2025-07-09 19:38:35Eli!!!, – why isn’t my toilet washed and why are you still holding that damn key. Selva asked, walking into the kitchen and snatching the key from his hands.
“Didn’t you play when you were little?” Now you are actually acting dramas and creating scenarios in your head?”
“I am so sorry, the toilet totally slipped my mind, – I just thought you would be hungry, so I decided to prepare lunch now. I also wanted Elara to have something to eat when she gets home, – please can I have the key back.” Eli responded, dropping the bowl he had just sieved down, stretching his hands to retrieve his key from Selva’s hands.
“Don’t you dare touch me with those filthy hands, and I need you to stay 5 meters away from me. – Hope you watched those hands properly before thinking of touching our meal. Selva spoke, taking further steps away from Eli.
“That key really shouldn’t be in your hands, Mrs Morreau.” Eli said, his voice cold making Selva to flinch in fear involuntarily. “It’s too disgusting, and a proper lady shouldn’t be holding on to garbage like that. When I am done here, I will dispose of the key properly, away from your lovely eyes.” Eli continued, his tone going back to its usual submissive and obedient self.
“Yes, Yes, you are definitely right, — for once, I can agree with you on something.” Selva responded, her normal cocky and arrogant face shining as she threw the key on the ground.
“Hope you don’t mind that I threw it on the ground, but you should know your dirty self, shouldn’t come close to my esteemed self.” Selva added.
“Too bad your daughter loves coming in contact with me.” Eli muttered under his breath as he went down on his knees to pick the key Selva had just thrown.
Selva stared smugly at Eli’s bent head, when she heard the words Eli had spoken.
“What did you say?”
Eli froze, not daring to repeat what he had just said, it hadn’t been his intention for Selva to hear him, so when she had asked him to repeat his statement ,he froze, thinking of a lie he could come up with that would pacify her. He knew if he were to repeat what he had said, Selva would find something to complain about to Elara, and that was going to break Elara’s heart, something he didn’t want to see happening.
“I thought so, I knew there was no way in your right senses, you would be able to talk to me from below. Selva spoke, pleased that Eli did not have the courage to repeat his words.
Seeing no further way to bully Eli, she stomped her feet and left the kitchen in anger, not forgetting to remind him about the toilet he still had to wash.
Eli stared at Selva’s retreating figure, breathing out in relief, he brought out the key he had placed in his pocket, hoping and wishing that it would lead it out of this miserable life as he stared at it, but he immediately moved the thought out of his mind, who was he kidding, he had been poor and an orphan for the most part of his life, why did he think a key and a letter was going to suddenly change his life.
“Where are you going?” Selva turned her head from the series she was watching to face Eli that was about stepping out the house.
“Going to look for some manual jobs, I can take on. I don’t feel comfortable sitting around while Elara isn’t around.” Eli, responded, saying half the truth, he really didn’t want to be home doing nothing while Elara was probably out, discussing business ideas with her grandma, but he wasn’t going to look for manual jobs, he was planning to go to his fosters homes and see if he could find any information about the key that sat in his pocket. He had tried it on all his belongings that he had brought with him, also on the household materials and appliances while Selva hadn’t been paying attention, but it didn’t seem to fit.
“Are you done with the meal you were to prepare?” Selva asked, not willing to let Eli out of her sight.
“Yes Selva.” Eli responded, already unbolting the door.
“Did you remember to wash my toilet?” Selva asked again, turning her attention back to her Tv.
“Yes,--- I would be back late incase Elara asks for me when she comes home.” Eli responded, leaving immediately before Selva could think of more tasks to give him.
Eli’s first stop was the home he had been moved to in his teenage years, but after thorough search and hostile reception from his foster parents and siblings, he decided to leave.
Not having much hope, he decides to pay the parents he thought were his birth parents all his life of growing up, till he had turned sixteen a visit.
“Eli!!!. – we didn’t think we would see you again.” Evelyn Hart, Eli’s foster Mom, squealed from the doorway as she stared at Eli, trying hard to conceal her shock as she stared at the son she thought she had lost forever.
“Come in, – come in.” “Why are you breathing so much?” Evelyn asked, ushering Eli in.
Eli had also answered the surname Hart, till he found out that Evelyn and Franklin Hart were not his real parents, so he had decided to stick with his own surname, not after some interrogations from him.
“Where have you been , where did you run off to?, – don’t you know you made mommy worry” Evelyn inquired, looking at Eli as she checked his body for injuries.
“I couldn’t accept the fact that I was an orphan, so I had gone in search for my real parents, somehow I ended up in an orphanage, and I got adopted again, I am sorry for making you worry, but I just couldn’t gather enough courage to face you people after I had run away and I thought it would be best if I didn’t come back.” Eli replied, looking at the one woman that hadn’t treated him cruelly as tears pulled in his eyes.
“Eli…, you would always be my son, and this home is always open to you, – your father isn’t home now, but I am certain he would be excited to see you again.” Evelyn responded, pulling him in for a hug, she didn’t question why he had shown up today after all these years, she was merely happy to see him.
“Would you mind if I stayed for a while?” Eli asked, stepping fully into the house, the floorboard squeaking under his feet. His mind raced as he thought of how he would tell his Mom that he was married and that he was here because of a key he had picked on the road.
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Chapter Ninety - nine
Eli woke to the sound of a house breathing.It took him a second to place it—the faint creak of wood settling, the low hum of a refrigerator somewhere nearby, the distant clink of a spoon against ceramic. Morning sounds. Domestic ones. The kind that didn’t belong to glass-walled bedrooms or quiet penthouses or places that existed mostly to be passed through.He stared at the ceiling, unfamiliar and faintly cracked at one corner, and let the confusion pass.Right.Evelyn and Franklin’s house.He hadn’t slept like this in years.Not the kind of sleep that pulled him under without resistance, without the half-conscious vigilance that usually lingered at the edge of his mind. He hadn’t dreamed—at least, not anything he remembered. No fragments. No unfinished conversations looping endlessly.Just darkness. And rest.That realization alone made his chest tighten.He sat up slowly, as if sudden movement might break whatever fragile thing had allowed him peace. The blanket slid down to his wa
Chapter Ninety - eight
Morning arrived gently.Not with alarms or urgent calls or the sharp intrusion of responsibility—but with light filtering through the tall windows, pale and unassuming, as though the day itself was testing the ground before making demands.Eli woke slowly.For a moment, he didn’t move. Just lay there, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the house. The night before had been long—roads without destinations, thoughts that had needed space more than answers. He’d returned late, parked in the driveway long after the city had surrendered to sleep, and collapsed into bed with a tiredness that felt earned rather than heavy.He reached for his phone out of habit.No missed emergency calls.No red alerts.No messages marked *urgent*.Instead—A notification banner slid across the screen.Voice note received.Sender: Aurelius Group — Executive ChannelEli frowned slightly.He sat up, back resting against the headboard, and tapped play.For a split second, there was silence.The
Chapter Ninety - seven
Eli didn’t return to the bedside, immediately.He stood just outside the glass partition, one hand resting against the cool surface, eyes fixed on Elara’s still form. Her breathing remained even. Untroubled. For now, that was enough.Karim waited beside him, patient in the way only someone who had learned to coexist with dangerous silences could be.“Karim,” Eli said without looking away. “You’ll stay here.”Karim inclined his head slightly. “Of course.”“If she wakes up and asks for me—”“I’ll tell her you stepped out,” Karim said. “If she asks who I am, I’ll say I’m your friend and colleague.”Eli’s gaze shifted to him then. “No embellishments.”A faint, knowing look crossed Karim’s face. “I wouldn't dream of it.”“Good.” Eli exhaled slowly. “Don’t leave her alone. Not for a second.”“You don’t need to say it.”Eli nodded once, a silent acknowledgment of trust earned the hard way. He straightened, already compartmentalizing, already moving on to the next necessary thing.“Call me if
Chapter Ninety - six
Eli didn’t touch her.Not at first.He stood there with his hands at his sides, fingers flexing once as if testing whether his body still answered to him. The urge to reach out—to confirm warmth, solidity, undeniable presence—sat sharp beneath his ribs. He resisted it with the same discipline he used to resist panic, impulse, hope.Hope was dangerous.He leaned closer instead, lowering himself into the chair beside the bed. The faint sound of her breathing filled the space between heartbeats. In. Out. Consistent. Alive.Thirty-six hours ago, Karim had said.Thirty-six hours where the world had continued turning without this truth. Thirty-six hours where Eli had still been in that underground city trying to figure out what it wanted from him.He let his gaze trace her face, cataloging differences with ruthless precision. The hollow at her cheekbones. The slight discoloration at her temple, almost hidden by her hair. An IV line threaded into her arm, tape secure, clinical and careful.S
Chapter Ninety - five
The jet accepted them without ceremony.No pause for drama, no sense of occasion—just the soft intake of air, the familiar hush of insulation, and the quiet competence of people who were paid very well not to react. Carlos moved ahead as usual, exchanging brief confirmations with the crew, every step efficient and practiced. He didn’t linger, didn’t make small talk. There was a rhythm to the way he operated in spaces like this—measured, unassuming, in control.Eli followed more slowly.Not because he needed the time, but because slowing himself down felt deliberate. Necessary. The cabin felt the same as it always did—leather, low lighting, subtle temperature control tuned to comfort rather than personality. Predictable. Safe. He let that familiarity settle into his bones as he took his seat, loosening his jacket but not removing it. A habit he hadn’t questioned in years.The door sealed. The engines began their steady hum.Zurich slipped away without sentiment.Carlos sat across from
Chapter Ninety - four
Carlos was already dressed when Eli woke up.That alone was unsettling.Not just dressed— assembled. Hair neat. Shirt pressed. Jacket on. Shoes laced. The version of Carlos standing near the window looked like the man Eli had known for years: calm, efficient, already ten steps ahead of whatever problem was currently pretending not to exist.Morning light cut through the hotel room in clean, unapologetic angles. Zurich looked crisp outside, like a city that believed very strongly in schedules and accountability.Eli blinked, disoriented.For a split second, his brain supplied the wrong memory. Carlos chewing bread like it was a religious experience. Carlos narrating textures. Carlos joking about nutrition opinions and conceptual dirt.This Carlos did none of that.He was scrolling through a tablet, expression neutral, posture loose but alert. A mug of coffee sat untouched on the desk beside him, steam thinning.Eli pushed himself upright. His head felt heavy, like his thoughts had been
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