Chapter 25
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“Explain”

 

The day starts with me feeling a weight on my chest. My sleep is disturbed and I open my eyes to find Aiden sleeping sideways and his leg is on me. Luckily the bed is big enough for him to not fall. 

I try to get off the bed without waking Aiden but he ends up opening his eyes. I smile and tell him, “Good morning.”

Aiden rubs his eyes and sits up on the bed with me.

Since Aiden is awake now, I tell him that we should wash up for the day. He nods his head and holds my hand as we move to the bathroom.

I apply toothpaste on Aiden’s toothbrush and pass it to him. I apply about the same amount to mine as well after that. The two of us start brushing our teeth about the same time and he copies me as I spit out the toothpaste after gurgling it.

The two of us take a good shower before I realise I didn’t bring a change of clothes. I do my best to quickly put on an outfit for Aiden before tiptoeing out of the room.

Ryan has his back as he is cooking so he doesn’t notice me rushing quietly into my room while Aiden trails behind me.

By the time I put on my outfit and walk out of my room, Ryan has already plated all the food onto the table. I make sure Aiden is well seated before taking a seat next to him. Ryan happily greets us as he makes himself comfortable on the seat across from me, “Good morning. How was your rest?”

“I had a good rest. Did you have a good rest Aiden?” I turn the question to Aiden and the only response I get from him is a nod.

Ryan smiles along with me after seeing Aiden nod his head.

“Then we will go to my workplace after eating breakfast,” Ryan informs us about his plan.

“Your workplace?” I don’t think he means the usual place I often meet up with Sam so I voice out my doubt.

“Yeah, Ian finally rented out an office.”

“So the building we were at…” I trail off as I stare at Ryan and see his brows jump a little as if he only just realised I didn’t know anything.

“That’s where we usually hang out. It’s a private lounge that the club rented to us.” Ryan explains.

“The club?” I ask in confusion.

“Yeah. The building we usually go to is actually owned by the country club. Their main location has golf and other stuff but that’s further out from the town since they need bigger space.”

“Wait a minute. Are you serious?”

“Why are you so shocked?” Ryan furrows his brows at my questioning.

“Aren’t those for ‘fancy’ people?” I made air quotes.

Ryan burst out laughing hearing me.

“You do realise, you’re also a member there.” He raises an eyebrow at me.

I stare at him with wide eyes, “I am?”

He nods and can’t stop himself from laughing, “You do realise you’re a rich brat now.”

I realise my mouth is left hanging so I close it as I finally realise the kind of life I’m actually living right now.

“That means you’re a rich brat too,” I retort back after leaving the silence a little too long.

He sips his coffee nonchalantly and replies, “Yeah, I am. So?”

He manages to make me speechless because I don’t know how to continue with him admitting it so casually. I turn away and ignore him while we eat our breakfast. I give extra care to Aiden as well because the little guy seems to eat less than yesterday.

I’m not sure how much kids usually eat. I assume that he might have eaten more yesterday because the travel made him hungrier.

Ryan goes to wash the dishes right away after telling me to grab a jacket for Aiden. Since it happened so many times already, I know he won’t let me wash the dishes. I’m too lazy to argue with him so I head straight to Aiden’s room.

I grab a light blue bomber jacket for him to wear because I remember I have a similar jacket in light blue in my room. When I tell Aiden that we can wear a matching pair, he shyly nods.

We head straight to my room and I make sure to wear the same one after showing it to Aiden. He dives straight to hug me and won’t let go. I don’t mind it even if it means I have to carry him out of the door.

Ryan appears to be putting away the final dish as I walk out carrying Aiden. He turns and sees me wearing a matching outfit with Aiden. He smirks and compliments that we look like a pair of mother and son.

“If anything, I’m his father.” I scold Ryan for saying that.

“Sure,” He replies with a smirk as he walks away into his room.

He emerges out wearing a black bomber jacket which makes me narrow my eyes at him. He shrugs at me before saying, “Let’s go.”

“Why did you have to wear something similar to us?” I mumble.

I’m not sure if Ryan pretends to can’t hear it or not because he continues to open the front door and waits for me to get out. I give him a suspicious side eye but he doesn’t show any reaction. I guess I’m overthinking it.

The drive to the office building isn’t too long and we reach an area with buildings that are shorter than the main part of the town.

“I thought Ian would’ve chosen an office within the heart of the main town.” I voice my curiosity.

“That’s a waste of money. Rick would never approve that.”

“So this Rick…”

“He’s the financial advisor,” I don’t have to finish my words because Ryan is able to answer my question easily.

“Then what do you do for work?” I glance at him up and down.

Ryan doesn’t reply but turns off the car engine. He then gets out of the car while smirking at me. I furrow my brows but decide to brush it off and make sure to let Aiden out of the car before I do so myself.

Aiden is being clingy as he refuses to let go of me. He wraps his arms around my neck the moment I lift him up into my arms.

“Should I carry him?” Ryan offers but I politely reject him.

The elevator ride takes longer than I’m used to despite the building having less floors than the one we usually go to. The elevator door opens to reveal the receptionist desk before a closed glass door blocking the entry.

Ryan takes me past the receptionist after briefly greeting her. She returns his greeting politely before continuing to type away on her computer. He swipes his access card and holds the door open as I walk in with Aiden.

The interior reveals segregated tables with some having a full computer setup. Ryan heads past them and to the back where I see a pantry and an open lounge on the opposite side of it.

I notice Sam sipping away at his cup of tea in the lounge as he reads a document. 

Ryan leans on the entryway and says, “Yo, I brought someone for you.” Ryan gestures at me using his head as Sam turns to look at us.

“Come in,” Sam waves to us to enter.

Ryan doesn’t enter but pats my back instead. I walk in and sit across Sam while greeting him. Aiden seems to be mesmerised by Sam ever since he hears Sam’s voice so he moves to sit properly to which I believe it's because he wants to be able to stare at Sam.

“Is Rick in his office?”

“Yeah, he is. He has been waiting for you,” Whenever Sam speaks relating to business matters, he always sounds proper.

Ryan on the other hand, groans as he rolls his eyes. He then disappears behind the entryway as he goes further back. 

Sam doesn’t mind his rudeness as he watches Ryan leaving without saying anything else to him. He then turns to me and puts down the document in his hand.

“Why are you here today?” Sam asks without changing his tone as much, showing that he’s still unconsciously in business mode.

“I thought I should ask you how’s the progress going on with the orphanage. It’s fine if I’m bothering you.”

Sam shakes his head before replying, “You’re not bothering me. I finished all my work for the day. As for the orphanage, as I said before, everything is progressing fine and your cousin has been giving some advice on the side which is very helpful.”

“My cousin?”

“Yes, Elijah.” Sam appears as if he thought of something. “Have you figured out which major you are applying for university?”

“I would have to graduate before that.” I sheepishly answer.

This time Sam pauses before saying, “Oh, yes. I had just submitted your work review and your school said that all you need is to take a final test. After passing that, you should be able to graduate.”

“Really?” I always feel like I haven’t done enough. 

My family and Abby even made an arrangement with the school to allow me to graduate after gaining extra credit. I suppose the exam is part of the arrangement.

“Yes. I think you can request them to arrange an exam for you around next week. You can also start thinking about what studies you want to continue as well.”

“Ah… Do you have any idea of what studies I should continue?” I haven’t thought this far because I never really had proper education. Learning with Sam is the most educational session ever.

“Well, I can suggest you look up business management if you are interested. You did well with your plan despite not knowing much about it.”

Hearing Sam compliment me makes me blush though in truth Sam helped amend that plan a lot to suit the orphanage's ability to achieve the goals set in it. I thank him in a soft voice for various reasons.

 

Ryan pops in amidst my conversation with Sam.

“Hey, Evan. Could you join me in Rick’s office?”

I turn to him confused but before I can ask, Ryan says to Sam, “Could you please watch over Aiden for a while?”

Sam doesn’t ask much and agrees. It gives me no room to speak anymore as Ryan urges me to get off my bvtt and follow him.

When we walk into the office room, the first thing I see is a mature man in suits behind a desk. He stares seriously at some documents in his hands. The vibe of the room is different compared to the time I saw Sam doing so. This time is much more intense than that.

I realise I’m holding my breath when the sound of the door closing startles me.

At this time, Rick removes his gaze from the papers in his hand and lays them on me instead. “Hello, Luke.” His voice is light and friendly.

This eases the tension in my body. I reply to his greeting with a short “Hello.” He goes back to looking at the document and shuffling through them while picking up the others that are lined up on his desk.

“Hey, come here.” Ryan grabs my hand and takes me to the sofa placed a little further into his office.

His action is smooth and it is only when we sit comfortably that I realise he hasn’t let go. I move my hand away from him easily to which he only gives me a brief indecipherable glance.

I scan around the room and notice that despite having a limited space, every piece of furniture is arranged carefully that gives enough mobility and functionality. 

My evaluation stops when I hear Rick moves away from his desk and places himself on the sofa across from us.

“Let’s see,” Rick says as he shuffles through the stack of papers he has in his hand as he ponders, “Which one should I talk about first?”

“I think the best place to start is the closure behind the kidnapping as it can be explained with the rest,” Ryan voices his opinion to which Rick nods thoughtfully.

Rick shuffles through the papers quickly until he finds the ones he needs and places the rest on his lap so he doesn’t need to carry the heavy stacks as he reads one document.

“So, as for the kidnapping incident involving Luke near the graveyard is due Mr. McKenzie's involvement with the unsolved cartel case.” He pauses as his eyes scans the documents quickly before putting it down to look at me.

“It appears that they are also involved with the cause of your hospitalisation prior to the kidnapping.”

I’m not sure how to react to this information because it means that the people involved in the kidnapping are involved with those things that the previous me took. It’s not a separate incident. I’m not so sure if I’m a target because of my father or because of my previous involvement in those things.

“As for whether or not they know that fact is not verified since the dead can’t talk.”

Rick is about to continue but I cut him off and ask, “They’re dead?”

I turn to Ryan since he’s the only other person that is there with me that day.

“I didn’t do it. The wolves got to them before I did.” Ryan shrugs unremorsefully.

“Wolves…” I wonder if they live there.

“We were unable to obtain autopsy data on their body as it got taken away before any of our people could examine them.” Rick adds another information on them without further explaining because he continues to the next part,

“Mr. McKenzie’s involvement in this matter has definitely put a target on Luke’s back but Luke,” Rick pauses after calling my name and stares at me. “You’re the one that actually got closest to the true mastermind of the cartel.”

“What does that mean?”

“Caine has disclosed that the bespectacled man was the inventor of those devil’s fruit. Though he claims that it has been taken care of by his side.” He says after reading another document from the pile.

“Wait, what?! That’s it?!” Ryan's sudden burst catches me by surprise.

“Yes. That is all the information that he can reveal. The rest remains classified.” Rick calmly responds to Ryan while giving it another glance.

“No! That’s what I meant.” Ryan is about to continue but he glances at me and all of a sudden he closes his mouth and sits back down. “Nevermind. It’s fine. Continue.”

“The case is considered solved and closed.”

Ryan turns away while Rick continues to shuffle through the documents as if searching for any other information.

“That’s it?” I ask since Rick doesn’t say anything a little too long.

“Mr McKenzie has increased his funding to help gather resources required to identify any other groups or individuals that are involved. He is making sure that the effort includes weeding out anyone that is trying to recreate a similar product.

Any other information regarding this matter will not be disclosed,” With that, Rick puts everything back into one pile.

“So… the conclusion of this matter is that… it’s over? Just like that?” I find it hard to believe that this is the end when it comes to that. It feels anticlimactic.

“Your life is no longer in danger. It’s something to celebrate, no?” Rick's words make a lot of sense so I nod out of reflex.

Ryan gets up from his seat and walks out without saying anything. I turn to Rick with a face full of questions.

“Leave him be. He’ll be alright. As for you, although the matter is closed and there is no active threat to your life right now, you still have to be careful. Your father is considered an influential man and it will be inevitable that he gains some enemies along the way.

Are you still involved in that kind of lifestyle?” Rick’s tries to ask lightly out of politeness I believe.

I shake my head and tell him, “No.”

“That’s good. You’ve been through a lot these days but things will slow down now.” 

“Yeah, I hope so.” My voice comes out as a whisper unintentionally.

“Alright. That’s all there is for me to say. Ryan was the one that wanted you to be here to listen to the overall decision that they’ve made regarding this matter. I don’t know what’s going on with you two but it seems like you guys are getting along now. I’m happy to see that.” Rick gets up from his seat and starts walking to his desk.

I move to the door as I thank him.

Before I walk out, Rick adds, “Don’t be shy to hang around the office whenever, okay?”

I reply to him positively with a nod. Then, I walk out of his office and close the door behind me. I find Aiden sitting next to Sam while holding a Rubik's cube at Sam’s desk. Ryan is nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Ryan?” 

Ryan appears as soon as the question leaves my lips.

He approaches us without so much as any expression. Something doesn’t feel right.

“I’ve called Do-Hyun to send you and Aiden back.” Ryan informs me out of the blue. 

“What about you?” He doesn’t even discuss this with me before doing this.

He turns away, not meeting my gaze. “I have some work to do. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

The way he’s acting is making me feel a pain in my heart. He’s making me feel unwanted but I don’t want to argue with him so I mumble an “Okay.” before taking a chair to sit next to Aiden and Sam.

Sam gives me a glance to which I send him a wry smile. He returns it with an understanding smile before continuing his work.

I glance at Ryan who is sitting at his desk minding his own business. He doesn’t even spare any glance at me. He’s so frustrating whenever he’s like this.

Ugh. Whatever.

 

 Disclaimer: The author doesn't support any illegal activities. Everything written here are for this fictional plot progression only.

I edit this chapter while I'm having my migraine and allergies so if you spot any problematic sentence or weird grammar mistake; don't hesitate to comment on it. Also, please don't forget to press the like button as it will help increase my motivation to finish this book.

Plot hole note: If you read this before the older chapter gets edited then you will notice an odd plot involving Evan's studies. I have adjusted that the extra credit project with Sam is actually required for him to graduate instead of repeating a year. So from now on, that is the reason behind the extra credit project he is doing involving the orphanage. I hope this won't confuse you as previous chapters does not specify properly and may have misleading sentences regarding this... It will be readjust and edited on later dates when the novel is marked completed. Thanks for reading ♥

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