Chapter 45: Ending the Mess

A week has passed since the exchange with the Viper duo. There’s still no news about the mystery girl. Gus and some of the other leaders seemed to have disappeared into thin air as well. Chad had tightened the security where Hank and Cecilia were kept respectively in case of intrusion.

The week passed without any major event. It was so quiet, it made him uneasy. It felt like the calm before the storm. Just as the unease in his heart grew, a man rushed in. “H.. H.. Hank..” he tried catching his breath while pointing at the direction of the dungeon.

Not wasting another second, Chad rushed out of the room towards the dungeon. As he neared the entrance, men could be seen lying unconscious on the floor. He looked around. It seemed that everyone in the clubhouse had gone to sleep. Two of them were the only ones awake in the whole building.

He looked at the man who came to get him. “What happened?” He lowered his voice. “I came back from patrol early and saw this. I hadn’t checked the dungeon..”

Chad stopped him. “Be careful. Cover your mouth. I suspect the use of gas.”

Covering their nose and mouth, they descended carefully. He half expected the space to be empty as Hank would’ve already escaped.

What greeted him wasn’t anything he expected. His men laid unconscious on the floor. The door to the cell was wide open. Hank was dragged out of the cell. The blood trail confirmed it. His condition wasn’t looking good. He sat leaning against the grills of the cell, struggling for breath. A girl stood beside him. She was exactly what Cecilia described. She looked confused as she faced a figure standing with their back to the entrance.

“What do you mean?” She asked. One of her hands grabbed Hank by the shirt while the other was pointing a knife at him but her full attention was on the person standing some distance away from her.

“Sammy?” The man beside Chad blurted out, alerting them. The person in front of them turned, revealing herself. She had short, blond hair, which was covered with the hood she wore. She looked like she’s in her forties. A smug smile formed on her face. “Look at who decided to join the party.”

“Tell me you’re kidding. What do you mean? Explain!” Stacy’s voice pulled their attention back to her. The woman walked briskly towards a chair at the corner. She took her time sitting down and flashed a smile at Stacy. “Deny all you want, but that’s the truth. You’re not my daughter.”

Stacy was confused. She loosen her grip on Hank’s shirt for a second before gaining her composure. She grabbed the man by the shirt, pulling him up a little. “What about him? You’ve always told me that he’s my father. Was that a lie as well?” Hank looked at the woman across the room. She smiled, seemingly giddy.

She stood up and walked towards them. She bent down so that she came face to face with the man. “Do you want to know the truth? The girl you’ve denied your whole life, is she related to you by blood?” Her smile was so broad, it was heard from the tone of her voice.

Hank coughed. He spit some blood on the floor. Then, he smiled weakly, revealing his bloody teeth. “She’s not,” he breathed.

The woman laughed out loud. She slapped him softly, as she met his eyes. “Joke on you. She’s your daughter. She’s your flesh and blood. The one you denied your whole life!” She started laughing like a maniac. “Do you know how much she suffered because of your denial? She’s your daughter you had with your beloved. I swapped her with my twins right after birth. You’ve sent your daughter away. Who knows how much she’d suffered all this while?”

Tears streamed down Stacy’s face. “Mom! Stop spouting nonsense. They did something to you, didn’t they? You can tell me. I will help you. I’ll kill them all..” The woman stood up, smiling as she faced Stacy. “Kill him then, would you?” She pointed at Hank.

Stacy grabbed the knife tighter. She started to second guess everything. “Why? He sold you to the syndicate when you were nine. Don’t you hate him?” The woman pushed. Stacy’s dilemma grew. Her hand holding the knife started to shake from the intensity of her grasp.

Hank remained motionless as he looked over at the girl pointing the knife at him. She closed her eyes and took two deep breaths. When she opened her eyes, she faced the woman. “I was about to do that. I was about to end his life for I thought you were..,” she paused in between, not wanting to finish the sentence. “You want him dead, don’t you? I was about to do that for you. You can simply rest and watch. Why do you appear out of nowhere and say all of these?”

The women scoffed. She looked over at Hank. “Death is too lenient for him. I want him to suffer. I want him to feel everything before his death. I want him to know that it’s his real daughter that ended his life.”

“Who.. who is my real mother? What happened to her?” Stacy’s eyes started darting around, trying to find the point of her focus. “No.. you’re making this up to anger him. There’s.. I’m.. I’m..” she started losing grip. Slowly, she turned to face Hank. She shook him angrily. “Say something!”

Hank looked over at the woman. “Mariana.. Mariana Celeste Vale.”

The woman’s eyes widen at the mention of her real full name. “How..”

“I know everything about you, woman,” Hank said calmly, “I’m aware of everything you’ve done up till now.”

The woman was utterly surprised. “How.. but.. why?”

“I sincerely apologize for everything my family did to yours, Mariana Vale. I believe I owe the Vale family for what mine did. I am willing to shoulder the sins of my older generation," Hank was nothing but sincere when he said those words. “So, I beg of you, to end everything, all the family disputes at my death. The generational revenge has gone on for far too long. Let it all end at ours.”

Mariana was speechless. She stood on the spot, not sure of what to say. She had hated the man and his family for as long as she could remember and suddenly, she’s seeing him in a new light.

Saying what he had to, Hank turned his attention back to Stacy. “You’re not my daughter. I’ve never had any children. I didn’t want this chaos to pass on. That’s why I didn’t want any.” Stacy blinked, trying to judge the truth behind his words.

“Would you be kind enough to end it?” Hank requested. “I’m sorry you were caught in this mess.”