The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

Previously, after the fireworks show, Calvin took Emma back to the mini market to pick up her car. Then, Calvin followed Emma’s car to near the Rose Street stop. Since it was too late, Calvin was worried because the streets must be very quiet and dangerous so he insisted on dropping Emma off.

“Ugh! How could he be so casual after saying something that embarrassed me?” Emma growled herself as she threw her body to sit on the sofa.

After indirectly saying that Emma was beautiful, he then acted as if what he had said was a trivial matter. He didn’t know that his words had made Emma’s heart beat so fast.

Even when Emma got home, she was still confused. The reason was this was not the first time she heard men say that she was beautiful. It was like being praised for being beautiful had become her daily meal, both by men and women. But when she heard it from Calvin’s mouth, it was like an explosion in her heart.

Emma thought, was this a sign that she was in love?

***

The fact that Marcel Douglas was the leader of the RJC group that Calvin Lee and Jita Kyoei were targeting was making Emma feel uneasy.

Now, Emma had found out why Calvin and Jita Kyoei were after RJC. Come to think of it, everything made sense now. Why did RJC need additional funding? That was because they recruited martial arts studios students to strengthen the guard at Redvalley and Bluevalley Street. However, by doing so, they made the studios run out of students and in truth, they didn’t know that this action made the former students give up their dreams of becoming athletes.

.....

Emma understood that Troy Roner attached great importance to Judo and the future of the sport. Now, Calvin Lee, who also intervened, must have judged that RJC was a bad group because it had harmed many studios and killed the future of many young people. However, they did not know that RCJ did this because they had to. They had to protect the dozens of families that stayed in the street under their control.

Knowing that things were not going well around Redvalley Street, Emma finally decided to focus on touring the area. As Black, Emma would be patrolling there. Perhaps that way, she could reduce the number of crimes so that the RJC no longer had to try to increase the number of its members.

Honestly, Emma would not be able to choose which side she should be on. Calvin and Jita Kyoei or Marcel and his grandmother.

***

The sound of a woman’s cry coloured the usually peaceful withdrawal of the deposit. Ever since Marcel Douglas tripled deposit rates, there was been a lot of drama on deposit collection day. The residents did not agree with the increase which they thought was too high. However, Marcel remained firm in his stance.

“Please, Sir. How am I going to raise the money to send my two daughters to school?” The middle-aged woman begged the two tall men in all black who were standing in front of her. Usually, the two men were very nice and friendly, but now they looked like cold-hearted invaders.

Behind the woman, two young girls were peeking from the kitchen door with tears in their eyes. They were the twin daughters of the widowed woman. The two girls were currently in high school and were preparing themselves and the funds so that they could go to college after high school graduation.

“Sorry, but that can’t be done, Ma’am. Policy is policy. We’re just doing our job.” One of the tall men said.

The woman nodded, “I know. Therefore, I beg you, please help me to tell Boss Marcel. We really can’t pay that much. Please don’t make us suffer like this.” She cried.

From a distance, a pair of green eyes were witnessing the heartbreaking event. Anger, sadness, and confusion welled up in Lilian’s chest. Previously, she had told Marcel about the problem that was going on. However, Marcel didn’t seem to heed his grandmother’s persuasion. Lilian herself wondered why the normally obedient grandson had become so stubborn?

Feeling too uncomfortable with the neighbours who kept sneering at her, Lilian decided to close her tavern for a few days. From morning to evening, she just waited for Marcel to come back home to talk to her.

Finally, the night came. Lilian, who had been waiting quietly at the tavern table, finally moved when she saw the tavern door shifting open. From behind it, showed a tall man clad in a coat displayed the logos of a well-known fashion brand which was known for its exorbitant prices.

“I’m home, Grandma,” Marcel greeted by stepping inside. He took off his coat, revealing his sweater which also had a small logo of a well-known fashion brand on the right chest.

“Have you eaten?” Lillian asked.

“Yes,” Marcel nodded. Then, he stepped closer to the table and placed a plastic bag containing several hot red bean dumplings in front of his grandmother. He knew his grandmother liked the food so he bought it on the way home, “Have you had dinner?”

“Marcel.. Can you sit down for a minute? We have something to talk about,” Lilian did not answer her grandson’s question.

Marcel stared at his grandmother for a long time, then sighed with a slight nod and sat on the chair table. He looked at his grandmother’s eyes with a flat face.

“What’s really going on, Marcel? Why don’t you want to lower the deposit rate?” The grandmother asked gently. But, there was a look of uneasiness on her old face.

Marcel let out another long sigh before replying, “Didn’t I already tell you the reason? That’s because the expenses we have to spend are also large. If we don’t raise it that much, then we can’t keep it running optimally.”

“Marcel, you and your men are very strong. There aren’t that many delinquents hanging around here either. It’s unreasonable with such a large deposit increase.”

“Grandma.. You don’t know how it’s calculated. You only see everything from the outside, but don’t know what’s going on behind it. Please just trust me, Grandma.” Marcel said with a serious look.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, dear. But I see you keep wasting your money on luxury goods. You keep changing cars too. Can’t you use the money to help our neighbours, instead? You could lower your business’s profit just a little. I think it would help people a lot.” Lillian explained in a trembling voice.

Honestly, Lilian’s heart ached when she said that to her own grandson. She understood why Marcel could be so extravagant with his money. He had lived a very difficult life since childhood, so now he longed for a life like a rich people. However, she certainly couldn’t let her grandson continue to be selfish like that.

Hearing what his grandmother said, Marcel couldn’t help but look down. His heart was pounding in anger, but he tried to endure it. Under the table, his hands clenched into fists.

When a person actually knew that what he was doing was wrong, when someone else reprimanded him, a feeling of dislike would arise in his heart. It was because he was afraid of looking bad. That was how Marcel felt. But in his heart, he instead sought defence by thinking that his grandmother thought too much of others, rather than her own grandson.

“We’ll talk again tomorrow. I’m tired.” He said, standing up.

“Are you leaving again?” Lilian asked as she got up from her seat.

Marcel just nodded nonchalantly as he took his coat again and put it on.

“If you’re really tired, at least you can sleep here. Why don’t you ever feel comfortable sleeping here, Marcel? Is it only for New Year’s Eve you just want to accompany your grandma in this lonely house?” Lilian asked in a disappointed tone. Maybe, emotions had started to take over all her feelings.

Marcel turned his body to face his grandmother, “I don’t like this shabby house. It reminds me of the old me. Reminds me of a fat, ugly kid who looks like a bum.” He answered quickly.

Lilian seemed to be holding her breath with a pounding heart. Both of her eyes were faintly seen starting to tear up, “If you keep thinking like that, your selfishness would only get bigger, Marcel. The longer it goes on, you would sacrifice more things for the sake of money. Do you still remember your goal in maintaining and repairing Redvalley Street? Your goal in defeating Apollo? It wasn’t so that you could have the fun you are now, was it? But it was because you wanted to see all the Redvalley’s people live in peace. Now you even look like Apollo.” She said.

The grandmother’s last sentence made Marcel’s blood boil fast. The beating of his heart seemed to crack his ribs. Was he the same as Apollo now? How could his grandmother be so cruel to judge him just because of the neighbour’s mouth?

“You’d better keep quiet if you don’t know anything. You don’t know anything about this business. You’re just an old woman who doesn’t understand what is really going on. You’d better enjoy your old life with the money I make.” Marcel replied in a deep voice. His face looked like a lion whose territory was invaded by the enemy. He spoke without thinking. It was as if the devil’s seal inside his heart was opened due to the words of his grandmother.

Marcel’s harsh words made Lilian freeze. She could only stare at her beloved grandson walking out of the door and closing it. Not long after, the sound of a sports car engine starting growl, along with its departure.