CHAPTER 29

I blink several times in front of my vanity mirror in my room when I felt my tears start to well up. When I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes were already swollen and red.

I was a mix of emotions with what I knew now. Starting from the real reason for my father's death, working for El Orden Del Abismo, being his replacement, and my mother working here too. I unconsciously touched my chest when I felt it tighten.

I wanted to appear in front of my mother to ask her about those things, but I couldn't. Aside from the fact that they might be in danger, she wouldn't recognize me because my name was different and my appearance was different. Most of all, Sarah has been dead for five years.

All this was intentional, I wasn't just unlucky or lucky because I found a job, but it was all intentional, from my studies until now. All of that was connected from the time my father died.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath several times to calm down. It was difficult, and my emotions might control me. I quickly took the cellphone that Rafael gave me and turned it on. Our selfie greeted me as the wallpaper.

Somehow, my feelings eased. The emotions that were about to explode slowly subsided if I hadn't controlled it.

"You're the only one who can calm me down, Raf," I whispered to our photo on my phone. "I still miss you. Nothing has changed..."

"Sarah? Are you there?"

I quickly turned to the closed door when I heard Ria knocking outside my room. I immediately stood up because, just by the tone of her voice, it seemed like she needed help. I tied the belt of my robe tightly and opened the door.

"Ria!" I said loudly.

She had many bags in her right hand and two boxes of pizza in her left. I took the bags from her, and she let out a breath.

"Thank you. This pizza has been in the living area in the lobby, Oceanus must have forgotten to get it. I brought it here because the pizza might get cold," she answered me breathlessly.

"Have you eaten yet?"

She nodded. "Yes. There are 10 more boxes left upstairs for us to snack on later. I'll just leave this pizza in the dining area. You can reheat it if you want to eat it hot. I'll go upstairs first, bye."

"Bye. Thank you again."

"You're welcome."

I fixed the food in the dining area for a while before going inside to change into my pajamas. When I was done, I went straight to Atlas' office to tell him that the food they ordered was already here. I know I'm still angry with him, but there was something in my chest that made me feel closer to him and Oceanus, even though I was angry at him.

Maybe in five years, they were the ones I was with and considered family, so I felt this way.

"The food is here—"

I clamped my mouth shut when I heard their conversation inside. There was a small gap in the door of Atlas' office, so I could hear what they were talking about. I leaned against the side and listened to their conversation.

"What's wrong?" Oceanus asked. "You're not like this, Atlas. Did something happen? You wouldn't leave like that if it wasn't important."

"I just found out something that's why I came back here."

I frowned when I heard Atlas' answer to Oceanus's question. He spoke slowly and softly, as if he were still having second thoughts.

"What did you find out?"

"It's been years, and I just found out that Rafael is gone. I was too busy with our shipments and meetings with Ismael's business. I know it's rude to leave you and Hexia without saying goodbye. I'm sorry, Oceanus."

My heart pounded when I heard what he said. This was the first time I heard Atlas apologize. Rafael? I unconsciously touched my chest where my heart was and felt it beating very fast.

I realized my hand was trembling, and I was already crying while listening to their conversation. Hot tears flowed down my cheeks. Why was I so emotional now? I thought I had no more tears left, but I was wrong.

"Rafael? Who's Rafael?" I heard Oceanus asked.

As if my hand had a life of its own, I pushed the door open completely even though my hand was trembling. They both looked at me with furrowed brows.

"D-do you know Raf?" I asked Atlas while crying. I approached him and couldn't help but sob in front of him. "Who is he to you?"

Oceanus stood up from his seat and approached me. "You've been crying for a while, Hexia. Why don't you go to your room and take a rest?"

I shook my head. "No. He said my best friend's name, Oceanus. He said Rafael. Maybe he knows him."

"There's many people named Rafael in this world, Hexia," Atlas interjected.

I shook my head. "No. What if it's him?" I said to him tearfully. "What if it's the same—"

"Go take Hexia to her room, Oceanus," Atlas ordered.

I felt Oceanus' hand on my arm to lead me to my room. I almost didn't recognize myself because of my crying. I sobbed continuously until I reached my room. Oceanus even helped me lie down on the bed and say goodbye because he knew that I wasn't used to having other people in my room.

Why am I feeling like this? It's always Rafael. I know there are many people named Rafael, but whenever I hear that name, it's like they are the same person. In my mind, only my best friend has the name Rafael and no one else.

I turned to the digital clock hanging above the flatscreen TV because, besides the time, the date and day were also there. I cried even more when I saw today's date.

It's his death anniversary. It's Rafael's death.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

A few weeks later, I returned to my usual treatment of Atlas. As usual, he wasn't in the warehouse because he left early, so it was just Oceanus and me guarding and checking the work that Atlas left here.

Right now, we're in the large gym that Atlas had built. It's almost the same as his gym in Mexico, complete with equipment, especially the weapons we can use just in case something happens here.

"Fuck! Let's take a break—shit!"

He blocked the katana he was holding with me when I suddenly attacked him. I held the katana tightly as I continued to try to hit him. I only stopped when I saw that I had cut his cheek and his blood was dripping there.

"I'm done," I said, smiling while panting.

"You just cut me, didn't you?" Oceanus complained and lay down on the interlocking mat.

I took one of the pairs of Saf from my leg holster and twirled it around my finger until I could insert it into the small handle.

"Don't you dare throw that thing at me, Hexia. I'm already tired as fuck."

A chuckle escaped my mouth. "What? I'm just playing with Saf. You're overreacting again."

"The last time you did that, you almost hit me."

"I'm just testing your reflexes. Atlas even scolded you because your reflexes aren't that fast anymore. But don't worry, I'll never do that again. I promise," I said while laughing.

He just snorted at me and stood up to drink water from the water dispenser. I just shook my head and looked carefully at Saf.

It's still sharp when I ran my finger along it. A smile appeared on my lips, I won't sharpen it yet. I clicked the small button under the, and it immediately covered Saf's body in a second. I returned Saf to my leg holster and went upstairs to take a shower.

"I'll go ahead. I'll visit Atlas' workers in the lab to see if they're done with what they're sending to Mexico," I told Oceanus and went upstairs.

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

"How about the other lab, Ria? Is the one for Serbia ready?"

Ria nodded at me while looking at the drugs she was packing.

"Yes. I think they're already packing it. You can also check them later. We're also done with this quickly."

I nodded. "Thank you. I'll go check on them first."

She just gave me a thumbs up and didn't answer. I went straight out and went to another laboratory. This time there were cocaine drugs here.

"Is this batch ready for shipment?" I greeted as soon as I entered.

Everyone looked at me. They quickly nodded and pointed to the large box beside me.

"The first batch is ready for shipment to Serbia, Ms. Hexia. As of now, we are working on the second and third batches if we can try to finish it by the end of the month."

I nodded. "Okay, thank you for the update. I'll go ahead."

I pushed the door to go out, but I stopped when I remembered something I forgot to tell them.

"And please don't forget to tell me how many you will send to Serbia when you finish the second and third batches. I can't put the first batch on the final listing yet because Atlas might change his mind."

"Noted, Ms. Hexia."

"Okay, thank you again."

I went around the other labs to check their work before finally leaving Atlas' large laboratory. I took off my lab gown and face mask before sitting on the long sofa in the living area of this basement lobby.

I had been going around for hours to make sure they were working because once Atlas caught his workers doing nothing at the far end of the lab, so he assigned me to check each lab every day to make sure all his staff were moving.

I heard the sound of the elevator bell and I turned to look. Atlas appeared, and it seemed like the conversation he had was not good. I looked down at his bloody hand, especially his arm.

"Hexia, I need to talk to you, let's go to my office."

SHANGPU