Shadow Of Kingscity

The Day He Chose Silence

Ethan sat quietly, listening as the workshop lights hummed softly above them. The smell of engine oil and old metal still hung in the air.

“Ethan, my son,” Uncle Mark began, his voice low and heavy, “I won’t go into the full history of how our family got entangled with the Ghost Elites, even before they changed the name. I know the sacrifice your father made to keep your brother Liam out of it. After you finished your training and came back, then left again for another mission, Liam called me. He complained that you had disappeared again, just like when you two were younger. I understood what you were going through, so I never mentioned the organization to him. But something happened.”

Ethan tensed the moment those words left his uncle’s mouth. “Something happened?”

Uncle Mark nodded slowly. “Your brother came back with his face swollen.”

“What?” Ethan leaned forward, anxiety rising in his chest. “Swollen like how?”

“Not from a fight,” his uncle said. “More like someone who had been crying all day.”

Uncle Mark pointed toward the small workshop office that Ethan now used. “He locked himself in there. He didn’t go home that night. He didn’t break anything or shout. He just stayed quiet. The next day I asked him what happened, but he only hugged me and said, ‘Uncle Mark, thanks for always being here. I know you will never leave my side.’”

The old man’s voice grew quieter. “I became afraid right then. My heart started racing and tears came to my eyes. The only thing I could manage to say was, ‘Where is he? Did they bring back his body?’”

Uncle Mark shook his head at the memory. “Liam looked at me in surprise and asked, ‘What body?’ I told him, ‘Aren’t you crying because of Ethan?’ He poked me and said, ‘Uncle, don’t be hilarious. Ethan is fine, but I still haven’t heard from him.’ That was when my mind finally settled. I had been scared something bad had happened to you.”

He paused, then continued. “Since that day, your brother became distant. He would leave the mechanic shop very early in the morning, leave everything to his employees, and only return at night to make sure they closed up before heading home. Until one day he vanished. He didn’t come back after delivering a car at Vancroft mansion. That’s what his employees told me.”

Ethan let out a long sigh as he took in everything his uncle had just said.

“Yes, that reminds me,” Uncle Mark added. “There was a lady who brought him back that night, the same night his eyes were swollen from crying.”

“Who is this girl?” Ethan asked quickly.

“I don’t know her name,” his uncle replied, “but she works at that big mall in downtown Kingscity, the one near Central Square.”

“But if you see her in person, you will recognize her, right?” Ethan asked.

The old man nodded.

“I would love if you can follow me to identify the girl tomorrow,” Ethan added.

“Sure,” Uncle Mark replied without hesitation.

The following day, Ethan and his uncle arrived at the busy mall in downtown Kingscity. Sunlight streamed through the glass ceiling, lighting up the wide walkways filled with shoppers and the sound of footsteps echoing on polished floors.

Not far away, trouble waited. Damien and his men were already inside. The moment Damien spotted Ethan and his uncle from the upper level, a cruel smile spread across his face. This was the perfect place to show his dominance over Ethan he thought. He nodded to one of his men and sent him down with a simple order: bump into Ethan on purpose and see how he reacted. Damien stayed upstairs with the rest of his crew, leaning over the railing to watch everything unfold below.

Ethan scanned the directory signs, trying to find the mall manager’s office, when someone suddenly slammed into him hard. His phone flew out of his hand and hit the concrete floor with a sharp crack. The screen shattered.

Ethan turned quickly. The man who had bumped him simply picked up the broken phone, handed it back without a word of apology, and stood there like nothing had happened. He was just as muscular as Ethan, maybe even a bit taller.

Rage boiled up inside Ethan in a single hot flash. In that brief moment, he imagined exactly how many bones he could break in the guy’s body.

His uncle grabbed Ethan’s arm and held it tight, convinced that if he let go, Ethan would kill the man right there in the middle of the mall.

Ethan stepped closer to the bigger man. “What are you going to do?” the tough guy mocked, his voice full of challenge.

“Hey, tough guy!” Damien shouted from the top floor, his voice carrying across the open space. “Kingscity’s biggest rat! What are you going to do, huh?”

Ethan looked up and instantly knew this was all Damien’s doing. He glanced at his uncle, who was still holding him back. Uncle Mark shook his head slowly, silently telling him to let it go.

Ethan turned to walk away, but the big guy grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back. Before Ethan could react, the man threw a hard punch that landed squarely on his cheek. The blow snapped Ethan’s head to the side. His cheek turned red instantly, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He bent forward from the force.

Shoppers around them quickly moved back, giving the two men space. Phone cameras flashed as people recorded the scene.

The guy followed up with a sharp kick. Ethan dropped to his knees, fists clenched against the cold concrete floor. His anger burned clearly on his face.

“Yeah, that’s more like it!” Damien called down again, laughing. “Show us you’re not a weakling. You think building a body like that makes you special or something?”

Ethan held himself back and slowly stood up. The big guy stepped away only after Damien ordered him to return.

Uncle Mark helped Ethan to his feet. “You did well,” he said quietly.

Just then, Ethan noticed a woman in uniform standing at the far right, watching everything closely. He leaned toward his uncle and whispered, “Is that the girl you were talking about?”

The moment her eyes met Uncle Mark’s, the woman turned and walked away quickly.

“Yes, she is the one,” Uncle Mark confirmed.

The girl hurried out of the mall and tried to slip away through the back alley to reach another street. But before she could get far, he suddenly stepped out and blocked her path.

“Fuck!” she burst out, startled as she stared at him in shock. “How did you…?” She stammered, unable to find the right words.

“Why were you running from us?” Ethan asked.

“Running? Who was running?” she defended herself, trying to sound innocent. “I wasn’t running. I just didn’t want to talk, that’s all.”

“You know we’re looking for you,” Uncle Mark said as he caught up to them.

“Yeah, because your uncle only looked my way after you noticed me,” she replied.

“Then you know why we’re searching for you,” Ethan said.

“Yes. Obviously because of Liam. And I’m sorry, I don’t know where he is,” she answered bluntly, not waiting to be asked.

“That’s not why we wanted to see you,” Ethan pressed.

“What else do you want from me?” she asked, spreading her hands in confusion.

“The night you drove Liam home,” Uncle Mark said, “you were wearing the same uniform as today. He changed after that night. We’re here to ask what really happened.”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “But Liam was once my friend. He had helped me before by fixing my car. That night, he bumped into my car. I almost hit him. I asked him what happened, and he just smiled and said even death wouldn’t take him. Why didn’t I hit him? I was surprised he actually wanted to be hit by a car. I convinced him to let me take him home, but he said I should drop him at the workshop instead. So I did. And since then, I haven’t seen him again.”

“Then why were you running away from us?” Ethan asked, still trying to confirm her story.

“Because I heard some people came looking for your brother,” she explained. “And anyone who has useful information either dies or goes missing. I didn’t want any of that to happen to me.”

“But I don’t know how useful this info might be for you,” the girl added quickly, still standing in the narrow back alley behind the mall.

Ethan stepped closer, his presence heavy and threatening. “What else did you hear?”

She swallowed but held her ground, even though fear showed in her eyes. “I overheard The Black Wolf tell his men to move a certain girl named Mara to another location. He said Ghost agents are searching for her.”

Ethan stayed silent for a moment, studying her face to see if she was lying. The girl did not back down or change her story.

Uncle Mark watched quietly from the side.

Ethan finally turned to his uncle. “Uncle, I’m going to that bastard’s clubhouse tonight.”

“You are free to do anything you want with him,” his uncle replied, “but don’t kill him. His father can be very troublesome.”

Ethan gave a small, cold smile. “His father will be even more terrified when he learns who he is messing with.”

With that, Ethan walked away from the confused girl. Uncle Mark followed close behind him, leaving her standing alone in the alley, still trying to make sense of everything that had just happened.