Chapter 16: Returned Gift
"What were you able to gather?"
Jark was seated in his private workspace, his hand massaging his temple slowly with his eyes closed.
"From what I gathered, boss, he’s just a pawn being used. He has no actual identity, but he was able to blend in as a mole, acting like one of the media personnel in the mansion. And yes, I had asked the guards who were in charge, and they told me that he carried an ID with him, and it was verified. From everything I have gathered, I think he’s working for them."
A little evil grin crawled up Jark’s lips.
"It’s been long since I had fun, right?"
"I don’t understand, boss."
"What do you think?" Jark asked again.
"I think he’s working for them. The picture was used to verify your exact location. They already knew we were in Washington DC, but were not sure of our exact location, meaning there is a mole at the airport."
Thompson pointed out his findings to Jark, who was already smiling. The smile should have been warm, but instead it was filled with killing intent.
"I figured all that already. I just needed to confirm something. And also, I have a gift for her. After all, I have to return the car tour she gave me."
"What car tour?" Thompson asked, confused.
"Don’t worry. Track him. He’s still in the city. As for the mole at the airport, leave him for now. I will make use of him in the future."
"Okay."
Thompson nodded as he picked up another file.
"The business in..."
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Even Jark, whose eyes were shut, looked toward the door.
Just then, the door was pushed open, and the old lady walked in.
"Grandma."
Jark called out to her. His icy aura reduced to zero degrees, and that was whenever it came to the old lady.
"You are still working this late. Dinner will soon be served."
The old lady said, looking around the room until her eyes landed on Thompson for a few seconds, making the hairs on his neck stand as he wondered what he had done wrong. The old lady finally returned her gaze to Jark, and Thompson quickly breathed out.
Jark understood that the old lady wouldn’t come all the way from her room just to invite him for dinner because her eyes carried unknown words.
"Thompson, take these files and make eight copies of each."
He pointed to some random files on the table.
Thompson quickly understood that the boss needed privacy. He just nodded his head, took the files, and walked out of the room.
"Grandma, you didn’t come here just to invite me for dinner, right?" Jark asked, raising an eyebrow at the old lady, with a cunning smile spread across his lips.
Smack!
The old lady used her walking stick to hit him on the back, causing Jark to jump out of the chair.
"Spoilt brat. You think you know me so well, huh?"
The old lady asked as she sat down on Jark’s chair.
"Grandma, don’t tell me you came all the way here to beat me up."
He asked, rubbing his back lightly.
"No need to act all pitiful. I didn’t hit you that hard."
The old lady rolled her eyes at him.
"Grandma, you don’t seem energetic today. Are you okay?" Jark asked as he noticed that her aura had dropped, even though she acted playfully.
"How will I be energetic when my grandson can’t uphold honesty and justice?"
"Grandma, what are you saying now? You mean I’m unjust?" Jark asked as he walked closer to the old lady’s side.
"Nothing. All I have to say is that you shouldn’t protect shadows, but learn to protect the future as well as the present, because the shadow will always remain a shadow."
The old lady said, her eyes fixed on the golden words crafted on her walking stick.
"Grandma, some shadows can’t be forgotten."
Jark said, his face cast to the ground.
The old lady couldn’t help but facepalm.
"I’m not talking about your past, fool. It’s about Kathe, your wife, and Rhea, your childhood friend. Use my first words to think about it deeply and learn who should come first in your life. I’m heading to the dining room now. Do well to join us soon. Also, Kathe didn’t get kidnapped or lost. She had ladies’ trouble, so I had a cab take her to the superstore to get ladies’ stuff."
She stood up and strolled out of the room majestically with her walking stick.
Jark scoffed at the old lady’s last words, ’lady stuff.’ Remembering what had happened earlier between him and Kathe in the room, a smirk curled on his lips.
He already knew that the old lady would find out about Kathe’s pool accident, but he didn’t expect it to be that soon.
The old lady found Thompson waiting outside the hallway.
"If you are done with your fake copies, you can now go inside. Your boss is waiting for you."
Embarrassment crept to Thompson’s face, and he didn’t even know what to say. As he was about to go inside, the old lady’s voice stopped him halfway.
"I can see why your boss behaves like you. I think it’s high time you got married, Thompson. You don’t want to get married at an old age, when you won’t even be able to ejaculate."
With her final words, she walked out of the hallway with a satisfied smirk on her lips.
Thompson’s mouth was left open, and his face was already red from hearing the old lady’s words. He quickly pushed the door open and walked inside.
The second he stepped inside, just looking at his face, Jark already knew that his grandma had said something venomous to Thompson to make him look like that. He knew how spiteful his grandmother’s words could be, but he didn’t want to dwell on that.
"We can talk about business tomorrow, but for now, I need you to do something for me."
The following morning, at an unknown location:
"Who sent it?" the lady with masks asked.
"We don’t know, boss, but it stated that it’s for you."
She waved her hand to one of her minions to open the boxes.
When the box was opened, the first thing that caught everyone’s attention was a cut-off finger and toes that were found in it, with a camera placed in the middle.
Under it was an envelope. The masked lady bent down and took out the envelope. When she opened it, some pictures fell out. Without picking them up, she recognized who was in them. It was the person she had ordered to take photos of Jark and Kathe so that she could keep track of their location.
She bent down to pick up one of the photos. In it, the man was sitting on an electric chair under a single bulb, his fingers and toes cut off.
She turned the photo over and found words written with blood on it.
"Thanks for the road tour earlier. This is my return gift, and I hope you like it. I’m hoping for more return gifts in the future." with a laughing emoji at the end.
She clenched her hands tightly and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Burn the box and its contents."
She walked out of the room angrily.
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