"It's called being passionate," Nico replies. "I don't expect someone like you to know the meaning of that."
"Is it done?" Dante asks. "The police have been notified. They're on standby."
"It's ready. There will be a raging fire that will set off all the smoke alarms in..." Nico checks his watch. "Three, two, one..."
At first, nothing happens.
And then someone runs out from the kitchen with an apron in hand. He glances around the club, trying to find the hostess.
"Voila," Nico says. "I'm so proud of myself. I never thought my destructive tendencies would someday make the world a better place. I knew there was a reason I was given the gift of arson."
"Can someone please tell this man to shut up?" Dimitri exclaims.
The smoke alarms go off. Nico smiles like a proud parent.
"Still got it," Nico says.
"Not the flex you think it is," Max mutters.
"You're just jealous you can't think on your feet like me," Nico says.
The staff rushes to extinguish the fire. When they realize it can’t be contained, they begin the evacuation process. The music cuts out, and a voice over the speakers instructs everyone to use the emergency exits.
The elevators serve as the primary access to the basement club, with two emergency exits opening to the forested land behind the club. They have no idea the police are about to use those same exits to raid the place.
Before anyone can leave, the emergency doors explode inward. Police in black tactical gear swarm the club, quickly sealing all exit points and pointing their rifles at the center of the club.
"Polis! Diam! Tangan ke atas!" They repeat their orders in English as well.
A ripple of shock and fear courses through the air. Someone starts sobbing loudly, only to be head-butted by the back of a rifle. Every single lock clicks open, including the cages. One of the police officers starts climbing the one to the far left, right below where Ida is being kept.
But Dante moves forward and stops the police officer.
I hold my breath, imagining that they'll reprimand him in some way. But the officer steps back and hands Dante a blanket. Dante throws the blanket over his shoulder and climbs all the way up to the top cage. His sister is crying quiet tears. But when Dante reaches her, she throws her arms around him.
“I waited for you, Dante,” she sobs. “I knew you’d find me one day.”
Dante presses his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry it took me so long, Ida.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. I'm so beyond happy for Dante, but there's a war in my head. I can't stop thinking about all the other women who have been separated from their families.
Dante wraps the blanket around his sister's shoulders and scoops her under one arm. As he descends the bars, she clings to him like a child, crying all the way down.
I almost can't look at her like this, but I make myself watch. I want this memory to be imprinted in my mind. This is what people like my mother do. This is why they deserve to die.
The police quickly move to the other sections. They arrest all staff members and detain the customers as well.
Dante brings his sister toward us. She’s so beautiful, with her honey-brown eyes and mane of dark hair. Dante gestures toward me.
"Ida, this is my wife, Grace," he says.
I smile at her, but she steps forward and wraps her arms around me in a hug.
"Hi, nice to meet you," she says. Her voice is husky. When she pulls away, she removes the veil from over her face.
I notice she has a scar running down the right side of her face.
She turns to look at Dante. “I want to leave.”
