Chapter 57

It was Violetta, just like I thought.

I didn't have a password on my phone, and she could've simply deleted it. She as well had someone who hacked my pc back then, and yet this message stayed.

I bit my lip.

I wanted it to be a lie when I saw her a couple of hours ago.

And so I owed this life of mine to someone I wronged. Succumbing to my desires as I covered my actions by the world I was in.

Yet the debt of gratitude must be paid. And how should I do this?

What can I even do to change this whole situation?

I must think hard.

The weight of my actions felt much heavier than I initially thought. The more of them kept catching up with me, the shittier I felt.

"Bloody hell, won't you please gather your sorry ass!?" slapping myself twice, I plugged my phone back to the charger.

"Whatever happened, happened, didn't you said this yourself!? Now I must look into Reid."

As this old pc finally started, I started browsing the internet. Everything was lying on the surface. A couple of links downward, and here it is, Reid's page on the fighterpedia.

And here is his photo in the corner of the screen, smiling at me. Clenching my teeth, I felt anger, so I scrolled downward in search of his relatives.

Reid Jones is the son of Oswald Jones and Vlada Morozova.

Clicking on the few links, I opened up two pages containing the info about his parents.

First is Oswald Jones. There was a small photo of him in the corner. Short brown hair combed back strictly. His chin was wide, and he was shaven cleanly. His nose was straight. His eyebrows were trimmed carefully, looming over his eyes. He had a pair of deep-set brown eyes. They were rather small and looked like the eyes of the shark. Seeing him, he looked so much like Reid that it made me want to punch him in the face. Enduring this urge, I started reading.

Born in the xx years, he quickly decided on his course of action and went into politics. Having close to zero connections, he struggled with gaining a promotion. He married an unnamed woman, but after a few years, he filed a divorce. He started getting major success after marrying Vlada Morozova.

After working as a small-scale bureaucrat for almost all of his career, this wedding was life-changing. He immediately started skipping whole sections of steps leading upward, reaching higher and higher up. In the end, gaining massive support, being nominated by a political party named 'Progressive Labor Party,' he won the election to become the mayor of Kibryn.

It must be known that Kibryn being one of the largest cities in the whole Wagria, held tones of influence. Becoming the mayor opened up a lot of choices for him to get to even higher positions.

Scrolling down, I saw that He had a few achievements. He was even awarded by a president. The most prominent was, of course, different types of awards for the lengthy service and so on. But there were as well a couple awards for 'reaching a quality new level of security.' Reading this, I scrunched up my face.

Has two sons and a daughter.

That was honestly bad. It was only scratching the surface, and it was already that bad. Politics was a murky land wherever you lived, so he probably had his hands stained in many shady dealings.

Vlada Morozova. She kept the surname of her father.

"Wow, her surname does speak for her."

She had an impassive yet strict face. Her long hair was whitish in color. They were gathered in a bun, so tight that there was not a single strand of hair going out of place. Her lips were bluish pale, while her greek nose was accompanied by a pair of hooded eyes. They were red in color. Small sharp chin and neatly trimmed eyebrows that were turning white closer to the end.

Born in xx years, she was the sole successor of her parent's small company. After finishing her university studies early, she went to take control of the company. In the first few years, the company started to grow. But she still struggled to find her footing, as her parents were getting in her way after seeing the growth. The final secession happened when she married Oswald Jones. This decision was monumental as her company started growing like mushrooms after the rain. Marrying him, she took full control of the company in a few months, and her parents were sent to the countryside. Soon the scope of her company started spreading across the whole Wagria. As she stated, her goal is to become the second company from Wagria after Sobol Enterprise to break into the world's market. Looking down, I suddenly saw the name "Carrin's Spire, Resort & Spa." After a few minutes, I finally remembered that it was the high-end hotel I visited with Violetta.

"Turns out she owns the place." I shook my head.

Has a stepson, a son, and a daughter.

Looking at all of this, I leaned back on my chair.  With an unlit cigarette in my mouth, I looked at the ceiling. My left hand rubbing the underside of my chin as the fingers on my right banged the table.

So he is basically safe from any side. And I somehow should get enough power to overthrow both the politicians of the whole Kibryn and possibly the capital of Wagria while gaining enough money to trample over his mother's company.

Putting the cigarette back into the pack, I started looking for the additional info, but it was mostly restating the things I already saw. Especially anything related to Reid's mother.

She was far from being public. Except for her obligated interviews and visiting gala meetings, she used her managers of public relations and so on. She as well used different stars, signing a whole bunch of them to be their representatives. She had a lot of brand ambassadors such as singers, actors and actresses, and so on. A very few examples contained names like ETD, an up-and-coming DJ, Opal Daddio, an actress, and even Devon Studd, a famous fighter. I had no idea who all of those people were. But, after searching them up, I found out that they were, in fact, quite famous.

While Oswald had a lot more info on him, it was mostly someone praising heaps on him. Seeing this, I understood that there was no way for me to get to him.

"Ding-Dong."

I was deep in thought when our doorbell rang.

Getting back from their trip, I saw Annie in her winter clothes and Greg, holding a great amount of luggage. He was out of breath.

"Let me help you real quick."

"There are a couple of bags still in the car. Help me take them," Greg said.

Getting everything sorted out, I was able to take a breather as we gathered in the kitchen.

"So, how was your vacation?" While Greg turned to me, Annie immediately started heating up something they brought along.

"My vacation?"

"Yeah, boys in your age dream of getting the flat all to themselves, don't they? Perhaps you threw up a party or…"

"Or invited a girlfriend." Annie finished the phrase for Greg and served a cup of tea to each of us. Sitting down near Greg, she looked at me eagerly.

"I think you got something wrong. I can't have a party as I'm in my training regime. And actually, I… got myself a small side job. You don't have to worry about the money. By the way, how is gramps?"

"He is alright for now. You know him. He's tougher than he looks. He even insisted on cooking your favorite pie. It's not as tasty being reheated but remembering how much you liked it in the childhood, he insisted on baking one."

"Hehehe." Annie chuckled lightly. "He grumbled for over an hour before cooking it. He told us that it was surely your favorite dish. And when I asked for the recipe, he said that no one else but him can nail it."

"We all know it's the truth. He was never a cook, yet he makes the thing you like the most, how strange is that." Greg said as he smiled wryly.

"And I think It's heated enough, you can go ahead." Annie took a small pie from an oven. "Go ahead and dive in."

It was an appetizing pie, the smell of forest berries permitted the kitchen, but I didn't want to eat right now.

"I think it will be a little too much for me. How about sharing?"

This startled the duo of parents as they stared at me with their eyes as wide as saucers.

"I'm on a diet."

"Oh…"

"Right!"

They both nodded with a look of a sudden epiphany.

"And it will not be as great if it's reheated twice, so let's share it. I won't like the hard work of my grandfather going to waste."

Annie gave me the biggest slice of a pie filled to the brim with a mix of crushed forest berries cooked in their own juices. After the very first bite, I felt that it was a waste giving away the rest.

I couldn't wrap my head around this. It was my first time tasting this. I didn't even want to eat, but after tasting it, I couldn't stop myself.

"Anyway, how does your training goes?"

"It's doing great. Lately, I found a new spark of inspiration."

"Hum, it's good. But you know, it's important not to overexert yourself. You should remember to relax ever so often."

"Yeah, but I think I got my fair share of relaxing. I want to take everything up a notch." Finishing up the tea, I said that I needed to look up for something and left to my room.

As I looked at the pack of cigarettes lying on the windowsill, I quickly hid it into the inner pocket of a jacket.

Seeing the still opened sites containing the info about Reid's parents, I thought of the only solution I can have for now. Calling Mara, but there was no way I could do this in my room. If ever I will get emotional...

Still in my homewear, I put on the jacket and took my phone. "I will get out for a minute or two." Informing the duo of parents getting a few floors up, I stood in the hallway. Lighting up another cigarette, I called Mara.

"Well, hel-lo, my cute little fledgling. You called me sooner than I anticipated. You know I'm still on the road."

"I'm sorry, but I wanted to talk with you." I exhaled a puff of smoke.

"How much would I like it if you wanted to talk with me for who I am, rather than calling me for help."

Getting an extra-long drag and exhaling, I tried to control my emotions just like she told me to. "Please, I'm sorry, I really need your advice."

"Aww, how can I bear to do anything to you if you are so sincere? Go ahead, I will listen to you."

"I looked up his parents. I don't think I can take them down right now. Do you perhaps know what to do? Can you advise me?"

"But there is nothing you can do, nor there will be anything you could do in the future. What can I possibly say to you?" She answered me as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "But who said that you can't use a little bit of the help from the side."

"I told you…" I wanted to flare up, but Mara stopped me in time.

"STOP, control your emotions. We will wait for the time being. We never know how the future will turn."

That was said with pinpoint accuracy. Who knows, I might even get to another dimension fighting dragons.

"Sorry, I will try to calm down."

"I'm saying this to you as advice. You can possibly do something to Reid's father alone, but you won't be able to topple Vlada alone. I know him and his family better than you do. We met at gala dinners and concerts a couple of times, rumors that are circulating, and the info I possess exceeds any conspiracy theories written by their defamers."

I took another cigarette as my previous one was all burnt. Taking a drag, I asked Mara the most obvious question.

"Then what should I do? If I can't crush what is most important to him with my own hands?"

"I never said this. You very much can crush whatever is important to him. It's just that you made a big mistake here. You think he values the same things as you, while he doesn't."

This was indeed something I didn't put into consideration.

"You as well are too angry to think straight, and you can't look at him objectively, you will either see him as an impenetrable foe, or you will underestimate him as you get drunk on your own success."

I needed to be honest now. Seeing what I did before and how I acted, "You are right."

"And now listen to me. The thing Reid holds dearest to him is obviously his exalted status. He is a rich second generation, and he can do anything he wants."

"Yeah, I experienced this," I mumbled as I was lighting up my third cigarette.

"So the thing he values the most isn't actually his parents or his lover... By the way, you probably didn't know he has a lover? The most valuable thing there is to him is obvious."

"His pride, right?"

"Bingo. And to take his pride, you know what to do?"

Hmm… "To rise above him?"

"Exactly." her raspy voice grew more excited. "Reid takes pride in being one of the strongest fighters. He takes pride in being 'The Supernova.' You need to overcome his light and shine brighter, to topple him from his own pedestal. That way, you will make him suffer more."

"And along the way, I will mess up with his parents. Sounds good to me, but how can I trample on his dignity as a second-generation? I think such a thing is ingrained in every second generation. That's why they act like assholes."

"Oh, it's even easier. He has done so much vile deeds that after losing support from his parents, he will inevitably crumble."

"And his other relatives will probably cut ties with his family if they haven't done it already."

"Hahaha, you are quick on catching up."

"So what should I do right now is simply training?"

"Yes, and no. Right now, you are less than a speck of dust."

"That's not so pleasant to hear." I scowled at her, but being intoxicated by the cigarettes I let it go.

"You need your daily dose of reality. You are lacking drastically in your fighting abilities, so you should devote yourself to this, but don't forget about college. We need to make you the valedictorian of the first years, so be a cutie and study hard."

Study? Why? I tried to analyze it.

"Why so quiet? Won't you ask me any questions?"

"You want me to study. Do you perhaps want me to interact with other students more?"

"Oh, I think I will have a stroke with how smart you are acting today." she chuckled.

"And I think you should stop talking like that if you do like me."

"I still haven't forgiven you." For a second, her voice turned serious, but it mellowed out the next moment. "You will have to endure this until I forgive you completely."

"Sigh, and what for do I need to interact with them?"

"That's is quite simple. Of course, it's to gather allies, info, whatever might come useful to you in the future. I will help you with socializing, but you still should do something by yourself as well."

"Allies, huh…"

"Or friends." she mocked me in a playful tone. "I won't let you hide in your turtle shell anymore. We will work you to the bone together." her voice suddenly lowered as she panted in the phone, her voice turning languid. "And you will grow up splendidly." hearing her breath, I heard her voice becoming a fleeting whisper. "I guarantee this."