"What’s more concerning is that the Western and Southern Factions have recently begun forming an alliance with the Northern side. Together, they’ve set their sights on the Eastern Faction—they’re nning to divide its territory and wipe it outpletely."


    "And what role did Leo y in all this? He’s just a manager at the Hendrix Consortium—was he kidnapped?" Hera asked, her brows furrowing so tightly it looked like she could crush a fly between them.


    "No, they imed they believed Master Leo was ck Puma," Cindy exined. "So they lured him and his people to a secluded area, eventually leading them into a car chase that ended in a field rigged withndmines."


    It was a trap. Even though they didn’t have solid proof, they still chose to eliminate Master Leo. Their reasoning was that it was better to kill an innocent man than risk letting someone dangerous slip away. They cast a wide—no one was meant to escape. That said, one of the men—the one you captured yourself—spoke with absolute certainty that Master Leo <i>was</i> ck Puma."


    As Cindy spoke, her eyes kept flicking toward the door, ready to stop at any moment if Zhane returned.


    But Zhane, sensing that Cindy had something to discuss privately with Hera, took his time strolling toward his private lounge, pretending not to notice anything unusual so the two women could talk undisturbed.


    Hera, who wasn’t very familiar with these factions, was momentarily puzzled. "Who is ck Puma?" she asked, though the name felt strangely familiar, but she couldn’t quite ce where she’d heard it before.


    "ck Puma was the chosen sessor to the previous boss of the Northern Mafia faction—his godson," Cindy exined. "But ck Puma declined the position, stepping aside so that the boss’s right-hand man could take over."


    "Recently, though, ck Puma had a change of heart. He wants the leadership back, but for reasons that remain unclear. The current leader, however, isn’t willing to give up his power, and the former boss has distanced himself from the conflict."


    "He told his godson that, as a mafia leader, ck Puma needed to prove himself worthy of the position he once gave up. In this world, power speaks louder than loyalty. Now, ck Puma is engaged in a bitter struggle to reim control of the Northern Faction."


    "It started with minor skirmishes, but things quickly escted when ck Puma discovered the Northern Faction had struck new deals with both the Western and Southern factions—deals that disrupted the delicate bnce of power among the four factions."


    "As a result, criminal activity began to surge, and the streets became far more dangerous. That was never what the Northern Faction stood for," Cindy exined grimly.


    "The conflict soon turned deadly. Gunfights becamemon, and just recently, ck Puma wiped out the right-hand man of the current Northern leader and his entire crew—sending a clear message. In retaliation, this situation with Master Leo unfolded."


    She paused, her expression darkening. "These mafia power struggles are incredibly dangerous. We’re talking about the darker side of society, the underworld, where the government’s authority means very little. With open gunfights and the increasing presence of drugs, it’s clear they’re not afraid ofw enforcement. If anything, they’re unting their power."


    Hearing all this, Hera felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. No wonder the name ’<i>ck Puma’</i> sounded so familiar—of course it did.


    ck Puma was supposed to be the biggest viin in the novel. But why had he given up his position before?


    In the original story, ck Puma had epted his godfather’s decision to pass the Northern Faction’s leadership to him. However, even after he took the role, the former right-hand man—ambitious and bitter—couldn’t ept it. He resented both ck Puma and the godfather for handing such power to someone younger and, in his eyes, unworthy.


    So, while pretending to remain loyal, the right-hand man secretly conspired with the leader of the Eastern Faction—Luke—to take ck Puma down. Although ck Puma was a formidable viin, always standing in opposition to the female and male leads, even he wasn’t prepared for betrayal from within.


    The right-hand man’s patience and scheming in the shadows ultimately led to ck Puma’s downfall. What became of him after that, though, was something even Hera didn’t know.


    But after ck Puma gave up his position, it seemed heter changed his mind and decided to reim it—for reasons still unclear. Because of that decision, he ended up confronting the right-hand man directly, seeing his true nature early on.


    Unlike in the novel, where he was betrayed from the shadows, this time theyunched into an all-out war. And instead of the right-hand man forming an alliance with the Eastern Faction as originally written, he turned to the Western and Southern Factions, joining forces to eliminate ck Puma—and even nning to swallow up the Eastern Faction as well. Everything had veered off the original plot.


    And now, everything had be a tangled mess. With Luke having no reason to target the Avery family anymore, he no longer needed an alliance with the Northern Faction. The current leader of the Northern Faction likely approached Luke to propose one, but Luke declined.