Chapter 53: Related by Blood

“Don’t,” Hank’s calm voice echoed down the hall. Chad arched an eyebrow at him. “So you care for your woman and fake children after all.”

“That woman is crazy. I hope you have her under control. If this piece of information ever reached her, you never knew what she might do,” he explained. The serious expression on his face was more than enough to confirm he wasn’t joking.

Nelly looked over at Jack with a very confused expression. He bent down to whisper “Cecilia’s mother” to her, as though he was translating a foreign language in a business meeting.

Chad smirked. “Gus and the rest of your men are still alive, aren’t they?” He finally dropped the bomb. He faced Hank with the steady gaze of a gang leader facing his opponent. His eyes were identical to the ones of a predator seizing its prey. The only difference was the person in front of him wasn’t a prey. He’s a predator.

Tension in the air was obvious. Jack straightened, on alert. Nelly felt the shift in the surroundings. She didn’t know what happened then, but it was very uncomfortable that she unconsciously took a small step back.

Hank was first to break the tension. The subtle shift in his stance showed that he had no intention to face the situation in a hard way. However, taking that step back wasn’t a submission. It’s stemming from mutual interest. “I bet they are,” he said casually, as if agreeing that the weather was great.

Chad remained wary. His calculating gaze remained on the man. “Stacy’s mother,” Hank said, “is Gus’s cousin.” Everyone was quiet as they processed the information.

“Who’s Stacy?” Jack broke the silence.

“Sammy,” the name sounded foreign on his tongue. “Her previous name,” Hank added. Jack gasped, genuinely surprised. “They are actually related?”

Hank simply nodded. “They aren’t close. In fact, they are on the opposite sides of the family dispute.” He looked around, observing and waited for the information to sink in before continuing, “their family is well-known for tech inventions. Really good around equipment.”

Jack’s eyes lit up at the new information. “No wonder Sammy is so good. She can practically come up with something impossible using limited materials,” he beamed as he praised her for the umpteenth time.

A proud smile formed on Hank’s face. It was short lived. The smile vanished as his eyes landed on Chad. His expression was dead serious. “The skill runs in the family.”

Those simple words sounded like he was replying to Jack’s idle chatter, but in fact, he was hinting at something dangerous. Chad understood the implication behind it.

He stuck his hands in his pocket, relaxing into a casual stance. “It’s refreshing to hear that from you,” Chad’s tone came out as casual as his stance.

“Adapting to my new role,” Hank replied with the same tone as they walked away, leaving two confused figures behind. “Since when are they on such good terms?” Jack mumbled. He shook his head in disbelief.

Nelly blinked at the leaders before peeking at Jack. “Were they on bad terms?” She tested the water. Jack huffed an amused laugh. He looked at Nelly’s innocent round eyes before his glinting with barely contained mischief.

“Do you know who that man is?” His voice dropped to a whisper as he lowered his body, as if telling a huge secret. Nelly leaned forward with interest, dropping her voice to match his whisper. “Who? Isn’t he Sammy’s friend?”

Jack almost laughed at the absurdity of the statement. “Is that what they told you?” His hands made a ‘what-the-fuck’ gesture. Nelly nodded unceremoniously.

“Yeah. That’s her friend,” Jack nodded, as if accepting the new information that was decided. He walked towards the direction the leaders went with unhurried big strides. Nelly blinked before running after him. “Hey! What’s it?”

“Nothing!” Jack’s voice was cheerful and mischievous. “Tell me!”

“Lalalalalalala! Tell me baby~”

“Hahaha! Don’t sing me off! Tell me..”

Their voices faded out as they disappeared down the corridor, laughing and hitting each other playfully.

A figure stepped out from the shadow, glaring at the direction they went, eyes narrowed and fists balled tightly.

Will stood in front of the room. His eyes were fixed on the closed doors. The two guards at each side of the door took a step forward. “No can do, man,” one of them said. “I’ll stay here, then,” Will’s voice came out soft. The other guard shook his head. “C’mon, man. Don’t make our work hard. Nobody can enter unless..”

“Unless authorized.” They turned simultaneously to see Zalen walking towards them. He stood beside Will, studying him intently. Something in his eyes made Zalen softened. He turned to the guards. “He’s clear. Let him in.”

The guards exchanged worried glances. “But Chad said..” one of them began but Zalen stopped them. “Chad is busy right now. I authorize it. The consequences are on me.” The men took in his firmness. It was true that the second-in-command did have the authority to give command when the leader was away.

Slowly, they stepped back, clearing the path between Will and the door.

Zalen nudged Will. “Go ahead,” he said, silently encouraging the man.

Will swallowed. He nodded at Zalen before stepping forward and knocked on the door. A few beats past but there wasn’t any reply. He held his hand up to knock again. “Stacy,” he called out. He was once again greeted with silence. Not even movements were heard from inside the room.

He looked at the guards with a questioning glance. “Just enter. She won’t react to you,” one of them said plainly. Will felt his heartbeat sped up a little.

“Are you in there? It’s.. it’s Willy.” He called out again, trying to stiffen a flinch at the glances at the mention of his nickname. He waited for a while before adding, “I’ll enter now, Stacy.”

There’s no answer. Cautiously, he pushed the door open. His eyes immediately fell on the figure in the corner of the room. She didn’t as much as acknowledge him.

Slowly, he closed the door and inched forward to the center of the room. He could feel an invisible hand squeezing his heart as he looked at her.

She was still the same. Exactly the same as she was years back. He would find her squatting in a corner of the storage room, trying to disappear into the wall as she rested her chin on her knees. Only back then, her eyes were red-rimmed and sad. Now, they were.. dead.

“What did they do again?” The familiar line rolled off his tongue, thick with emotion.