Before I could even respond, the sound of the slap echoed through the dining hall.My head snapped to the side, and blood began to trickle from a cut on my lip. For a brief moment, the room went silent.Everyone sitting around the marble table was stunned.Then, someone laughed.It started softly, before spreading across the table like an infection.One laugh turned into many, until the sound filled the massive dining hall, all mocking me without mercy."You can't even hold a teacup properly," Mrs. Williams said coldly. She tapped her lips with a silk napkin, calmly acting as if she hadn't just hit a grown man.She scoffed and leaned back into her chair."Honestly, what did my daughter ever see in you? And why were you invited to this gathering?”I lowered my head without a word. I bent down and picked up the teacup that had fallen from my hands, carefully placing it back onto the saucer.My movements were slow and precise, to make sure I didn't offend her again.I stood and stepped a

I kept walking down the quiet, shadowed streets, navigating through familiar corners that I hadn't seen in years. Despite my resolve, the weight of the day finally caught up with me, and I realized I needed to rest for the night. I wasn't entirely sure where the nearest lodging was during my time trapped in that mansion, I was rarely allowed out.I pulled out my burner phone and used a map to locate a small hotel nearby. When I reached the building, I was relieved to find it modest and quiet. In my current state of mind, silence was a luxury I cherished more than gold. I walked up to the dusty wooden counter, booked a room for the night, and paid in cold hard cash to avoid leaving a digital footprint.When I opened the door to the room, I found exactly what I expected, nothing special. It was a basic space with a bed, a small bathroom, and a lone wardrobe standing in the corner. It was clean, functional, and most importantly utterly unremarkable. No one would ever think of lookin

And when I did, I heard him laugh through the mask."So the rumors are true. I never thought we’d get to see you again," he said cheerfully. "And I’m sure you know who I am.""Yeah, Bigi, I know it’s you," I said."Good, very good. You don’t look like yourself anymore. I guess those three years away from the organization really took a toll on you," he said."And that’s why you had to come with so many men to find me?" I added."Oh, come on. It’s been a while since any of us saw you in action. We were hoping for a bit of that." I glared at him, and he kept quiet. "You’re welcome back, Adrian.""Yeah, I know you were going to find me eventually. So, how’d you do it?""You know I’m not one of those tech guys, but I’m really going to advise you to ditch your phone, the non encrypted one.""Ah, shit. I should have known." I bit my lip, then took the iphone out of my pocket.I stared at it. The only reason I had gotten it in the first place was so I could stay away from this world and mov

"I'm confirming a private room reservation for Adrian Vale and John Lewis," She said.She paused for a brief moment, then smiled at me. "Follow me, Sir," she said, walking in front of the same path I had come from.She walked through the corridors, then she pressed a button on the wall that blended in with the yellow paint. A door slid open. It looked like the wall was splitting open. This was the upgrade I had missed.She stepped in and I followed behind her. From the corner of my eye, I spotted someone ahead waving at me. I squinted through the blue lighting to recognize the person, but I couldn't. It was like his face was blurred from within. Now that I thought about it, the other people in the room were well spaced, but I couldn't recognize their faces or hear what they were saying.We walked a bit, and it turned out the woman was leading me toward the person waving. Could it be Brother John? Suddenly, the blurriness from his face disappeared and I instantly recognized him. It