzaffer would say.

Perhaps he would choose one of his men. Perhaps he would offer his own life. Or perhaps he would find a way to break the deal.

He turned toward me.
Our eyes met.
I didn’t know what was in that look. Regret? Fear? Or simply the cold calculation of a man looking at a useful object?

“Take him,” he said.

For several seconds, I couldn’t comprehend what his words meant.
Then I saw the men walking toward me.

“Wait a minute…” I said. My voice came out quieter than I had expected.

“What’s going on?”

No one answered.
I looked at Muzaffer.
“Are you leaving me here?”
He didn’t even look at my face.
I felt something inside me snap. The man I had been sitting beside in the same vehicle only moments ago, the man whose orders I had followed, the man beside whom I had felt safe, had decided I was expendable.

Without a second thought.

Without the slightest hesitation.

“Mr. Muzaffer!”

This time, I raised my voice.

Perhaps he would say my name. Perhaps he would offer an explanation. Perhaps he would tell me that it was all a misunderstanding.

He turned and looked at me one last time.

But he had nothing to say.

The men grabbed my arms. I tried to break free, but they dragged me into another room. When the door closed behind me, the sounds coming from outside faded away.

I stood where I was for a while.

I didn’t know what to do. My anger had overtaken my fear, but that didn’t make me any stronger. It only made it harder for me to understand what was happening to me.

What had I ever done to that man?

What terrible crime had I committed to deserve having my life ruined?
I had loved Asena. Perhaps that had been the biggest mistake of my life. But what did that have to do with any of this? I had come here alongside Muzaffer. I had acted together with him. And now I was the one who would be punished in his place.

The door opened.

A man walked in and slowly approached me. The expression on his face was no different from the coldness I had seen on Muzaffer’s face moments earlier.

“Now,” he said, “you’re going to tell us why Muzaffer Özdemir gave up on you so easily.”

I swallowed hard.

“I don’t know anything.”

The man tilted his head slightly, as though he had expected that answer all along.

“Then it’s time you found out.”

At that moment, I realized that everything waiting for me was only the beginning.
But there was something I didn’t know yet.

Even if I made it out of that room alive, I would never be able to return to my old life.
Because sometimes, the people who try to kill you first take away everything you have left in your life.
And I hadn’t lost everything just yet.

🔲〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️🔲

I couldn’t bear to watch Muzaffer walk away without even looking back at me one last time. The men had left me standing in the middle of the room, gathering around me. One of them was striking a wooden stick against his palm. Another locked the door.

I was afraid.
But there was something inside me heavier than fear: the anger I felt toward the man who had brought me here.

“What did I ever do to you?” I asked.

“I’m just someone who does his job. I have nothing to do with you people!”

The man in front of me laughed.

“You should have told your boss that, too.”

The first blow struck my face. I staggered backward, losing my balance. Then another man punched me in the stomach. The air left my lungs, and I fell to my knees. They wanted to make me talk, but there was nothing I could tell them.

I was paying the price for secrets I knew nothing about.

I don’t know how much time passed.
They beat me, threatened me, and asked me the same questions over and over again. Every time, I gave them the same answer.
I didn’t know anything.
At one point, they left me alone. I could barely lift my head. I tried to wipe the blood from my face with my arm. Then I noticed a small window in the corner of the room. It was my only way out.

When I stood up, my legs were trembling. Even so, I refused to give up.
I managed to reach the window. As I squeezed through the narrow opening, my clothes tore, and my wounds reopened. When I fell to the ground, I clenched my teeth against the pain.

But I was outside.
As voices rose behind me, I ran into the darkness. I had no idea where I was going. I only knew that if I stopped, they would catch me again.
When I arrived home that night, I didn’t look in the mirror.
I was afraid that what I saw on my face would be the last trace of the man I had once known myself to be.
Meanwhile, Muzaffer Özdemir had already returned to his holding company.
When he told his daughter what had happened, Asena’s face tightened with anger.

“Did you really think you could hand me over to them?” she asked.

Muzaffer remained silent for a while before answering.

“I had no other choice.”

“I’m your daughter!”

“And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive.”

Asena shook her head.

“I’m nobody’s property. I’m not going with them.”

An expression that was difficult to interpret appeared on Muzaffer’s face. He didn’t respond to his daughter’s anger. Because there was something she didn’t know.

Muzaffer had no intention of handing his daughter over to those men. At least, not permanently. That night, he secretly met with a man. He was looking for someone capable of eliminating the mafia leader. This time, he would solve the problem money couldn’t fix by using another method.
But there was another part to his plan.

And very few people knew who that person was.
Meanwhile, I didn’t sleep a wink all night.

I sat in my father’s house, staring at my hands. My fingers were still trembling. The image of Muzaffer walking away without even looking at my face played over and over again in my mind.
He had left me to die.

There had to be an explanation for it. A reason. I wanted him to stand before me one day and answer for what he had done.
But that night, there was only one name on my mind.

Asena.

I loved her. I couldn’t deny it. Perhaps that desperate love I felt for her had been the beginning of the path that had led me to those men. She was the reason I had stayed by Muzaffer’s side, endured every humiliation, and constantly tried to prove myself.

And now, I was thinking that I might die because of her.

After a while, I stood up.

I knew about the gun my father had kept hidden for years. When I picked it up, the cold metal settled into my palm. I had never killed anyone before. I didn’t know what it meant to take another person’s life.
But that night, something else had begun to take the place of fear.

Anger.

I slipped the gun into my pocket and headed for the door. I would find the mafia leader. I would make him answer for leaving me there. I wouldn’t let them lay a hand on Asena.

At that moment, I believed I was doing the right thing.

I didn’t yet know that the thing that would truly destroy me wasn’t the identity of my enemies.
The real disaster would be that, while searching for my enemies, I would never realize whose game I had fallen into.

End of Chapter 1
Thank you for reading the first chapter! Let me know what you think in the comments. Your support means a great deal to me.
Note: AI tools were also used during the translation process. There may be some errors.