chapter127-stay calm

Lucca pov

In July, while I was in a cold war with Vincent over the issue of studying abroad, Rino sent me an email.

"Meet me at Diamond Pier tomorrow morning at seven, and if you don't come, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

I didn't want to go.

Rino had been increasingly obsessed with death metal recently and was speaking in a wild and eccentric manner.

However, when I saw the words "regret it for the rest of your life," I thought I should at least take a look from a distance.

The next morning, a thin morning mist hung over the harbor.

An outrageously large cruise ship was docked by the water, and Rino stood at the bow, waving to me arrogantly.

Behind him were the band members, dressed in bizarre outfits, covered in tattoos, and adorned with sparkling ornaments in every conceivable piercing.

"Get on board! I'm taking you away!" Rino shouted loudly.

I stood below the ship, not even comprehending what was happening.

Impatient, Rino descended from the deck, exclaiming, "Come on! I'm taking you out of the pack!"

"What are you talking about..." I was dumbfounded.

"I'm not crazy!" Rino shouted angrily. "I just want you to accept my apology!"

His thousands of hours of community service had not been in vain.

He had gotten to know many people from the lower echelons of society and had finally understood some truths that had eluded him before.

In a moment of realization, he understood that what I needed was not a diamond ring but the power to live as a "person."

"Let's go," Rino pushed me toward the ladder. "Hurry up; I have a feeling my father will find out I've returned to the country soon."

I was still a bit slow to react.

Rino pulled me up and explained, "You know about that extradition case in the first half of the year, right? The black-haired stowaways in the Republic of the Pack gained legal status. I think you can too. Anyway, just leave here for now, and anything is possible."

His transformation was too sudden and difficult for me to comprehend.

"Wait... I've never prepared to leave."

"What preparations do you need to leave? You just need to step out! Stop dawdling!"

Rino half-dragged, half-pulled me, trying to get me on the ship.

"Let go!" I broke free from him.

Rino was somewhat shocked. "You really aren't coming?"

Rino didn't understand what his father had used to keep me here—money, power, or the love that still had about twenty years left on its shelf life.

"I didn't stay for Vincent," I rubbed my wrist. "I stayed for those who can't leave."

"Leaving" is simple; you just need to take that step. Many people can't even do that. So, I can only stay here. Teach them to read, ensure they have enough to eat, keep them healthy, and then send them away at the right time.

If I graduate, have a good job, climb a bit higher in society, maybe I can do more.

I can resist the Fourth Amendment, support the opposition in the Pack, use the media to make more people hear the voice of the rogues.

I can even sue the slave camps and make them gradually disappear. I have to stay. Fleeing to the Republic of the Pack may have kept me safe, but it wouldn't make me free.

Once I'm away from the Pack, the shadow of my suffering brethren will always hang over me, making me restless.

"But..." I pondered.

"But?" Rino asked.

I thought for a moment. "Maybe if I first go to the Republic of the Pack, hide indirectly, and then return to the Pack under a different identity, that could work."

"You agreed? Then let's go..."

A sudden screeching of brakes behind me interrupted. I saw the tension in Rino's eyes.

"Where do you want to go?" Raffle's voice came from behind us.

Rino cursed, "Damn it, did you put a tracker on me?"

"It's just the twin connection," Raffle smiled.

I turned around and saw Raffle getting out of the car. He was dressed in a sharp suit with a wolf's head emblem on the lapel, and he held a short cane similar to his father's in his hand. His gentle and delicate curls framed a calm yet cold gaze.

"Come back with me, Lucca," he extended his hand to me.

I noticed his pure white silk gloves. He was deliberately or inadvertently emulating his father, which indeed put a lot of pressure on Rino.

"Why can't you turn a blind eye to this?" Rino said angrily, pushing me aside.

I leaned towards the ladder, grasping the railing. Just as I reached it, I heard cries of alarm from the band members above.

"Don't move!"

"Rino, be careful!"

"Please, stay calm!"

Their panicked shouts froze me in place. There was complete silence behind me. Slowly, I turned around, my neck stiff.

Behind me, Raffle aimed a gun at Rino. His hand was steady, his gaze followed the dark barrel of the gun, pointing it at his twin brother ten paces away.

I had no doubt that he would shoot, and shoot accurately.

Rino was like a wild, cornered felid ready to pounce.

"Raffle..." Rino spoke slowly, trying not to provoke him but not mincing words, "If you think that by taking her back, she'll become yours, then you're utterly foolish. In reality, you're just gaining proximity to her under Father's protection."

This was a lesson taught to Rino by Vincent himself. The day Rino brought me to the Sky Garden Restaurant, their father had been furious.

Later, he told Rino that the reason he had allowed him to be so reckless was that he had given him this power. If he took it back, Rino would never be able to touch even a fraction of me again.

In the end, I was forever Vincent's personal property on this land.

Who truly possessed whom among the two of them remained a moot point. But ultimately...

"It's not your turn, Raffle," Rino said coldly.

Raffle remained unfazed. I could see the stormy gray-blue in his eyes. He stepped forward, pressing the gun against Rino's chest.

"Now, go back to the Pack quietly, and we can pretend like none of this ever happened," Raffle calmly stated.

Rino taunted, "What if I don't? Are you going to tattle on me to Father like a good little boy? Pathetic."

Raffle lowered the gun. Just as we all collectively breathed a sigh of relief, we heard a loud "bang." Rino clutched his leg and crouched down.

I jumped down from the ladder and helped him up.

There was no blood on his leg; the bullet had grazed his toe and hit the ground before splintering elsewhere.

Before Rino could stand up, his brother had already pressed the searing-hot muzzle against his forehead.

"Feeling calmer now?" Raffle asked calmly.

I immediately stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. His skin was as cold as a snake's.

I calmly said, "I understand, and I'll go back with you."

There were innocent people on this entire ship apart from Rino.

"Let go," Raffle said, lowering his gaze.

I released his hand, and he retracted the gun. Rino immediately lunged and punched him in the face.

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Then, I saw the two of them entangled in a fight.