Chapter 169: Mixed Signals
Meanwhile, at a quiet corner of the city inside a basement cafe beneath an office building,
"So you decided to come here after all," a young man around twenty-four or twenty-five said.
Across from him sat Jason, looking disheveled, staring down at his coffee cup with his hands wrapped around it.
"Yeah... I need to know where my dad’s living. I have to talk to him. Help me find out where he is, Carl," Jason said.
"Sorry, bro. I helped you look into your younger brother before, but I can’t do it this time. I’m not looking to pick a fight with your brother’s people," Carl replied.
"I’m paying you, I’m your client! As a private investigator, you’re supposed to work according to what you’re paid, right?" Jason said, his voice rising slightly.
"Listen to me. You came here with those guys and you’re asking me to get dragged back into your mess? I know we were buddies back in school, but please—I’ve got a family of my own. There’s no way I’m letting my family get threatened just because I took a job from you," Carl said, annoyed as he pointed out the window.
Jason turned to look outside the window. He spotted five young guys standing out front who looked like masked gangsters wearing jackets—the very same guys who had ushered him away from the school earlier.
"What about them?" Jason asked.
"You really don’t know who they are? They’re Tony Malini’s crew—the gangsters and mafia running the dirty business in this city... and you’re still asking why?" Carl asked, thoroughly exasperated.
"Hah... they’re helping me deal with my problems. You don’t have anything to do with them," Jason answered.
"You really don’t know a damn thing about this city," Carl said, shaking his head with a exhausted look on his face.
"Don’t preach to me. Right now I just want you to find out where my dad is, I have to talk to him," Jason said, his eyes bloodshot.
"Sorry, I’m done getting involved in your business. It’s way too dangerous. I’m leaving, don’t ever contact me again," Carl replied, standing up and tossing some money onto the table.
Without waiting another second, Carl walked out, ignoring Jason calling after him from behind without so much as a backward glance. After Carl stepped outside, two men walked into the cafe to meet Jason, pulling off their masks as they sat across from him.
"So what’s the plan, boss? You want me to just kidnap your younger sister and use her to threaten your dad?" one of the men asked.
Jason sat in total silence, his expression even more twisted than before. His jaw clenched tighter and tighter as his bloodshot eyes glared at the coffee cup in front of him, as if the cup had somehow offended his ancestors. Before he could utter a word, ding, a notification popped up on his smartphone. He opened the message, his eyes widening at the text on his screen.
"Jason, where are you? I already talked to your father about his will. Call me back right away."
"Tch."
Jason scoffed, ignoring the message and deleting it immediately. He then looked up at the two men sitting across from him.
"You guys know where my sister’s apartment is?" Jason asked.
"We know, boss. What’s the call?" the man across from him answered.
"Pick her up tonight. But don’t you dare lay a single finger on her. I know your boss personally, and you know what happens if you touch my sister," Jason replied.
"Consider it done, boss. Don’t worry about a thing. Let’s move."
The two men stood up and turned around, walking out and leaving Jason all alone in the cafe. Once outside, they spoke to the person waiting for them, and then all three left in a car parked along the curb. Watching everything unfold from inside, Jason pulled out his smartphone and looked at the screen, which featured a photo of himself and Vivian as his wallpaper.
"Damn it... damn it all to hell. How did my life end up like this?" Jason thought in his head, his jaw tight and eyes bloodshot.
***
Meanwhile, back at Eric’s building, ding, Eric stepped out of the elevator onto the penthouse floor alongside Emma, Ruby, Jade, and Tania. They met up with Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura, who were lounging comfortably on the sofas. The five of them turned to see Eric and the others approaching.
"All set?" Chloe asked.
"All set. You guys wait here for a second, there’s something I want to give you," Eric said.
Eric then headed up to the second floor and entered his room, while Emma, Ruby, Jade, and Tania sat down to join the others. Inside his room, Eric opened his system inventory and pulled out a jewelry box. He opened it to reveal ten ancient rings set with diamonds, looking exquisite and wildly expensive. He looked at the small holographic display hovering above the rings:
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Danger Detection Ring: Function: Detects impending non-natural danger heading toward the wearer by instilling a subtle sense of dread or a bad gut feeling whenever danger approaches, allowing them to react automatically. Additionally, the rings connect all wearers, allowing them to sense one another by sending a mental alert whenever another wearer is facing danger.
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"It’s time. I’ll give these to them so they can stay safe and protect themselves. As for the necklace I’m wearing, I should probably give it to Tania since she’s living with Ruby," Eric said.
Eric unclasped his necklace and placed it inside the jewelry box. He then closed the box and stood up, walking out of his room and heading downstairs to meet the nine girls below. Walking over to the sofa, he took a seat in the middle and placed the box onto the coffee table. Naturally, the eyes of Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, Laura, Ruby, Jade, and Tania all gravitated toward the ancient silver jewelry box resting on the table.
"Um... what’s this now?" Emma asked.
"For all of you," Eric answered with a smile.
He unlocked the box and flipped open the lid. The girls’ eyes instantly widened at the sight of the row of rings inside the jewelry box. Clatter! Heidi, Laura, and Monica’s smartphones slipped right out of their hands onto the coffee table, while thump, the magazine Emma was reading and the book Priya held dropped straight into their laps. Chloe gasped, nearly knocking over her drink bottle on the coffee table, while Jade and Ruby froze completely solid. Only Tania seemed relaxed, looking back and forth in utter confusion.
"This one’s for you," Eric said, handing his necklace over to Tania.
"Huh... this... for me? The diamond musical-note necklace?" Tania asked, staring at the piece.
"Yep... the last one. Take it," Eric said.
Tania reached out to take it, but before she could grab the necklace, Eric took her hand and slipped a ring onto her finger, making Tania flinch in shock with a look of pure disbelief across her face. After closing Tania’s hand into a fist and letting go, Eric took Emma’s hand beside him and slipped a ring onto her finger next.
He proceeded to put rings on Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura one by one while they all sat there completely stunned, before moving on to Ruby and Jade, who were equally dumbfounded by Eric’s actions. Once every ring was accounted for, he slipped the final ring onto his own finger and closed the box.
"Alright... I’m heading back upstairs for a moment to put this box away. I’ll be back as soon as I can, so feel free to keep chatting," Eric said with a smile, picking up the box.
Without lingering, Eric turned around and walked up the stairs, disappearing onto the floor above. Meanwhile, the living room fell into an absolute dead silence. Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, Laura, Ruby, Jade, and even Tania stared down at their fingers, now wearing identical, gorgeous rings centered around a blue diamond. Not a single person spoke, every face etched with sheer shock and disbelief, no exceptions.
"What... does this mean?" Ruby asked, breaking the silence as she stared at the ring on her finger.
"Gosh... what am I supposed to tell Mike about this?" Jade added, staring down at her hand, which was now wearing two rings.
They all turned to look at Tania, who had put on her necklace, before looking back at her ring. Noticing everyone staring, Tania looked back at the seven other girls.
"What?" Tania asked casually.
"Did he just propose to you too?" Emma asked.
"Hah... propose? Eric put it on my middle finger, so it’s obviously not a proposal. What is wrong with you guys?" Tania answered dryly.
"You got the middle finger, but I didn’t," Emma said, raising her hand. Sure enough, Eric had placed the ring on her ring finger.
"Isn’t that just because the ring didn’t fit on your middle finger?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah... he had the hardest time getting that ring onto your finger earlier," Priya added.
Emma looked around to see everyone else wearing their rings on their middle fingers, making her the sole exception. She tried taking it off to place it on her middle finger, but just as her friends said, the ring got stuck on her middle finger and only fit comfortably on her ring finger.
"Ugh... I thought I was special for a second. Here I was getting all excited," Emma grumbled.
"But what does this actually mean? I’m literally his sister!" Ruby asked.
"Gosh... now I’m completely confused too," Laura added.
"It’s not just you two, all of us are confused. Plus, he put on the last ring himself, which means..." Heidi said.
"Are we all... Eric’s wives?" Monica asked.
Everyone instantly snapped their heads toward Monica, staring at her with utter bewilderment, except for Tania, who simply crossed her arms over her chest.
"Give me a break. I already told them it’s not a proposal... whatever, let them think what they want," Tania thought in her head, though the hesitation on her own face made it clear she wasn’t entirely sure either.