In His Arms

Chapter 41

When I wake up the next morning, I realise even though everything is blurry to me since I don't have my glasses on that I am alone in bed and Eugene's side is cold, signifying that he has been awake for some time already. Sliding off of his bed, I suck in a quick breath when my feet touch the cold marble floor. Noting that the entire mansion is air-conditioned, I quickly tiptoe over the floor to his chest of drawers where I take out a pair of black socks.

With my feet covered, I head out of his room in search of food, not that I'm hungry I just don't know what else to do after waking up in the morning since I no longer have a baby or a job to rush to tend to. Asking a passing maid...well, at least, I think the blurry shadow of a maid...for directions to the dining room, her figure trembles in fear as she struggles coherently to give me the answer to my question.

"I-It's down t-the stairs...t-to your right...there's a...a large door," she stutters, trembling before me as she points in the direction.

"Oh, ok," I smile softly at her nervousness, taking a few steps in the direction her finger is pointed. "Thanks. Oh, by the way, you don't have to be so scared of me."

Taking her silence for acceptance, I begin walking in the direction she gave me but her soft voice stops me in my tracks.

"But you are the boss's woman..."

Grinding my teeth against each other, I push down the urge to turn around and wring her neck. There is no underlying meaning to Eugene bringing me here other than the fact that I have nowhere else to go. It is ridiculous that till today the help still gossips about who's the boss's woman.

Stopping short of entering the dining room, I take in a few deep breaths to try to cool down my simmering temper, if I were my normal self, I wouldn't have gotten so angry with her statement but because of last night's events...I'm on the edge.

 Striding into the dining room to see who I think is Eugene and his father sitting on a circular dining table with their backs facing me, their heads bent towards each other, deep in a slightly heated conversation.

"Dad, it's Carter Logans," Eugene answers his father gravely as he puts something down. "Alastora's been silent ever since we left the hotel."

"Would you rather I scream and cry about being caught with a gun in my hand and four bodies at my feet by my fiance?" I ask him rhetorically as I feel my way to sit on the empty seat next to Eugene, grabbing what I think is a dough fritter off of the plate in front of me. "You're right though. It was Carter Logans. It took me a while but he's been fucking with my head and playing with me for the last three days."

"What?" Mr Lee and Eugene say in unison both standing at my words.

"I think I've taken too long a break, don't you think so, Mr Lee?" I hum, tearing the head of the dough fritter and popping the piece into my mouth. Yeah..thank god it is a dough fritter..."When I was younger, people knew not to mess with me, however, it's clear that Logans didn't get the message ten years ago despite his headquarters exploding."

"Then what do you want to do about it, Alastora?" Eugene asks lowly, sitting back down slowly as I pop another ripped piece of dough fritter into my mouth.

"I want to bring him down," I respond casually, chewing my food. "Little by little. I'll start by cutting off his child trafficking supply then work my way on from there. I estimate that I'll be able to tear down the Sangue Nero syndicate in three months."

A brief moment of silence follows my strategy as both men stare at me in...awe? Shock? I can't tell since I can't exactly see them clearly and the fact that the two of them are after all the past and present leader of a section of an infamous crime syndicate adds to my inability to guess their facial expressions.

Three months may not be very long but I want to get this done and over with as soon as possible so that I can return to my old life...well, at least what I can salvage of my old life.

And Alexander? My subconscious probes me, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. What about Danny?

I'm doing this for them. I respond softly, not meeting her eyes. Do you think that Logans is satisfied just by outing me in front of all those people last night? No, that was just the beginning. He'll go after Alexander or Danny next. I can't have them suffer for my mistakes.

"I'm not going to force you into helping me," I add when neither of them makes a move to say anything, looking between the two men conscientiously. "But with the Triads' help, I'll be able to narrow down the number of orphans that are being sold, kidnapped and enslaved in China faster than I would alone."

Rolling his eyes at me, Mr Lee whacks his son over the head, exclaiming, "Why do you keep quiet? We help 小蝴蝶(Little Butterfly). You help, 小蝴蝶(Little Butterfly)! Under-a-stand, 臭小子(rotten child)?"

"Dad, it's impossible to bring down a crime organisation in three months!" Eugene protests, stabbing his finger into the table. "Not only will we have to trace down and close the small operations, but there are also over three thousand orphanages in China alone with more than six million orphans. What are the chances that they even keep a record of the children there much less their foster parents?"

"You really 没用 (useless)," Mr Lee huffs, glaring at his son. "You think I let them not keep the recording? They no keep, I kill they family. I got record. You 笨蛋 (stupid) boy. 小蝴蝶(Little Butterfly) say she want 减少(lessen) number children sold not 完全(all) stop selling. She wants to play with him. Make him go 发疯(crazy)."

Moving my head in the directions that their voices are coming from as though I'm watching a ping pong match, I pause mid-chew at Mr Lee's last two sentences because it throws me off a little for him to know what I want despite me having not been active since my adoption ten years ago.

"I'll give Regan Hu Luo Wei, Noah Qiao Meng Jiao and Jared Liew Young Kang a call," Eugene sighs, pushing back his chair. "We might as well get started now. I'll have my guys get your things from your hotel room, especially your glasses. I'll also have Ah Buo make some fake passports and a list of orphanages in contact with Sangue Nero while I'm at it. You have a lot of work to do, Alastora Ootori but first I need to get you your sight back. After all, you will be the sideman of the meeting as well."

The meeting? A shaky but thankful smile forms on my lips at his words to which his shadow shakes his head disapprovingly at me before heading out of the dining room. Turning my attention back to my quarter-eaten dough fritter, I find that I am no longer hungry.

At least, not for food.