Counting Stars ✓

twenty-seven

Rune waited anxiously by the door after hearing Rose's words. The door clicked open, and in walked King who had looked at him with mixed emotions of surprise and guilt.

"King!" Rune exclaimed in relief. He rushed over to get answers out of the boy, who had been missing for a couple of days, and was met with a hug.

He froze, letting himself be hugged as he breathed in the soft scent of coffee coming from the boy. He hadn't realized just how restless he truly has been until the very moment the boy was in his arms.

Pulling away to meet Rune's eyes, King still held on slightly. "I'm sorry," he apologized, leaning in towards Rune's hand that reached out to trace his face. "You had me worried," Rune scolded. "Don't ever leave like that again."

King nodded, leaning in to kiss him. The moment he left to stay elsewhere to clear his mind, he had wanted nothing more than to run back into Rune's embrace, but he knew it would break his motive to investigate his mother.

After locking himself up in the condo he borrowed from his sister, he began to dig up everything he could about his mother.

Every little detail and information he found, he would forward it onto a drive, and send another copy to his sister's burner phone. They both knew better than to send it through emails, or their regular contact.

It disgusted them so much to find out what they had. Kaew had broken down and cried at some point, needing a couple of hours to calm herself down once more before she could proceed to go through what he had found.

Their mother was a monster who needed to be locked away, and everyone who had been her victim needed to be compaststed. They had set up several lists for all the people they needed to find justice for, and what exactly was required.

But everytime they thought they completed the list, another victim would appear. The most horrendous thing on the list, however, that would surely lock her away for good was the situation with their grandparents.

It had been over ten years since their grandparents passed in an airplane accident and the title as the head of the family was passed to their mother.

After tracking them down, they realized their mother indeed was the one responsible for causing the 'accident' to occur, for she promised the pilot she would help his family get out of a long-term debt, as well as continue to support them financially if he committed suicide while they were in the air.

But like the situation with the rest of the people she used, she never would come through with her side of the deal. And if they attempted to do anything, she would end them.

Most often she would use people who were in some sort of financial crisis, knowing very well they would never have the money and power to get back at her. It had taken King a great effort to stop Kaew from making her way to their mother when they researched her recent activities.

Their mother had paid Leo's family a large sum of money to have them agree to the engagement. She also promised they would own fifty-percent of the company once the two got married.

But like all the other cases, she did not like to keep her side of the deal, and set up a stage for Leo to have an affair with the daughter of her older sister - their cousin, Dia.

King had been confused at first, of course with certain events that took place. Such as why his mother would hire his own relatives to beat him.

But Rose calculated Alice wanted to show him once more how much authority she had. By having him beat would give her an excuse to be angry, and therefore take away something he genuinely enjoyed - charity work.