A man in glasses and an impeccable suit sat by the window. Everything about him — his posture, his gaze, even the way he held his hands — created the image of an intelligent, calculating man. William Tarly.
His wife and daughter were getting ready for school under the protection of an entire convoy of vehicles. Waving goodbye to them, William smiled tenderly — and returned to work.
Some time later, the head of security burst into the office:
"Boss, your wife and daughter have been kidnapped."
William almost never raised his voice. His business demanded cold-bloodedness. But when it came to family, he lost control.
"Who was it?"
"A group in wolf masks. I think it's those very 'Devils' they keep talking about on television. None of the security guards were harmed. I'm sure these guys want something. They'll reach out soon."
Hearing about the "wolf masks," William went cold. He knew about this group. They had emerged several months ago and declared a hunt on pedophiles, rapists, and other criminals whose cases the system ignored. Their videos — brutal yet meticulously documented executions — regularly appeared on air and online.
William understood: if the "Devils" had taken an interest in him, a sentence awaited him. The people had already dubbed them a pack of "Devils" after the publication of their manifesto.
Their main goal — to make criminals afraid. Judging by William's condition, that goal had been achieved.
Lia Tarly opened her eyes. Trying to stand — she realized her wrist was chained to the bed. From the corner of the room, a camera stared at her.
Fear raged in her heart. But the fact that they hadn't been killed immediately gave hope that the kidnappers wanted something from her husband. Which meant they still had a chance.
The door opened. A girl with a laptop entered the room. On the screen appeared a figure in a wolf mask.
Unlike her husband, Lia felt no panic. She had studied the "Devils" and knew: they didn't touch the innocent. Perhaps it was just a facade… but she wanted to believe it wasn't.
The girl removed her handcuffs and silently stepped back into the corner.
"I never thought I'd have to converse with a bloody devil," Lia said, barely restraining the tremor in her voice.
"You are far too calm for someone who knows so much about our pack."
"In your manifesto, you declared you would avoid innocent victims by all means. And that any member of your group who harms a civilian without cause will be executed by you personally."
"I concede that those may have been pretty words. But I want to believe you adhere to them. I'm no saint, but I've done nothing in my life that the 'Devils' would come for me for. And my daughter is certainly guilty of nothing."
"I see you've truly studied us well. Then you know we adhere to the principle of collective responsibility."
"If you've been watching us, you know: among those we've come for were the wives of pedophiles who covered for their husbands."
"I know. But my husband is not a pedophile. If I suspected such a thing for even a second, I would have finished that creature off myself."
From her tone, Ray understood: she wasn't joking.
"I wasn't certain… but it seems you truly know nothing of what your husband does. Allow me to open your eyes."
A presentation launched on the screen:
"Your husband is an arms dealer. He's been in this business for over ten years. He has repeatedly supplied weapons to those who downed the Boeing 747 in 1985. 329 people died — everyone on board.
Among them were 82 children. And he knew perfectly well who he was selling weapons to. You can say that a weapon is merely a tool, and only a person decides how to use it. And you'll be right. But there is one 'but': he knew. And he sold them anyway.
You may not believe me. But as soon as our conversation ends, check the information on this laptop. Everything is confirmed. As for the reason we kidnapped you: negotiations with your husband will begin soon. We need you so that he will be more compliant. As far as we know, he loves his family madly. If everything goes smoothly — you and your daughter will remain unharmed. As long as he behaves correctly, we will treat you with the utmost care."
As soon as the connection cut off, Lia rushed to the laptop. She had always considered her husband a respected financier. He wasn't a saint — but she could never have imagined he traded weapons with terrorists.
The deeper she dug, the clearer it became: she hadn't known the man she had loved for so many years at all.