"This is the thing that Duncan took from me..."

Iris takes out the USB which was still in her pocket.

"Is that....?"

Luke asks.

"Yes, this is the very same thing that my dad gave to me but about two to three years ago, a guy claiming to be Logan approached me. At first, I was wary of him but he told me how my father was his personal trainer and that made me trust him because after all my father told me to...."

"And this guy was Duncan...."

Logan interrupted Iris's explanation, who nods and continues,

"He told me about how he was still in contact with dad and they both were working together and had finally planned to leak the USB to the public. I was hesitant but I gave it to him after he promised to let me meet dad.....in the end, he tried stealing the copy of the USB I had made and kept by myself, because after all, I'm not stupid....things were becoming bad because he was planning on hurting my family and friends, so I burnt that copy before he could get to it......" She inhales a sharp breath, "I lied to you about having it because I feared you all would not help me otherwise. I didn't ask for your help because it was my mistake. I lost that very thing that my father entrusted to me, it was my fault so I should be the one to fix this mistake...I don't really deserve to keep it..."

She hands the USB to Lucy who shakes her head and refuses to take it. She pushes it back and says,

"Nick gave it to you, he trusts you and you know what to do with it. And whatever you decide to do with it we will be with you, supporting you."

"Yeah, even if you had told us about not having the USB, we would've still helped you."

Logan adds, she smiles back at him.

"Okay, if anyone has anymore secrets come forth now because trust is really important and it's essential that we don't keep secrets if we were to fight against a huge enemy."

Lucy states, her gaze falling upon Logan.

"I...have something to tell you guys....although this isn't really a secret. I am only saying it because I think you guys have it wrong. I am not part of The Mercurial. I never was. Nick was my personal trainer, after which I joined the army. I came back two years ago and am now a contract worker. That is why I know a lot of people because I have worked with them. I knew Duncan...because he was my best friend...or at least used to be..." He clears his throat and continues, "In the army, we were a squad of five people. Our whole team which consisted of like sixty to sixty-six people, were sent on a mission which was a trap set by the higher-ups. Duncan and I were the only ones who survived...." He gulps, sipping a drink from his glass which contained water, "that's when Duncan lost his eye and vowed to get revenge for all our brothers. I was angry and hurt too but the tactics he was using was wrong. It contained killing innocent people and hurting them, I couldn't do that so I left..which made him angry because he thought I betrayed him...."

"Oh my god..."

"Wait...so you have been in a contract with Lucy all along?"

Luke inquired to which Logan shrugs,

"Kind of....not like a proper contract but more like we had a deal that I have to help her in return for using the weapons and things and even staying at the secret house....so I wouldn't call it a contract...."

"60 soldiers died....is it that incident that happened three years ago...where the head was given a lot of funds to cover the losses...that man became filthy rich afterwards, I hear he is a board member of The Mercurial.....but they said on the news that all the people died? Dont they know about you and Duncan?"

Iris explained, and asked.

"No. Well even if they were to know they still states on the media that everyone died so there should be no one left who could give a statement against them..."

Logan replied.

"Those bastards....good thing we have this now...it's time to make them all pay..."

Iris moved the USB up in the air, while smirking and adds,

"You know, now that I think about it, what you said also explains one more thing....Duncan had a gun with him but he didn't use it even once against you, which means he doesn't want to kill you..."

"I don't think that's true. He has said so many times that he wants me to die."

Logan narrows his eyes.

"See, he wants you to die. Not he wants to kill you. There's a difference."

Iris shakes her head,

"Whatever, I don't even know.....if he's alive anymore...."

An expression of pain clouds Logan's features.

"Oh he is alive, alright. There was no body found of him....I think he escaped or maybe he got injured and his followers saved him..."

Lucy explains, making Logan's face lit up. Even if Duncan was a bad guy.....he was once his best friend...more like a brother.

"Speaking of which, since we are talking about secrets...I also have one. Although it's not that big like Iris and Logan."

Ella spoke, giving a nervous smile she continued,

"I am terrified of blood. You could say I have a phobia of blood. I feel like puking while looking at it.....also those summer swimming classes I took were a joke, I would often skip them after my attendance because I am also terrified of swimming..."

"You showed me that gold medal you won."

Iris raised her brow, chuckling slightly.

"That was Luke's. I borrowed it from him for a while....Those three consecutive years of swimming classes were a lie....Me being all excited to go to the pool or beach is also a lie..somewhat, I only like the sand part of the beach...."

Everyone laughed at her revelation, making Ella herself giggle.

"If we are talking about secrets then I don't have any.....although there is one thing that no one knows about......I don't even want to talk about it...."

Luke stated, shaking his head at the memory.

"Is that so...it's fine. You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to."

Logan said, but Lucy adds,

"Are you kidding me? I want to hear this! Go on, Luke."

"Well......." He looks down, "You all know I have four elder sisters, right? Well, when I was young....they would force me to dress up...."
He speaks quickly, covering his face with his hands due to feeling embarrassed.

"You mean proper...girl dresses?"

Ella asks to which he nods, not removing the hands from hiding his blush.

Everyone bursts out laughing.

"That is the best thing I have heard all day. Oh my god, why didn't you tell me this before? Oh! Do they have any pictures?"

Lucy, the one who was laughing the most couldn't help but tease her dear nephew more.

"Shut up. There are no pics. And what about you? What's your secret?"

Luke glares at her and changes the topic, turning the tables towards her.

"I have none. Besides this isn't a secret sharing group session....when I meant secrets I was only referring to Iris and to Logan to clear up your misunderstandings. You told your secret to us yourself. No one forced you to."

She sticks her tongue out while crossing her arms.

"That's not fair....come on, we all shared, regardless of how much of a big secret it was we still shared because we want to trust each other...."

"So, tell us..."

"What are you hiding?"

They all insisted her to spill the beans.

"My deepest darkest secret is........." She added a dramatic long pause, "I love all of you guys deeply."

She smiled, but everyone looked unimpressed by this.

"Oh come on..."

"Tell us something we don't already know."

"But you don't know this since I have never said this to you before."

Lucy didn't understand why they all acted like it's not a big deal.

"We already know this from your actions...even if you don't say it to us. Now, come on. Tell us a real secret."

Lucy sighed and muttered in a low voice,

"I was engaged once...."

"Okay now you know, let's go back."

Her voice becomes normal after she quickly changes the topic. But the three people in front were in no mood to go without hearing more about this. What surprised her more was that her own nephew who knew about this from before had an expression that he was hearing it for the first time.

"What?!"

All of them exclaimed at once.

"Why are you so surprised?"

Lucy asked Luke, who blinked, trying to remember the event and when he finally does, he replies,

"Oh yeah. You were engaged once....sorry, it's just been so long that I've seen you single that my brain just automatically assumed that you are forever single."

Lucy smacks Luke for his remark.

"This is really...oh my god....wait, you even had a boyfriend?"

Ella was this close to getting punched by Lucy for her shocked response.

"That bastard is an idiot for leaving you!"

"Did he cheat on you? That asshole!"

Logan and Iris went on an offensive mood. Lucy was happy to see them like this but she had to correct them because they can't keep calling an innocent man, that. She starts laughing at their reactions and after clearing her throat adds,

"Don't curse the poor guy. He is innocent. I was the one who broke off the engagement."

"But why? You do realise that this could have been your only chance to get married?"

Ella responded,

"Ella, if you don't shut up I will smack you hard."

Lucy glares at her. Why are Luke and Ella commenting about her being single? Sure, it's been a while since she last went out with someone but that doesn't mean she can't find a boyfriend. She can, if she wants to. It's just that for a few years now she has focused more on herself and living her life.

"He told me to choose either my job or him. So I left him..."

She finally answers.

"Aww....."

"You are so strong...."

Ella and Luke hugs her. Ella motions Logan and Iris to join in as well, but Iris replies,

"I am not much of a hugger...."

"Same...also my hand is freaking killing me...."

Logan looks at his hand which has started bleeding again.

"Oh, wait. Where are the bandages? We need to change them....."

Iris, who felt slightly responsible went ahead to change his bandages, even though he assured her it's fine and that it's not her fault but still Iris insisted on helping him.

"Okay, now that secrets are out-of-the-way. What's our plan?"

Lucy looks at Iris, who gives a mischievous grin, playfulness flashed in her eyes like how a child plans to do something wrong,

"Oh I have a plan....a really good one. We use their own tactics against them."