While we were having brunch, I quietly sent Diablo a message.
Capture the board member who mentioned the mutant.
I wasn’t worried about him talking.
Every call he made was monitored.
No satellite phone, no burner phone, nothing escaped surveillance.
Ever since I had taken control, his security cameras, laptops, phones—everything had been compromised.
It was almost funny.
The security system he had spent years building to protect himself had become his own cage.
A few moments later, Diablo replied.
Lord, he appears to be preparing to leave the country.
I glanced at the message before typing back.
Capture him.
Don’t let him escape.
I want to have a talk with him.
Diablo’s response came almost immediately.
Understood, Lord.
Should I start the engine?
I looked across the table.
Gwen and Helen were still enjoying brunch, completely unaware of the conversation taking place on my phone.
No need.
First, we’ll finish brunch.
Then I’ll drop them off.
After that, we’ll meet with him.
There was a brief pause before the final reply arrived.
Understood, Lord.
I won’t disturb you again.
My gaze shifted toward Gwen.
“So, after this?” I asked.
“What’s the plan? A job or research?”
Gwen looked at me in confusion for a second, clearly not expecting the question.
“I’m only fifteen,” Gwen said with a small laugh.
“I haven’t even started college yet. If things go well, maybe I’ll join a university research team.”
“What field?” I asked.
She thought for a moment before answering.
“I’m not completely sure. Maybe biophysics… or chemistry. Both sound interesting.”
“Oh.”
Gwen tilted her head.
“Why do you sound disappointed?”
“I’m not,” I said with a small smile.
“I just thought you’d say material science or clean energy.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because if I ever build the kind of company I’m planning, those are the two fields I’ll need the most.” I leaned back in my chair.
“Mining gives us the raw materials. Material science turns those materials into better batteries, stronger alloys, semiconductors, and advanced composites. Clean energy gives those materials a market—solar panels, wind turbines, energy storage, hydrogen, and next-generation power systems.”
Gwen blinked.
“So you were already planning to recruit me?”
I grinned.
“I was hoping I’d never have to interview you.”
She rolled her eyes before laughing.
“Good to know my future career has already been decided.”
“I said hoping,” I corrected.
“Not deciding. You’ll do whatever makes you happy.”
“And if I become a biophysicist instead?”
“Then I’ll proudly tell everyone I know a brilliant biophysicist. It’s your life. I was just hoping our interests happened to line up.”
She smiled before shaking her head.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Besides,” I continued, “I came across something interesting while reading a few industry reports. Have you heard of the Arc Reactor?”
“The Arc Reactor?” Gwen frowned.
I nodded.
“That’s the one.”
“I’ve heard nobody outside the company really knows anything about it,” Gwen said.
“Some people even think it’s just an expensive publicity stunt. Every schematic, every research paper, everything related to it is supposed to be locked behind Stark Industries’ highest security clearance.”
“That’s true,” I admitted with a grin.
“But if even half the rumors are true, it could completely change the energy industry.”
“And you believe the rumors?” she asked.
I shrugged.
“A man can imagine.”
The conversation drifted to something else, but my mind was already elsewhere.
If my memory was right, Tony Stark would be kidnapped in two days during his trip to Afghanistan.
He would spend nearly three months in captivity before escaping in the Mark I armor.
Three months was enough time to get what I wanted—access to the Arc Reactor, Tony Stark’s cooperation, or, if everything went perfectly, Tony Stark himself.
If I sent Diablo to rescue him before he escaped on his own, I could change the timeline.
More importantly, I might earn the chance to learn directly from one of the greatest engineers on the planet.
That alone would be worth the risk.
The idea lingered in my mind for a moment before I looked at Gwen.
“If you ever want a proper lab,” I said, “just let me know. I’m already planning to build one beneath the house, so adding another section for you wouldn’t be difficult.”
Both Gwen and Helen looked at me, though Helen looked at me with a wary expression.
“When exactly were you planning to do that?” Helen asked.
“And how? You never even mentioned it to me.”
I looked at her innocently.
“But you told me I could do whatever I wanted.”
“I did,” Helen admitted with a helpless smile, “but most people still ask first.”
“Fair enough.” I nodded.
“So… can I?”
Helen laughed, already realizing I wasn’t finished.
“Chris…”
“Actually,” I continued, “does anything in the guardianship papers say we all have to stay in this house?”
She frowned, clearly wondering where I was going with this.
“Yes it does”
“Then maybe I’ll just buy the neighboring houses. We can connect the properties, expand the basement, build a proper research facility, and still have plenty of room left.”
Gwen stared at me for a second.
“You think this house is too small?”
“It’s not that.” I shook my head.
“I just don’t like keeping things locked away. I have a few supercars that came with the inheritance, and they’re just sitting in storage. If I don’t drive them once in a while, they’ll spend their entire lives collecting dust. If we expand the property, I can build a proper garage and workshop. Then, when you’re old enough, I’ll teach you how to drive.”
I had been expecting Helen to tell me it was unnecessary, or that I was spending money too freely.
Instead, she simply thought about it for a few seconds before nodding.
“All right, Chris,” she said.
“I’ll handle it.”
That wasn’t the response I had expected.
I turned toward Gwen, fully expecting her to object where Helen hadn’t.
Instead, she looked at me with obvious excitement.
“So you really have supercars?” she asked.
“Not just one, but enough that they’re sitting around in storage?”
I nodded.
“Quite a few. They came with the inheritance. Most of them have barely been driven.”
Her smile immediately widened.
“And you’re actually going to teach me to drive one?”
“Of course. There’s no point in owning them if they never leave the garage.”
She let out a quiet laugh, unable to hide how excited she was.
“I was already interested in the lab, but getting to drive an actual supercar? That’s so much cooler.”
Helen looked between the two of us before letting out a resigned sigh.
I chuckled, but my attention stayed on Gwen’s excited expression.
Well, that settled it.
I knew exactly what I was getting her for her sixteenth birthday.
While we were still eating, I looked over at Helen.
“After brunch, I’m going out with Diablo. I have something I need to take care of.”
Helen paused for a moment, studying my face before giving a small nod.
“All right,” she said.
“Just be home before ten.”
“I will. I’ll be back well before then.”
“Do you want me to save you dinner?” Helen asked.
I smiled.
“No. But if you want something from outside, I can bring it back.”
She shook her head.
“Forget the food. Just take care of yourself and come home safely.”
I nodded.
From the look on her face, I could already guess what she was thinking.
Since it was the first time she had seen Diablo and me leave together, she had probably assumed we were going out for another training session.
She had never asked what our training involved, and I had never volunteered the truth.
Sometimes, a harmless lie made relationships much easier.
The conversation should have ended there, but Gwen suddenly looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“Wait,” Gwen said.
“It’s only you and Diablo going?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re not taking any security?”
“No.”
She kept staring at me while thinking.
I could practically see the gears turning in her head as she tried to connect pieces that had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
After a few seconds, her expression slowly shifted from curiosity to certainty, as though she had solved the greatest mystery of the century.
“Oh…”
Helen noticed the change immediately.
“What?” she asked.
Gwen pointed at me with complete confidence.
“You and Diablo are going to a strip club.”
For nearly two full seconds, my brain refused to process what I had just heard.
A strip club?
How…
exactly how had she managed to start with ‘Chris is going out with Diablo’ and somehow arrive at ‘They’re definitely going to a strip club’?
I mentally retraced every sentence I had spoken since brunch started, searching for the point where the conversation had taken such a catastrophic turn, and came up with absolutely nothing.
There wasn’t even a logical bridge between the two conclusions.
I slowly turned toward Helen.
She was looking at Gwen with almost the exact same expression I had.
From her face, it was obvious she was just as confused as I was.
She knew I usually went out with Diablo to train, so she clearly had no idea how Gwen had managed to reach such an outrageous conclusion either.
I looked back at Gwen and let out a helpless sigh.
“Don’t worry,” I said with a completely straight face.
“I won’t be cheating on my little girlfriend.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Helen completely lost it.
She burst into laughter so suddenly and so hard that It looked like she’d inhaled an entire tank of laughing gas.
She leaned back in her chair, one hand covering her mouth while the other rested against the table, but neither did anything to stop the uncontrollable laughter that escaped her.
Watching Helen laugh only made Gwen even more embarrassed.
Her cheeks turned bright red as she realized how ridiculous her conclusion had sounded, while I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from joining in.
…………………………
Author’s Note: Sorry for missing yesterday’s upload.
Things have been pretty hectic lately, and I honestly lost track of how many days had passed.
That’s completely on me.
I’ll be more careful with the upload schedule going forward.