Adrian walked into the hospital room with three other officers.
“Leave us,” he said.
The officers looked at each other, then at Adrian.
“I don’t plan on doing anything rash.
I’m just going to speak with her…Ten minutes at most.”
The officers nodded and left.
Adrian walked to the bed; on it was the woman whose neck he’d snapped.
She stared at him, eyes filled with hatred.
“Don’t look at me that way,” he said.
“You were warned…
My only regret is it was a bit messy for your friends.”
“The doctors said they might never live normally again…
I’m sorry for that.”
He noticed tears welling up in her eyes.
Her breathing was steadily increasing.
“Why do you cry?” he asked.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” he asked, then almost immediately he reprimanded himself.
“Of course not…
No one would desire the events that have occurred…”
“I’m certain if you could speak right now, you’d be cursing me out for what I did…
If I could grant you one request, what would it be?”
The woman’s eyes hardened.
“Of course, you’d say something between the lines of ‘kill yourself, throw yourself in a river,’ ‘get hit by a train,’ or ‘go fuck yourself’…
Unfortunately, those requests have to be declined.
However, I can have your sentence be reduced…
I just need a little favour.”
He saw defiance in her eyes, making him chuckle.
“I should have known you’d be stubborn…
but don’t behave like you don’t care about being away for a long time, especially from your orphaned niece and nephews.”
He saw a flash of fear in her eyes as the heart monitor began to beep loudly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t cause harm to the children; they are children none of this is their fault…
But I don’t think the loan sharks your dearest brother left behind would.”
He stared at the ceiling…
“That’s why I killed him…
he sold out his children to them; they had already begun to groom them…”
He heard her hold her breath.
“Yes…
unfortunately, I had lost my temper, and bits and pieces of your brother can still be found to this day.”
“I understand you hate me for having the children orphaned, but it’s better for them to be orphaned than to be sent as prey to the monster they call a father.”
“How about this, Jade…?
Never mind, you can’t speak.
Anyways…
Let’s make a deal.
You and your team work for me, and I’ll have you out of jail.”
He saw she was skeptical.
“Think of it, you’ll be able to take care of your niece and nephews, and they won’t go into the awful foster system where there’s a high chance of being preyed upon by the normal people…
I’ll give you a few days to heal and properly think about it.”
He stood up.
“Recover well.”
In a well-lit office, a young man in his mid to late twenties was reading a document with glasses on.
The ground shook, followed by a loud snapping sound.
Space in the room folded inward before Adrian appeared a few inches from his face.
His phone pinged: “Sir, Mr.
Morvant—”
“I know, he’s here…” He said, calmly, while staring coldly at Adrian.
“What do you want, Adrian?” He asked coldly.
“William!” Adrian said with a grin.
“How’s my second favorite Hellbourne?” he said, casually.
William sighed, removing his glasses.
“You broke through several barriers to get to my office…
You aren’t here for mere pleasantries.
What do you want?”
Adrian smiled, floating backward as he pulled out a chair and sat on it.
“As smart as always,” he said.
“Does Saron know you’re here?” William asked.
“Does she need to?” Adrian replied, calmly.
“Anyway, let’s get to the reason for my visit.”
William began to listen attentively.
“We were attacked earlier today by a group of mercenaries…” Adrian started.
“Four were sent to distract me, three to Saron, and the final targeted Dominic, your cousin.
I’m certain you are aware of his existence.”
“I’ve been informed about him…
What does this have to do with me?”
Adrian smiled.
“You need to keep a tighter leash on your people,” he said in a low voice.
“Are you suggesting that a member of my family would knowingly attack him?” William questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I’m not suggesting”, Adrian replied, calmly.
“It would have been easy to kill him, especially with how skilled the water user is,” he said.
“Where are you going with this?”
“She was trying to push your cousin to an awakening by replicating a near-death experience…
Your family is trying to force him to awaken…
I suppose the goal is to bring a special someone back.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
William’s expression hardened.
“Who told you this?”
“How I know is not of your concern,” Adrian said.
“What should concern you is what your family is planning behind your back…
If the true heir does return, where does that leave you?”
William looked at him coldly.
A slight rise in resonance.
“Don’t even think about it,” Adrian said, coldly.
“Catherine Hellbourne, the true heir to the Hellbourne family…
Your aunt Dominic’s biological mother…
that little contract she made with your family almost two decades ago…
that she would only return once her son awakened.”
William narrowed his eyes at him.
“This is confidential information; not even your boss knows this…
How?”
“Let’s just say, I have eyes everywhere…”
William scoffed.
“I know many would want to hasten Dominic’s awakening; unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do…”
Adrian smiles.
“That’s quite unfortunate indeed,” he said, standing.
“You should see your cousin one day; you two have so much in common…
Also say hi to Noelle for me.”
Adrian disappeared, and William let go of the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“That guy is insane…”
The next day…
Dominic looked at the backpack and looked at his apartment.
The place he’s lived in for nearly three years since moving to Saesburg.
He was able to convince both Saron and Adrian that he’d stay the night so he could pack his things.
Turns out, he doesn’t have a lot.
I never thought I’d be emotional over leaving this place.
“Don’t worry, you can always return after we’ve dealt with whoever sent the mercenary.”
Dominic sucked in air sharply, hearing that familiar voice.
“For crying out loud!” he exclaimed.
A little warning would be nice!”
He turned around to face Adrian.
God, I wish I could wipe that smile from his stupid face.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Adrian joked.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.”