"I have good news and bad news," I told Gio and Quin. After breakfast, we went to Gio's study to discuss my plan. I doubted that they would agree. Not without resistance at least.

In the tradition of engorgio-fying things, Gio's study could fit my entire apartment. I mean, that bookshelf could fit my restroom. The study also had a mezzanine, by the way, where a sofa set was conveniently placed, and where we made ourselves comfortable. From the mezzanine, I could see Gio's work desk, with a couple of files lying neatly on top. Generally, his study looked well-kept. It made me wonder whether he cleaned after himself too since I had yet to encounter any house-helper.

He wasn't always rich, you know. Quin's words rang in my ears. Although I couldn't entirely picture Gio other than the filthy rich billionaire that he was, seeing him wash those dishes earlier at least told me he wasn't some spoiled rich brat.

I sighed. It sucked not being able to remember. It felt like a chunk of me that I was not even aware of was missing. Each night, before I fell asleep, I told my brain to remember, to dream of the past, to at least let the subconscious take over. The memories were there, I was sure. I just had to access them. So each time, I told myself 'Remember, Reianne' over and over until sleep consumed me. Sometimes my mind complied, giving me confusing snippets but there was nothing concrete, and always blurred. My dream last night was a rare exception.

Did I have happy memories of when I was young? I could not even remember the faces of my parents. Where we really happy as what Quin said? I gave an involuntary huff as frustration kicked in.

"...are you even listening?"

My eyes darted upward to meet Gio's obsidian ones, tinged with concern.

"Uh, what were you saying again?"

"He asked about your meeting with Hugo, Onee." Quin answered for Gio.

"Three times, in fact," Gio said.

"Uhh... sorry. As I was saying, I have good news and bad news." I paused, not really knowing how to break it to them. "The good news is, what Hugo wants is easily attainable." I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees, my fingers knitted together. I laid my chin on the back of my hand as I contemplated on how I should break the news to them without either one of them freaking out.

"Uh-huh. Go on," Gio said, eyeing me suspiciously. Absurdly hypnotic, so I averted mine from his, choosing instead to focus on a piece of loose thread on the couch. I reached out and played with the thread, flicking it repeatedly with my pointer finger.

"Reianne," Gio said, claiming my attention from the work of art that was the thread. I sighed as I straightened my posture, sitting more upright.

"Uhm, the bad news is, what Hugo wanted is...me."

Quin gasped and her eyes widen. Gio's brow shot up.

"He commissioned the Reaper to tell them where Ranya is, which reminds me, mind explaining this Quin?" I held up the photograph I got from Hugo. Quin looked like a dozen make-up products exploded on her face in the picture. Quin gave a nervous chuckle, but her eyes light up in unmistakable mischief.

"I had to put a lot of make-up to disguise myself somehow."

"And how about all of this?" I took out my phone and showed her several society news articles my drunk mind managed to find from the internet last night--news articles about Mrs. Ranya Lee partying it up and causing several high society brows to go up ever so slightly in a fashionable manner. Quin's cheeks turned crimson. Her nose twitched.

"Onee, it's all part of the disguise. Convincing isn't it?"

"Oh, really now," I reached out and poked her sides. She squeaked when my fingers found a ticklish spot.

"Onee, it was for a good cause!" She squealed, and then let out a girlish giggle when I continued tickling her.

"Whatever you're planning. My answer is no." Gio's voice cut through Quin's giggle. I turned to him midway my tickle attack.

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

"I said," Gio dawdled, his serious tone contrasted with our playful ones, "I don't approve of your plan."

"You haven't even heard of it yet!"

"Does it involve surrendering yourself to Hugo and waiting for us to get you out."

How did he even fucking know?

"Uh, there would be other technical details, some ass-kicking, and over-all show of my awesomeness, but generally, yeah, you're right." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Onee! You can't do that!" Quin quickly recovered from my assault and straightened her clothes.

I leaned back on my seat with a groan. Closing my eyes, I savored the soft cushions caressing my back. Despite having breakfast and a shower, I could still taste the alcohol at the back of my throat. My fingers massaged my throbbing temples. My brain was still hurting and muddled because of alcohol.

There was shuffling, cabinet doors opening and closing. Then something cold was dropped on my lap.

"Drink."

I opened my eyes. Gio has given me an energy drink packed with electrolytes.

"Thanks," I said as I opened the bottle and chugged its contents. I took a deep breath as I wait for my brain to stop hurting. It didn't. I sighed.

"We have no other option," I said as I leaned my head back unto the soft cushioned sofa. Looking up at Gio's standing figure from this angle made him look even taller. I inwardly cursed and sat upright instead.

"One way or another, I have to deliver Ranya to Hugo. We might as well use it to our advantage."

Of course, I also already got the downpayment, but I would rather keep this tiny inconsequential detail to myself.

"It's too dangerous." Gio's face hardened and I could literally see the muscles of his jaws moved as he gritted his teeth.

"Onee, why would he want you?" Quin was also sitting upright with unease. I did not notice when she got it, but there was a steaming cup of tea in her hands.

My eyes roamed around the loft with better attention, and that was when I noticed a tiny bar, fridge, and beverage stand in one corner adjacent to a wall of books. .

"There's a T.V. too, if you want to watch," Gio's voice snapped my attention back. I shrugged non-commitantly, but Goddamn, Ms. Yin was impressed.

"I--I think he is working with Ran Musa. He probably got Hugo to track me down in exchange for a death ball. I found one in his place before," I answered Quin.

"I see," Gio quipped. "I still don't like it. Ran is crazy. Once you are in there, who knows what could happen?"

"You just have to get me out. It will be fine."

"You do have a private army for that stuff," Quin said.

I, who was chugging the rest of my energy drink, almost choked to death.

"Y-you have a private army?" I asked Gio, flabbergasted. Just how crazy rich and powerful was this man to maintain his own private army?

Gio looked at me like I just asked the dumbest question.

"Every self-respecting billionaire has one. Musa has one. You've been acquainted with them. It is the only reason why Musa was not able to abduct Ranya yet despite several attempts to do so," Gio replied while pointing to Quin, who was nodding vigorously.

"He came close to abducting me once, Onee. So we decided that Ranya wouldn't make any appearance for a while."

"Oh." My eyes went from Quin to Gio and then back to Quin. "Well, as I've said, your private army can get me out."

"Still a no," Gio said firmly.

I huffed.

"Why do you need to go inside, Onee?" Quin raised inquiring eyes at me. "Is it about the energy spheres? We can replicate that too. We've been working on it. I successfully transferred my energy to a prototype. We have the energy spheres from the blonde kid too."

"No, Quin," I sighed.

"Then why?"

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in this whole time. I suddenly felt jittery and my fingers itched to fidget with something. Anything.

"It's just...I think that our Father was being kept by Ran Musa."

He's alive. I can feel it.

Quin's big hazel eyes widened and glowed. "You really think so? We have suspected it too, but never got enough information on the inside to verify. Not to mention, Ran Musa has about ten research facilities all over the country. If Father is alive, he could be anywhere."

Quin's frame buzzed with excitement. A light flickered in her eyes. Her energy was contagious and I found myself smiling.

"Yeah, I think so. Our Father is a scientist like Mom, right? There must be someone conducting all these experiments. And the fact that he knows about me. He must have gotten it from our Father. Ran Musa must have been forcing him to work for him."

"That makes sense," Gio quipped. "Still..."

"Oh, come on," I said, a little forcefully. I huffed, "Do you have the blueprints, at least?"

"Yes." Gio went down to the bookshelf and extracted several bundles of rolled papers. We followed him to his desk, and started unraveling the building plans.

"These are the building plans of his research facilities all over the country. The biggest of which is here in the capital," Gio explained. He pressed a button situated near his desk and the study alighted with the glow of a screen as large as the one I saw in his living room. A face flashed on the screen.

"That's Ran Musa."

A bespectacled face stared back at me from the screen--a face of a man several years younger than Gio. He has silver hair and gray, piercing eyes that matched his pale complexion. It was the face of a sincere, amicable businessman with a nerdy vibe. If I had not fought for my very life days ago under his orders, I would have believed that this man's wish was to do good deeds for humanity's sake.

"As Quin said, he has ten research facilities." Gio pressed a button and a map showed the location of Ran Musa's research facilities across the county.

"That's so many," I said.

Gio scoffed. "I have double that."

I small smile tugged at my lips. I think I struck a nerve.

"Where do you think our Father is being kept?" I asked, ignoring his bruised ego.

"There is a large possibility that he is being kept at the research facility here in the capital."

"Why is that?"

Gio pressed another button, and graphs showed on the screen. "As Quin said, we have suspected that Musa was taking your father hostage to do research for him. We have been keeping an eye on his research facilities as much as we can."

Gio used some laser pointer and drew our attention to a particular data on the screen. "We have been tracking the frequency of unexplained black-outs near his medical facilities for quite some time. During the past few years, one location would have several unexplained black-outs around entire neighborhoods."

"This is the medical facility in the southern country, Onee. It is quite far and inconspicuous.

"And you think Father is there? You said earlier that he was probably here in the capital."

"Yes, because recently, the black-outs are happening in the neighborhoods near Musa's main medical facility here in the capital," Gio answered.

"They must have moved him when they had a breakthrough. They could be on the last leg of their research and they need the more advanced machineries in the main medical facility," I quipped.

"That's what I think too," Gio said.

Our conversation was cut short when a mechanical voice erupted in the room.

"Sir Lee, this is Echo from the Guardhouse, a Mr. Shao is here to see you."

Tension built up when I heard Master's name. I didn't know that Master Shao was coming. To be honest, I was somewhat glad that he cared enough to visit, and he did care for me when I was injured, but I still felt uneasy with him around. I was unsure if either of us forgave the other, and until I knew the answer to this, I was afraid it would always be awkward between us. He also turned down my offer to have tea the last time, so that didn't help either.

Gio went to an intercom by his desk and pressed a button. "Send him in, I'm in the study."

Moments later, the door of the study opened and Master Shao, in his usual all-black attire, stepped into Gio's study. Our eyes met, and I gave him a curt nod, which he did not reciprocate. That was the Master Shao I remembered. He doesn't give a fuck about social niceties.

"What brought you here, Gramps?" Quin bounded to Master Shao and hugged him. My jaw dropped when Master Shao returned Quin's hug and smiled at her.

"I'm doing good. Getting older day by day," he answered Quin with a smile.

What the actual fuck.

I huffed and turned to Gio.

"I only have that plan, Gio. Either you're with it or not. If you won't or can't get me out, then I'll let myself out," I told him with more force than I cared to admit. I moved to exit the study, exerting efforts not to glance at Master and Quin, who, by the way, were engaged in a comical conversation.

A hand on my shoulder halted my steps.

"This is for you," Master Shao said in his usual curt voice. I looked at his stretched hands, careful not to look him in the eyes. He was holding a small box.

"What is that?"

"I found it when I was putting Cerce's things away. I believed that she wanted to give this to you for your birthday. Unfortunately, she never got the chance."

I took the box from him. Grandma Cerce died a week shy of my eighteenth birthday. The thought of her brought up both sad and happy memories skittering around my mind that my eyes started to water. I turned, hiding my emotion riddled face from Master and Quin. I was almost at the door when it was suddenly flung open, missing my face by a mere inch.

The blonde boy, the one who previously had death balls in his palms stood at the entryway with a shocked face and eyes hinting of fear at the sight of me. I looked down at his wrists which were covered in bandages.

Now that we were not trying to kill each other, I was able to see his features more clearly. His looks were typically boyish, but his face was marred by almost imperceptible scars. The scars covered his shoulders and arms as well. I bet Gio's ass that the scars were all over his body, hidden underneath his clothes. There weren't battle scars either. Most were surgical scars. Ran Musa has done extensive experiments on this kid.

"Onee, meet Chris. It's okay, he's harmless."

Chris turned to face Quin and had the audacity to blush. My eyebrows shot up involuntarily.

"What are you doing here, Chris?" I asked him with a biting tone. He looked back at me but did not answer, then he looked down at the floor.

"Uhm, Onee, he can't speak."

"Huh? He's mute?" I turned to Quin with a start.

"Yes, they cut off his tongue."

Chris looked at me and nodded. Then he continued to take an interest in Gio's floorboards.

I blinked. Then I blinked some more. Maybe Gio was right. Maybe I was being too reckless with my plan. This Ran Musa seemed to be a much sinister character than I expected.

"Reianne--" Gio's voice rang in my ears. I raised my hand to stop him from saying anything further.

"I am off to see Hugo." I went past Chris and out of the study before any of them could protest further. I had to plan the details of my kidnapping well.

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