Chapter 31 - Pure.
As James and Charlotte arrived back after the long drive, another surprise awaited him. Just like yesterday, Hector was calmly eating at the table.
But now, Hans was there too, casually munching on a piece of toast while James's mother baked something in the background.
"Now you too, Hans?"
He glanced up, still chewing. "What?"
James sighed. "Nothing..."
This house is starting to feel like something straight out of a mafia movie.
Hans finally finished his toast and leaned back slightly. "Congratulations on having a daughter." He gave a rare smile. "You'll be a good father."
James blinked, caught off guard.
"Yes, he will be an amazing one." His mother added with a firm nod.
Charlotte squeezed his hand, smiling up at him. James exhaled, feeling a strange mix of emotions. He wasn't sure whether to be touched or just suspicious of how weirdly supportive everyone was being.
"Go change for something lighter okay?" He said to Charlotte, who nodded and went to her room.
"She's already listening to you, and I can't even get my two-year-old dog to sit." Hector laughed.
James blinked.
Did he just compare a kid to a dog?
Shaking his head, he pulled out a chair and sat down. "Anyway, what's up, Hans?"
Hans took a sip of water before answering. "I wanted to talk to her, but I couldn't." He set his glass down. "There's a suspicious amount of cars going in and out, and she doubled the security."
"Who?" Hector asked, confused.
"Nothing," James waved his hand dismissively. "Stay there for a few days and just leave it."
Hans nodded. "Understood." And then James eyes landed on Hans's wrist, noticing a yellow bracelet.
"What's that?"
He smiled, lifting his hand slightly. "My daughter is getting better, so she made this for me."
"You have a daughter?" James mother asked, surprised.
Hans hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Oh... yeah. She's six years old."
"Why don't you bring her here from time to time? I think Charlotte would be happy to meet her."
His expression darkened slightly, though he still held a faint smile.
"She is very ill and—"
Before he could finish, she quickly stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
Hans was momentarily stunned but slowly returned the hug. "It's alright. Thanks to James, she's getting better every day."
She stepped back, her expression softening. "Really? Then should I bake something for her too? Does she like strawberry cake?"
Hans's smile grew warmer. "Yes, she loves it."
"Okay then, I'll make her one."
"Then make one for Hector's sister too." James said, looking at him. "How is she?"
Hector smiled, briefly touching James's shoulder. "Thanks to you, she's getting everything we couldn't afford."
James's mother turned to Hector, her expression softening. "Your sister?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "She has cancer, but now she's in a private hospital with better doctors and opportunities."
Without hesitation, she stepped toward Hector and pulled him into a long hug. Then, to everyone's surprise, she muttered, "Fuck the government."
The room went silent.
James just stared at her.
"What?" She looked at him, unfazed. "My inhaler went up from forty bucks to one hundred twenty. I can't even imagine how much cancer treatment costs at a private hospital."
"Well, it's expensive." Hector admitted. "But James made sure she got everything she needed."
James's mother turned to him. "So... you paid for them?"
"Yeah."
And James was the last victim of his mother's hug as she stepped to him. "That's my boy..."
"Thanks, Mom, but—" He sniffed the air and glanced toward the oven. "The thing in the oven is almost black..."
She gasped. "Oh, shit!" And rushed to it as the other laughed.
The moment she opened the oven, a wave of smoke puffed out, and she coughed, waving a towel in the air.
"Mom, you might've just invented the first cake that could be used as a weapon."
"Oh, shut up!" she huffed. "It's not completely ruined... just a little crispy."
Jame laughed and got up
"Let's leave her baking."
They all stepped out into the patio.
"So, did you start selling it?" James asked, sitting down on.
Hector exhaled. "I wanted to talk about that. There's a problem, a big one. But I've got good news too."
"Give me the good news first."
Hector sat down, pulling out his phone and swiping through some pictures. He turned the screen to James.
"This is the main family house. We found nothing unusual in it. It's worth maybe a light forty million." He swiped again, showing another image. "Then he has this penthouse—fifteen million. And that's it. No other properties."
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James glanced at the photos, nodding as Hector continued.
"Car-wise, it's mostly armored suvs. We can use those, so I don't think we should sell them." He leaned back. "And then there's the last thing... a helicopter."
James raised an eyebrow. "A helicopter?"
"Yeah."
James leaned back in his chair, his eyes drifting toward the massive garden. Past the tennis court, near the edge of the property, was a helipad. He exhaled. "I mean... we could use that too."
"Then it stays." Hector said, locking his phone.
A brief silence settled before Hector glanced up again. "Should I tell you the bad news now?"
James sighed. "Yeah, go ahead."
"The guys found three storage units... packed with white magic."
James blinked. "Okay... and the problem?"
"The problem." Hector said, tapping his fingers on the table, "is that it's all mixed."
James frowned. He barely understood the process behind white magic, but one thing he knew was that they only sold pure products.
"Wait, we've been selling the pure stuff, and Lucian was too. So what the hell did they mix it with?"
"That's the point. A lot of dealers started cutting it with garbage so they could profit more."
James let out a sharp breath. "Fuck. So they did this without Lucian knowing?"
"Exactly."
He ran a hand through his hair, already feeling the headache coming.
"How much is in those storage units?"
"I'm still waiting for the number." Hector said, swiping on his phone again. "But the pictures they sent... I'd say around seventy million worth."
"This is really fucking bad." James muttered, rubbing his head..
I have seen enough movies and read enough books to know exactly what would happen next.
If Hector sold that mixed product under our name, it would set a dangerous precedent. Other dealers would start cutting their supply too, flooding the streets with garbage. And when the effects weren't the same as pure white magic?
People would take more.
They'd overdose.
They'd die.
James clenched his jaw.
What do we do...?
Then, without hesitation, he stood up.
"Burn it."
Silence.
Hector blinked. "Burn it?"
"Yeah." James said, his voice calm but absolute. "Burn every last bit of it. And make sure people know it was us. I want it clear, we don't sell trash."
I can save life with this...hopefully
Neither Hector nor Hans said a word as James turned and walked back into the house.
They didn't move, didn't even breathe for a second. There was something unsettling about how easily James made that decision.
He wasn't just making decisions.
He was deciding what was right and wrong.
Hector sat still for a moment, his fingers tapping against the table. Then, slowly, he looked at Hans.
"So, this is the first step, huh?" His voice carries a mix of amusement and admiration.
"What do you mean?"
"The first step of his plan to take over the entire country's drug trade."
Hans's eyes widened, his expression shifting from confusion to disbelief. "You're saying... this was all part of James's plan?"
Hector chuckled. "Come on, Hans. Think about it. If we burn it, it sends a message. Not just any message an act of war." His smirk deepened. "They won't take it lightly."
Hans ran a hand through his hair, piecing everything together.
"The funeral..." He whispered, realization dawning on him. He turned to Hector. "There are going to be gangsters from all twelve states."
Hector nodded. "Exactly. And I highly doubt Lucian's men were selling directly to customers. No, they were working with others."
"And if we burn it... we're not just hitting Lucian's men. We're provoking everyone involved."
"Now you're getting it." Hector's grin widened. "They're going to be furious. Because this? This isn't just a simple hit. This is James declaring war on an entire network."
"And do we know who was supposed to receive the shipment?" Hans asked.
Hector shook his head. "Not yet. But Bella's working on the guest list for the funeral. Once we see the names, we'll have a better idea. Someone's bound to come looking for answers." He chuckled darkly. "They'll probably question James..."
A brief silence fell between them. They stared at each other.
And then, suddenly, they both laughed.
"Question him?" Hans scoffed, shaking his head.
Hector wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. "Yeah. I almost feel bad for them." And then in a second Hector's expression turned into something else while knuckeld is hands.
"But we don't just burn it..." He said, his voice low. "We burn the people who mixed it and sold it too."
Hans said nothing. He just stared at him.
"Do what you need to do, but don't do too much, Hector."
"I'll do what's necessary."
Hans didn't respond. He just glanced toward the house then back at Hector.
"Why didn't you mention the other thing?" He asked, his voice quieter now.
Hector glanced at him. "What thing?"
"The six bodies. The ones found stuffed in black bags. In a trash can. Near Lucian's house. They were all once his men."
Hector sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah... they came at me, saying they were still part of the 'family.' I told them, real nice, that the family is no longer. And guess what? They didn't like that." He let out a dry chuckle. "Next thing I know, they're pointing guns at me. It was self-defense."
Hans just stared at him, then slowly shook his head. "Hector... one of them was shot thirty-two times."
He tilted his head, lips curling into a small, amused smile.
"...Okay, maybe I went a little overboard."
"A little?"
"Hey, they pulled first."
"That doesn't explain thirty-two bullets."
"My finger slipped."
Hans raised a brow. "Yeah? And while slipping, you changed the magazine?"
Silence.
"We should get to work." Hectors stood up still smiling.
Hans watched him go, then muttered to himself, "This guy...."
Inside, James was leaning against the counter, casually watching his mother finish baking.
"We're leaving, James." Hector said with a smirk, waving a hand.
James glanced at them.
"Oh, Hans, wait a bit." And rushed after him, holding out a key. "Here, I'm giving you back the car key."
Hans glanced at it but shook his head. "I don't need it. They'd notice me immediately if I used that car. I'm using my own."
James chuckled. "A real spy, huh?"
Hans smirked. "Something like that."
With that, he turned and walked out, leaving James watching after him with a small smile.
Then Charlotte suddenly sniffed the air. "Something burnt?"
James burst out laughing while his mother turned to her.
"It's my new technique to make a really good strawberry cake." His mother declared proudly.
James smirked, shaking his head, but then his eyes landed on her outfit.
"Charlotte, when I said to change into something lighter, I didn't mean pajamas."
She looked down at her soft bunny-print pajamas, then back up at him. "But... it's light and comfy."
James sighed. "You know we still have things to do, right?"
She blinked. "Really?"
"Really."
Charlotte stared at him for a second, then nodded. "Okay! Then I'll change."
James gestured toward the stairs. "Go on, then."
"Okay!" Then she turned and ran off like a bunny.
His mother stated at them smiling and when Charlotte disappeared he locked eyes with James.
"Don't forget that he is your daughter now..."
"What do you mean?"
"She's seven years old, James. That means school, doctor checkups, and everything else a "single" father should handle. Even if you're just her adopted father, all of that is on your shoulders now."
"Oh..."
"Yeah."
Before he could respond, Charlotte came back, now wearing a white strappy dress.
"What?" She asked as James just starred at her.
"I just realized... you're my daughter."
Charlotte beamed, her eyes shining with excitement. "Yeah, I am, Daddy! But where are we going?" She tilted her head curiously.
"To buy a casket."
"James!" Her mother's voice snapped like a whip, sharp and filled with disbelief.
But before she could say anything more, Charlotte simply smiled. "It's okay." Then, without hesitation, she grabbed James's hand and tugged him toward the door. "Let's go."
James let her lead the way, while her mother stood frozen, watching them disappear outside, her heart caught somewhere between worry and something she couldn't quite name.