The Criminal Diaries

      “What?” Helene asks surprisingly. “Don’t you want to say anything? Or are you bluffing? You actually don’t have anything, but you can’t show it because you must be threatening in our eyes.”       “Relax, Marshall, I’ve said I’m not going to tell you anything,” Elijah says quietly and confidently. “At least, now. Marcus is still thinking and deciding if you should know who’s the reason why your boyfriend became a weak and cowardly puppy, for whom crying is super easy.”       “I’ve never criticized men who cry. Especially if it happens because of an important reason. For example, someone’s death.”       “Not always, dolly.”       “Alright, don’t speak if you don’t want to. The truth will come to light early or late.”       “Maybe. But you will never be the witness to this.”       “We will see it!”       “Yeah, see. Let’s see who will remember you when we tell your friends about all your sins. See how much they want to save you after our words.”       “The girls know it, don’t worry.”       “M-m-m, that’s how… And the men don’t, as I understand?”       “They’ll know everything early or late.”       “Of course, they will. My lord will be happy to tell them who you are. Tell them how many people became your victims, who did nothing bad to you.”       “It’s none of your business!”       “Ah, Helene Marshall…” Elijah shakes his head. “How do you dare to talk about some kind of injustice and teach someone to live when you’ve got so many sins? How do you care to say something about Marcus, who wants to get rid of Peter, who’s done nothing bad, as you say?”       “The difference between Marcus and me is that I regretted what I did and asked those I could for forgiveness. But this man keeps thinking he is doing everything right.”       “Trust me, you’d do the same thing if you were instead of him.”       “No, I would never kill the person, no matter how much I dislike them. I’m not a killer and will never be the one!”       “You get this wish unconsciously when you meet someone who reminds you of someone who means the whole world to you. When someone to be your sweetheart becomes their victim.”       “Don’t dare to call Peter a killer!” Helene demands coldly. “He would never do that!”       “I didn’t say anything, huh!” Elijah smiles innocently. “I blamed Peter for nothing and didn’t say he killed someone.”       “Even if you say Peter killed someone, who meant a lot to Marcus, I wouldn’t believe it. Because I know him too well.”       “You think you’ve found out everything about him for the four years?”       “Much more than everyone from your gang!”       “No, Helene, you know Peter too badly. You barely know the one you probably wanted to get married to. The one you wanted to make children with so they later make you happy with grandchildren.”       “Any girl wants it when she meets a good man who takes care of her.”       “And were you really ready to pull that mentally ill guy out of the edge again and again? Were you ready to tolerate his claims about torturing him? Persuade him to go to the doctor, whom, as I see, he ignores super hard, and take prescribed antidepressants?”       “I’ve already said I’m ready to do this again and again. Because I love him and can’t imagine anyone else next to me.”       “Ah, love…” Elijah glances aside. “It always clouds our minds and turns off our brains. You can love even a donkey in this condition. Or a gorilla.”       “If you ever loved someone, it would be easier for you to understand my feelings.”       “Saving someone who doesn’t want it all the time never works. It’s the thing that two people should do. Otherwise, it’s gonna be something like fighting someone to be ten times stronger and able to crush you like a pearl out of your principal and stubbornness.”       “How do you know if Peter wants it or not? How do you know he doesn’t want to get well and live like a normal person?”       “I repeat, Rose is not living for you, he’s living for those who surround him. Not because he loves them. No. He just thinks he owes them. He is trying to pay his debt somehow. Trust me, he is not happy with waking up in this world every day and asking himself when everything will end.”       “Before Marcus and his accomplices started the open war against him, Peter was alright. He looked happy and healthy and planned his future. But your tricks opened the wounds the guys and I barely healed, and those that had hurt him before.”       “It’s just an illusion. Either Peter understood completely that he was not alright, but tried not to show it. Or your sweetheart didn’t understand what was happening to him but wanted to seem healthy and happy so badly.”       “Don’t say it like you know everything about him.”       “We know everything about him, Marshall. Even what he doesn’t know about himself.”       “We know Peter is not alright. And he doesn’t hide it.”       “He has never hidden it, or just recently? Huh?”       “You can ruin everything for one moment, but sometimes it’s not enough to live a whole life to restore it all. Even if you put all the pieces together, cracks will not be gone. No matter how hard you cover them.”       “Right. But trust me, in the case of Rose, a bigger part of what’s been ruined cannot be restored.”       “Everything is possible if you want it.”       “I see you’re suffering from the forever savior syndrome. The one who tries to save those who don’t want it. You’re like the wife of an alcoholic, drug addict, or a gambler who clings to the man’s pants so hard from fear of being alone. She is ready to get through the fire and water to save her sweetheart, while he keeps drowning in the shit. Why? Because it’s like… ‘What do I do without him? We’ve been together for ages! I love that negligent one!’”       “I’ve never been ready to do what I could do for Peter in the case of other men.”       “Right! When people are under the influence of strong feelings for someone, they can do a lot of shitty things: breaking their relationship with their family, leaving their prestigious job, signing their house, apartment, and car over to their sweetheart, and providing for them. But when people wake up and want to fix it all, it’s too late to do something ‘cause what’s done is done.”       “I doubt that when someone tells you to sing your property over them, it can be called love.”       “That’s what I mean, dolly!” Elijah exclaims. “That’s what I mean!”       “Anyway, I was ready for anything for Peter, and I will be ready. Even if he decides to give me false accusations without any proof again.”       “Your wish!” Elijah raises his hands in front of himself as if he gives up. “Nobody deprives you of it. Since you want to keep being a stupid idiot charmed by love and acting like you are deaf and blinded, it’s alright.”       “Peter needs that stupid idiot charmed by love. This thought makes me hold on like never ever. Because I know that man will not want to live without me.”       “How many grandiloquent words! Listening to you might make people cry. Admire you being so selfless, loyal, and caring.”       Elijah smirks contemptuously.       “How hard you try to whitewash yourself and fix your mistakes.  How much you don’t want people to remind you of the past that you wanted to forget so badly again and again.”       “Maybe, that’s true,” Helene pronounces without emotions. “I want to prove to people that I’m no longer the girl I was.”       “By the way, Rose and you are the same in this case: he wanted to forget everything not to destroy his psyche, but you just want to make everyone believe you’ve always been a pride of your grandmother and grandfather. You two deny the past versions of yourself and play a certain role so your new familiars feel sympathy for you.”       “Actually, everyone makes mistakes. And anyone who wants it deserves a second chance.”       “And even if you spend your whole life pretending to be sweet and then turn out to be known as a nasty bitch, you will have to pay for everything early or late.”       “I’ve already paid for it. I’ve already paid for my disgusting behavior.”       “It just seemed to you. But tonight, you will pay the cost for everything.”       “No, please, don’t do this…” Helene begs with pity in her eyes. “I don’t want to die…”       “I know nothing!” Elijah raises his hands in front of himself. “Yeah! You have a little time to say goodbye to everyone.”       “Don’t do this… Let me go…”       “I advise you to close your mouth and not to whine. And do everything we tell you.”       “Why would I be obedient since you are going to kill me anyway?” Helene wonders. “Does it make sense?”       “Well… If you’re sweet and nice, your death will be quick and easy. But if you don’t shut the fuck up and keep fighting and biting like a wild cat, alas. You will be dying with torture.”       “I will hardly be fighting and biting. I have no strength. And I’m so hungry. And I’ve got a sore throat.”       “Yes, yes, I know. The guys said they caught you unconscious here when they came here to relax a little.”       Helene says nothing and just swallows nervously, locking her fingers.       “Alright, shorty, I have no time to talk to you here,” Elijah says confidently, clapping Helene on the forearm. “I have a little time, but I have too much to do. I should do everything before Peter goes to Marcus’ home.”       Elijah gets up quietly from the bed and turns on Helene, while she looks at him with wet, dead eyes.       “I don’t say goodbye to you. The guys will come here soon to do all the orders from Marcus. And I shall join them with pleasure.”       “Please…” Helene whispers with pity in her eyes. “Don’t do this… Help me…”       “But you stay here, think a little… Remember your life, say goodbye to your beloved people, apologize to those you hurt… In short, get ready to go to the afterlife, cutie. Wait for Peter to join you. And the friends of your boyfriend. If they don’t want to stay silent and will go after their buddy to cover his ass.”       “No, for God’s sake…”       “See you later, Helene Marshall. Wait for our last visit in one or two hours.”       Raising his head proudly, Elijah turns around, comes to the open door, and locks it after he ends up in the hall. While Helene staying all alone and looking pale from weakness gets tears in her eyes and embraces herself with both arms, feeling that she starts shaking at the thought that she has little time to live.       “Guys, please, don’t let me down…” Helene begs quietly. “Don’t let them do anything to you. Don’t let Peter go to the meeting with Marcus alone. I’m begging you, don’t leave him alone. He can’t do this. If you leave him, it’s gonna be the way to his death. The death he won’t avoid.”       Helene runs her hands from the top of her head to the nape of her neck with a heavy sigh.       “Don’t leave me, guys, I need you so badly. I won’t survive if I live in this place for one or two weeks. These walls are driving me crazy. I wanna get out of here. I wanna go home… Please, don’t deprive me of this chance… I don’t wanna die… I'm too young… My life can’t be over like this. It cannot…”       Bending her legs at her knees, Helene presses them to her chest and leans on one of them with her chin, while little drops of tears run down her pale cheeks slowly. She does not know what time it is now, when the meeting between Peter and Marcus will start, or when someone will come back here to kill her. But she really wants to believe that her friends and boyfriend will come up with a way to find her and take her out before it’s too late. However, knowing how far she was taken away, it’s starting to seem to her something like a fantasy.       

***

      Meanwhile, Terrence, Raquelle, Edward, and Natalia suspecting nothing accept the invitation of Daniel and Anna to go to their home and spend some time together. The dog Sammy joins them, as well, after the lovers took him from Scarlett. The friends decided to go to the back of the house and sit at the table placed at some distance from the pool: someone is sitting in soft armchairs, and someone is sitting on wide sofas. The retriever joins them and listens closely to the talk of the men and girls, who prefer to be together not to go crazy from what’s happening at the moment.       “The photoshoot was really cool!” Edward confesses cheerfully, sitting on the sofa next to Raquelle with his arms put on the back of it. “We got along with the photograph quickly enough and understood each other well. And when we ended it, he came to me and said his daughter adored ‘Against The System’ and couldn’t wait for our album to be released.”       “But we had to end the shoot earlier than we planned ‘cause the lightning equipment broke,” Raquelle adds, folding her hands in front of herself. “The team tried to fix the situation. They spent one hour or one and a half hours. We continued to work again, but at some moment, the lamps broke.”       “Yeah, your first together photoshoot ended with such a great failure!” Daniel chuckles kindly, sitting in the armchair next to Anna.       “It’s clear why the equipment was hot, and the lamps broke,” Edward raises his head proudly with a sly smile, spreading his legs aside. “Because there was me, a freaking sexy guy who's the reason everything melts. The tension was super strong.”       “They had many more problems if I were at the photoshoot,” Terrence adds, while Natalia sitting next to him looks at the man gloomily. “Because a fire would’ve started at the studio if I had just shown up there.”       “I am so sorry, bro, but nobody thought of you on the photoshoot. No little mentions.”       “O-o-o, look how tense MacClife is!” Natalia jabs, clapping Terrence on the shoulder. “Look how he poured his lips!”       “The guy’s jealous, jealous,” Anna laughs, sitting in the armchair with her leg placed on another. “He is mad that he wasn’t invited to work.”       “Edward and I had no doubts about this,” Raquelle confesses. “When we were eating something delicious during the break, we imagined how he was fretting and fuming.”       “I can’t personally wait to see your together photos,” Natalia says confidently. “I’m sure they’re gonna be stunning.’       “Your fiancé’s definitely got everything to build a brilliant modeling career. The photograph was really happy with him and encouraged him for a good job.”       “It couldn’t just be otherwise!” Edward says with his head proudly raised. “First, I had such a wonderful teacher who gave me tons of excellent advice. And second, whatever I do, I do it perfectly.”       “Hm, I think I’ve heard something like this before…” Daniel says thoughtfully, stroking his chin.       “Yay, MacClife, you’re taking after someone…” Anna smiles mysteriously as she looks at Terrence briefly.       “It’s alright, let the boy have fun,” Terrence waves his hand. “H will never be the original and will always have the title of a poser.”       “Anyway, I’ve never doubted my appearance,” Edward replies. “And which reason could be? I’m young, handsome, sexual… And so hot that even the equipment breaks because of me. It can’t bear the heat that I spread.”       “Besides, there was me, one of the sexiest women on the planet,” Raquelle adds with pride, spreading her shoulders and straightening her back. “When I barely show up on the set, everyone looks at me.”       “My dear Raquelle and I became a freaking perfect team. I really loved working with her. And I would be happy to do this again.”       “I’m even wondering what you got on the photoshoot, on which the lighting equipment broke,” Anna says thoughtfully.       “You’re all gonna be delighted!”       At this moment, Sammy sitting on the floor next to Daniel barks quietly as he still looks very depressed due to the separation from his owner.       “Besides, we wore incredibly expensive clothes from the famous designers. And one of the watches that I was offered costs as much as two or three shows of the band. Or actually a full worldwide tour.”       “Oh, yay, you finally didn’t look like a homeless guy and looked like a normal human,” Terrence snaps with a sweet smile.       “I’d see how you would look in this role.”       “I’d be the sexiest homeless guy in the neighborhood.”       “You could hardly be the one if you smelled like a trash can and had dirty hands due to the sebum on your head,” Daniel replies.       “Shut up, you two, before you get a strong slap on the back of your head.”       “Don’t pay attention to this idiot, guys,” Natalia addresses Edward and Raquelle. “Although we haven’t seen your photos yet, we don’t doubt we’re gonna love all of them.”       “Besides, I’ve always loved the way Edward looks in the band’s photos,” Anna confesses. “He’s our super photogenic guy that looks excellent in any look.”       “I’m gonna open a secret, all his looks were really adult and sexual,” Raquelle says confidently. “And I actually thought Edward looked like Terrence in one of them.”       “Really?” Natalia asks surprisingly.       “Yeah, he looked like a copy of his brother! He even had a similar hairstyle!”       “Imagine if the editors make a mistake and call him Terrence, not Edward!” Daniel exclaims. “If they think he is freaking similar to him and think they see the older of the MacClifes.”       “In short, guys, you’ll see everything soon,” Edward says proudly. “And understand why I am the next candidate for the title of the sexiest man on the planet.”       “If you keep showing off, I’ll publish some photos that will hardly let people call you sexy,” Terrence threatens.       “Asking for trouble again?”       “Just remind you that you can do nothing without my permission.”       “I didn’t ask your permission for the photoshoot. And I wasn’t gonna. Just like I wasn’t gonna ask you to approve of my wish to get married.”       “That’s the reason you must have your ass kicked.”       “Actually, youngers can’t be beaten in case you didn’t know.”       “Someone beats you?”       “I get kicks from you all the time!”       “I think you deserve it. And you will keep getting them until you learn to obey me.”       “Make sure it doesn’t lead to the opposite effect.”       “Make sure it doesn’t lead to the opposite effect,” Terrence teases in a squeaky voice.       Edward grabs the pillow lying next to him and hits Terrence sitting on the left of him, while his brother barely covers his face with his hands. Daniel laughs shyly and looks at the girls, who flash a slight smile, and Sammy that watches what’s happening without emotions.       “Hey, bros, calm down now!” Daniel exclaims, stroking Sammy’s head. “You don’t look like hot and sexy boys. You look like babies much more.”       “Anyway, I always have lessons in education for my bro in my schedule,” Edward replies confidently and puts the pillow in its place.       “I have to fight some mean little rutrags,” Terrence adds, fixing his hair slightly. “So they know where they belong.”       “Hey, pretty boys, you better tell us if you managed to get through to Peter?” Anna asks confidently.       “Alas, nope,” Edward throws his hands up. “I’ve tried multiple times.”       “I can’t reach him, either,” Terrence shakes his head.       “The important thing is that Rose read all our messages with the suggestion of meeting, but he ignored them,” Daniel notices. “No hello, no goodbye!”       “And he turned off his phone!” Natalia exclaims.       “I don’t like all of this, guys,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “I don’t like this.”       “I guess Peter started to distance himself from us,” Daniel assumes. “He’s starting to believe in the shit Marcus told him about us.”       “It seems like he wasn’t happy to see us at his home yesterday,” Anna says thoughtfully. “But he accepted us just because he felt awkward kicking us out.”       “He wasn’t,” Natalia agrees. “His face was like, ‘God, c’mon, get out of here!’”       “We’re starting to lose control of the situation,” Raquelle replies. “He’s literally slipping away little by little.”       “I wonder how long Marcus is gonna wash his brain with all these photos, videos, and other provocations?” Edward asks.       “I’m also wondering why he started to fear men,” Daniel adds. “What some men did to him when he was a kid.”       “I can’t assume anything else but the fact that he could be attacked,” Natalia shrugs.       “But why would someone attack a child?” Raquelle wonders. “As I understood, Peter became a victim of teenagers or adult men. But what did they need from him?”       “Alas, we will not know it until Pete himself wanna remember all of that,” Terrence upsets.       “May it happen that Marcus knows something about it?” Anna assumes.       “I don’t exclude,” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “But I’m not sure yet. Nobody knows if he really knows some dark secrets of Helene. Or this is just a bad coincidence.”       “Nevertheless, we know for sure that there are secrets,” Raquelle adds.       “Listen, girls, maybe you will tell us something about it?” Terrence suggests. “Don’t tell us everything – just a little bit!”       “Sorry, guys, but we’ve told you we promised to keep it secret,” Natalia apologizes with sadness in her eyes. “The only thing we can say is that Peter doesn’t have to do with this story.”       “But if Marcus really knows something, how does he?” Daniel wonders. “How does he know he means our Helene?”       “That old asshole is probably the same as Uncle Michael,” Edward crosses his arms over his chest. He has his fingers in many pies! He knows everything about everyone! He made a lot of acquaintances, among whom there were those who knew both Rose and Marshall.“       “Yeah, as they say, the world is small,” Terrence notices thoughtfully. “Since we know Helene ran into Marcus as a child on the day she ran away from him magically.”       “Imagine if Rose knows him, too, but he forgot it,” Natalia adds.       “Imagine if Marcus is the reason why Peter started to fear men,” Raquelle says.       “Marcus?” Terrence frowns slightly. “You think he harmed the blond?”       “I wouldn’t be surprised.”       “By the way, when Anna and I were at the supermarket to buy something, she told me about an interesting theory connected with the time Peter spent at the hospital,” Daniel says confidently.       “We’re all yours,” Natalia moves her eyes to Anna.       “I’m gonna say that I’m not sure about anything, and I’m just assuming it,” Anna says shyly. “But I thought that the doctor, who was the reason why Peter got worse after the second blood transfusion, could get the infection into his organism on purpose.”       “On purpose?” Edward rounds his eyes.       “Responsible enough people with a perfect education are working in that hospital and know their business well. I don’t think it was really a mistake, as Lewis, or what the name of Peter’s doctor was, said.”       “Well…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “This theory can be the truth. The guy was supposed to get well after the successful blood transfusion, but he got worse suddenly. A high fever, a fast heartbeat, a low blood pressure…”       “Honestly, we didn’t think about why it happened back then,” Terrence confesses, leaning on the laps with his elbows. “Lewis just informed us, and we accepted it and just waited, as he told us. And I personally had no time to think about it ‘cause I should’ve solved the problem with my uncle.”       “And I initially thought it couldn’t be the truth,” Daniel confesses. “But on the way home, I thought a little and stopped being so categorical.”       “And if it’s true, does it mean Marcus has been trying to get rid of him for a long time?” Natalia concludes. “And Peter himself doesn’t even suspect it?”       “Maybe, he heard or saw something when he was in the hospital?” Raquelle assumes, “Rose wasn’t unconscious all the time and woke up at times.”       “At least, he said nothing to us,” Edward shrugs.       “Yeah, I guess that man got super mad at Rose,” Terrence exhales sharply.       “And it’s hardly connected with the band,” Anna adds. “The case is something different. But I can’t imagine what that is.”       “Maybe, Natalia and Raquelle are right that Peter has met Marcus before, and that man did something that the blond preferred to forget?” Daniel assumes. “Knowing the criminal past of that old asshole, we can believe Rose could’ve been one of his victims, but he survived magically.”       “But why does he want to try to kill him again?” Edward throws his hands up. “If I’m not mistaken, Marcus never chased a person twice. If he failed once, he went to find another victim.”       “If it’s connected with his personal problems, what’s that?” Terrence asks, stroking his chin. “How could Peter make that man mad?”       “I’m afraid we will not know it now,” Natalia sighs heavily. “Something is gonna get clear when Marcus confesses everything, or when Peter remembers some details.”       “And how’s Helene connected with all of this?” Daniel wonders. “Why is that bastard doing this to her? Why is he letting his henchmen do what we saw in the photos and videos to the girl?”       “Anyway, it’s more important to find her and protect her somehow,” Terrence says quietly. “Not to let those assholes kill Helene.”       “If only we knew where to find her… Even the police, who have many more possibilities, can do nothing.”       Hearing the name of his owner, Sammy barks with great pity and whines.       “Quiet, quiet, Sammy,” Anna pronounces softly, petting Sammy’s head. “Quiet, my boy, it’s okay.”       “Gosh, my heart bleeds when I see this unhappy doggy,” Natalia says with pity in her eyes. “How much he misses his owner.”       “He was lying quietly in the corner when Daniel and I went to the home of Mrs. Marshall. But when we called him, he came to us quickly. And he didn’t mind going with us.”       “Doesn’t he still eat anything and play?” Terrence specifies.       “Nope, the bow is always filled with food, and his toys are always near, but he doesn’t care,” Daniel shakes his head. “He even refuses to eat his favorite treat that smells so disgustingly.”       “Thank God, nothing bad happened after the wound,” Raquelle notices. “A little bit before the wound is gone.”       “Oh, and Mrs. Marshall…” Natalia sighs heavily, putting her head on her forehead. “She doesn’t get out of bed and can’t let go of bottles of cures.”       “I wish we had taken it all and didn’t go crazy,” Anna says. “Watching Peter, taking care of Mrs. Marshall, watching Sammy. And we must support each other and hold on.”       “It would be harder if we were alone,” Edward notices. “But we’re together. It’s easier. Anyway.”       “I’m horrified at the thought that Marcus may avoid the punishment for all his tricks,” Terrence confesses. “If that asshole isn’t stopped, he will keep harming everyone. He will be trying to get rid of Peter and Helene again and again. And he will find more victims. Thinking of the old times and shaking it off, so to speak.”       “He can’t pretend to be an angel mourning for his late wife and working for pennies forever,” Daniel replies confidently. “Masks will be dropped early or late, and people will see who they’ve smiled sweetly at all this time.”       “This asshole is silent about what became the cause of her death,” Terrence notices. “But it’s clear that something is not right, knowing the age of that woman.”       “Her death hardly has to do with Peter,” Anna assumes. “Maybe, it’s just another victim of Marcus, who killed her shamelessly but decided to mourn for his failures and friends.”       “Since nobody knows anything, it means this case is really kind of criminal,” Raquelle replies.       “I’m obviously sorry for her, but it doesn’t make sense to sit here and guess why she died,” Edward says quietly.       “Agree,” Terrence nods confidently. “We shouldn't be stuck on this.”       “Listen, guys…” Natalia pronounces thoughtfully, putting her finger on her lip. “Yesterday, before sleep, I examined the information about Marcus and his tricks that I found on the Internet. And I paid attention to one little thing.”       “About the murders?” Raquelle specifies.       “Nope, something else. Did you all see the photos of that man when he was young?”       “Yeah, but why?” Daniel shrugs.       “Doesn’t he remind you of someone by chance?”       “Who should Marcus remind of?” Anna wonders. “I don’t understand.”       “C’mon, guys, think better,” Natalia insists. “Maybe you’ve ever thought about it, but you got rid of this thought ‘cause you thought it was impossible?”       “Sorry, Natalia, but I don’t understand you at all,” Edward throws his hands up. “Can you explain what you mean better?”       “Doesn’t any of you notice that Marcus is kind of similar to Peter? At least, in the photos spread throughout the Internet!”       “Marcus?” everyone pronounces surprisingly. “Similar to Peter?”       “They have something in common!” Natalia exclaims. “Both are blondes, both have a rare amber eye color, and they even have some similar mimic gestures…”       “I dunno, I didn’t notice anything like that,” Terrence shakes his head.       “No, I guess that it seemed to you!” Anna exclaims. “There’s nothing similar between Marcus and Peter!”       “You didn’t just view closely his photos at a young age when he was a little older than Rose,” Natalia assumes, taking her smartphone from the pocket on her shorts. “You cared about the text of the article more. But I viewed it better and can’t stop seeing Pete in Marcus.”       With these words, Natalia finds something quickly on her phone and shows it to everyone, who is super skeptical about this thought.       “Hey, look at these photos!” Natalia starts showing the photos by scrolling left. “Yes, of course, it’s not a 100% resemblance, but there’s something about that man.”       “Okay, let’s think they really have the same hair color and eye color,” Terrence exhales sharply. “But it doesn’t mean anything.”       “Indeed, Rochester!” Daniel exclaims. “Don’t you wanna say Peter is connected with Marcus with family ties?”       “No, I don’t,” Natalia shakes her head. “But I wanted to check everything ‘cause I couldn’t escape the feeling that he reminded me of someone… And… Here’s what I got.”       Natalia falls into silence for a second as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.       “When Terrence and I just arrived here, and you were running from side to side, I received a voice message from Mr. Johnson. He said he forgot one little thing about Marcus.”       “What thing?” Raquelle frowns.       “As Mr. Johnson said, Marcus has a child. There’s the information about it in the place where he registered the one. And the case is that nothing is known about that child’s life. The child kinda disappeared.”       “What do you mean?” Anna surprises.       “Marcus was caught with a child for like one year. After that, the child disappeared. Nobody saw the one, nobody heard of the one. And Marcus doesn’t think about the one. As if he doesn’t have children.”       “Okay, what does Peter have to do with it?” Daniel surprises. “Even if that asshole has a child, who cares?”       “Nothing… I just… It’s just known that Marcus is the official father of the boy named Theodore. Theodore Longbottom. And… His birth date is exactly the same as Peter’s birth date – April 10th, 1991. Which means Marcus’s son is the same age as Pete.”       “Come on!” Terrence exclaims. “It’s just a coincidence! His son’s name is Marcus, as you say. Not Peter. Besides, Marcus’s wife’s name was Julia, and Rose’s mother is Cornelia. They all can’t be connected!”       “I know. But as I've said, Peter has a strong resemblance to Marcus. So… I don’t exclude that there’s a family connection between them. Mr. Johnson doubts it too, but he wanna find out more about what happened to the child of Marcus and where he disappeared and why he doesn’t show up anywhere.”       “He did kill him!” Daniel throws gloomily. “It’s clear, huh! And he hid the clues so that nobody thought it was him!”       “Who knows, buddy… Anyway, this story is really dark… There are still many questions we’re gonna have to answer.”       “Listen, guys, Natalia is right to some extent!” Edward exclaims, viewing the photos on Natalia’s smartphone that he asks her to give him. “I don’t know what about now, but he’s sometimes really similar to Peter. For example, Marcus squints his eyes in the same way as Rose. And his fingers are also long and thin.”       “You know, I also thought they had something in common at some moment,” Raquelle confesses, viewing the photos on the phone in Edward’s hands. “I even thought they could really be relatives. But I quickly got rid of this thought and thought it was nonsense.”       “What if it’s not nonsense?” Anna assumes after she gets to view the photos of the young Marcus. “The young Marcus really has something from Peter. But I’m not sure ‘cause these photos are not HQ. He looks like Rose’s potential father or uncle.”       “Okay, I admit that Marcus is really similar to Pete,” Daniel agrees. “But their resemblance is not so big.”       “I wonder if Rose has already noticed it?” Terrence asks himself. “Doesn’t that man remind him of himself?”       “I don’t think Pete had time and wanted to look at Marcus’ face and find something similar in him,” Raquelle protests.       “Anyway, we should think about what Peter’s mother and Marcus’s wife have to do with this story,” Natalia advises. “What if they’re all really connected with Rose. Besides, I’m confused ‘cause Julia died the next day after Peter’s birth. He was born on April 10th, but she died on the 11th. Yes, it may be a coincidence, but still.”       “Is that asshole an uncle and brother of his mother?” Daniel assumes. “Or actually a father? If it’s so, we can explain the fact that Cornelia Rose was involved in this story.”       “But we still don’t know what Longbottom needs from our friend,” Edward adds. “That man isn’t a rich folk that wanna kill his own relative for money.”       “I was right when I once said every previous enemy of ours took something from everyone we had had to deal with,” Raquelle adds.       “No, the problem is probably not money,” Terrence assumes. “It’s something different… I don’t exclude that there’s some fault of Peter in it. Though he may suspect nothing.”       “But what could he do?” Natalia wonders. “A quiet, shy guy with a pure heart, who’s never done anything bad to anyone!”       “Maybe, the answer is hidden in Peter’s blocked memories of his childhood?” Daniel gives the version. “What if he harmed someone, not someone harmed him? On purpose or not, but Marcus could get super mad and try to harm and even kill him.”       “But he was a child!” Raquelle throws her hands up. “A child doesn’t always understand what they do. They don’t understand what hurt and bad mean.”       “In short, guys, everything is connected in this story!” Edward concludes. “It means we should figure out everything we know to get a full picture.”       “We should talk to Peter and ask if he sees something about himself in him,” Anna says determinedly. “Maybe, that guy suspects he may be connected with that man more tightly than we all think.”       “And it would be great to tell Mr. Johnson about our guesses,” Terrence insists. “And about Peter probably getting his blood infected on purpose. About Marcus being his possible relative. As well as his wife.”       “Oh, yeah!” Raquelle clicks her fingers. “It would be great to ask the hospital staff members where Peter was. Maybe, they can even find Lewis himself if he’s still working there. And get more information about the families of Marcus and Julia.”       At this moment, Sammy still sitting next to Daniel decides to lie down, putting his face on the paws folded in front of him.       “Something tells me we’re gonna be shocked when we know the truth,” Raquelle sighs tiredly, leaning back on the sofa. “When Marcus finally tells why he’s doing all of this.”       “What a twist it would be if Pete really turned out to be a relative of that freak,” Edward says thoughtfully. “If it turned out that he had someone from his family.”       “I don’t doubt there’s a connection between them,” Natalia says confidently.       “It happens that there’s a high chance of Rose being related to the heartless criminal, who has committed five times more crimes than those we’ve had to deal with before?” Terrence rounds his eyes.       “Oh, I’m gonna have my brain explode from all this information!” Daniel moans, running his hands over his face. “Every day, we learn something new, much more shocking news.”       “You noticed it right, Perkins,” Raquelle agrees. “The brain is burning.”       “Maybe, we should distract a little and drink something or eat?”       “Oh, good idea!” Edward approves. “I have a dry throat.”       “Let me get water for all of you, while you sit here,” Anna says. “Or… I can make a cup of coffee and find something tasty. Daniel and I bought something today.”       “Yes, yes, sweetie, that’s what we need!” Natalia exclaims.       “Yes, let’s drink a cup of coffee,” Terrence agrees. “Right here, in the fresh air.”       “Okay, I will boil water and come back when everything is ready,” Anna promises with a slight smile.       Caressing Daniel’s cheek and yanking Sammy by the ears, Anna gets up from the armchair, leaves the back of the house, and enters the living room through the door that leads to it, while the others watch her and decide to distract themselves a little by talking and pay attention to the dog that seems especially quiet and depressed today. When Anna comes to the kitchen, she adds some cold water from the faucet to the electric kettle and presses the only button that runs the process of boiling. Then she comes to one of the kitchen drawers, takes a pack of little candies with different tastes, opens it, and adds all of them to a deep plate.       Since it’s going to take at least three or four minutes for the water to boil, Anna just leans on the table with her buttocks and hands and thinks about everything the friends and she talked about with sadness in her eyes. In parallel, she looks around the entire living room, seeing that the slight wind barely moves the transparent tulle. She stops her eyes on the bags of her friends lying on the sofa, some little things on the table… At some moment, she starts to look at her salon manicure with the thought that it’s time to find some free time and go to her master to fix it.       Not knowing what to do before the water in the kettle boils, Anna just starts walking in circles around the whole room for nothing. But some time later, she hears a loud sound in the living room. It tells her about the incoming call on the wired phone. Frowning slightly, the girl comes to the table with it quickly, takes the phone, presses the button, and puts it to her ear, pronouncing quietly:       “Hello.”       “Hey, Anna, don’t I bother you?” the man’s friendly, soft voice pronounces.       “Ryan?” Anna pronounces surprisingly.       “Glad to hear you, friend.”       “Gosh, it’s been a while since we talked! Where have you been? You forgot me at all!”       “Sorry, I had too much to do. My studies, work with documents for changing my name, and my move into a rented apartment. In short, I have no time to be bored.”       “Oh, I see…”       “Listen, why aren’t you answering? I’ve tried to call you on your mobile number many times, but you were unavailable!”       “Sorry, my phone is not with me now. It’s in my room, I’m in the living room.”       “I see…”       “Hey, what if we meet somewhere? Let’s go to the café and talk? And if you want, you can go to the home of Daniel and me. We’re not alone now: we’re accepting the other guys. I’m sure they’re gonna be happy to see you.”       “Sorry, Anna, but I can’t,” Ryan shakes his head with sadness in his eyes. “I don’t have too much time now. So, I can’t talk to you for a long time.”       “As you want. Anyway, the doors of our house are always open for you. As well as the doors of my parents’ home.”       “I know, darling. But I actually called you for one thing. Not sure if everything is happening the way my eyes see, but I think I should warn you.”       “Warn me?” Anna frowns slightly. “Warn me about what?”       “Can you really talk to me now? Or should I better call you later?”       “No, no, it’s alright, you can speak. You have something important?”       “The case is that I saw something that made me think of suspicious things.”       “Don’t scare me, Ryan, for God’s sake. Tell me what’s wrong. If I can, I will surely help you. And ask the guys for help if you need it.”       “In short, I went to the home of my classmate. He has some study issues, but I go to his home two times per week and help him fix them. Of course, the case is hard, but something is happening.”       “What’s next?”       “I recently left his home and decided to go to another place to solve some problems. But before getting into my car, I thought I saw Peter.”       “Peter?” Anna rounds her eyes.       “At first, I wasn’t sure if that was him ‘cause I can’t see clearly from afar. But then I came closer, looked at him better, and understood that it was really him.”       “But what’s Peter doing there? And what’s the neighborhood?”       “I think he went to someone’s home. And Rose was kinda excited and tense. I would say he was a little scared. As if he had been told the news about his close person’s death. Well, or just scared him too much.”       “Oh, God…” Ann puts her hand on her heart.       “I was interested and decided to watch him and find out what he was doing there. Something told me something was not right with this situation.”       “He saw you?”       “Nope, he didn’t. I was far enough.”       “Don’t you know whose home he could go to?”       “Can’t say anything. But Peter didn’t kinda know which house he needed. He stood in the same place and spent much time looking at all those who were in the neighborhood.”       “How far is it?”       “Well… It takes about one and a half hours if you go from my university. On the traffic-free road.”       “It’s strange…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully. “What did Peter need there? Who was he looking for?”       “But the more interesting thing is that two men came to him at some moment, told him something, took him under his arms, and pulled him to one of the houses.”       “Two men? Under his arms?”       “Peter didn’t talk to them too gently and almost hit one of them in the face. And then he got a slap in the face from the one who said something, threatening his finger.”       “Did you memorize those men? How did they look?”       “I didn’t memorize them too well, but they seem young, maybe even his age. They aren’t more than thirty.”       “And you didn’t hear their talk?”       “Sadly,” Ryan pronounces with sadness. “But they aren’t those you can trust, I’m gonna tell you. One of them is kind of big-eared with dark short hair… And another has longer and lighter hair.”       “Did Peter refuse to go with them?”       ‘I didn’t notice it. Yes, they pulled him after themselves under his arms, but he didn’t resist. Though at some moment, he broke free and just followed them.”       “Wow…”       “It seems like they made him super mad. Pete had a red face, and his hands were shaking. I don’t know what happened between them and who those men brought him to, but still…”       “That’s why he disappeared…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully, putting her finger on her lip.       “What do you mean, he disappeared?” Ryan frowns slightly.       “Oh… The guys and I wanted to invite him to spend time with us, but Peter doesn’t answer our calls and messages, even though he saw them. The label on WhatsApp says it clearly.”       “Do you mean you didn’t know he went here?”       “Nope, we knew nothing.”       “So, I decided to call you right in time.”       “Listen, Ryan, can you send me the address of that neighborhood? Can you say where it is?”       “Yeah, sure, I will send you a label on the maps. And I also managed to take some photos. Can’t say they’re super clear, but you can recognize Peter and see those men.”       “Oh, great!” Anna exclaims excitedly. “Can you send them, too? I’ll show them to the guys!”       “No problem, friend!”       “And in order not to repeat the same things a million times, just record a voice message, telling everything that happened, and send it to me. And actually, send me everything you can!”       “Alright, Anna, give me some time. I’ll now send you everything on WhatsApp. And I will try to take some photos of the neighborhood. If I’m lucky, I will try to come to the house and take a couple of shots.”       “Thank you so much, Ryan! I don’t know how to thank you. You’d help us a lot if you shared this information.”       “Of course, I’m not sure about anything yet, but I think something is really not right. Knowing everything they say on the Internet.”       “You mean the attack on Peyer after the shot and his recent nervous breakdown?”       “Yeah, exactly!”       “Trust me, buddy, this story is much more tangled and more complicated than it seems.”       “Gosh, do you have problems again?”       “Yeah, but I will explain everything later. I promise. And now we’ve gotta find Peter immediately and find out where he went. If this is what I’m thinking about, Rose may be in great danger.”       “Don’t scare me, Seymour! What are you talking about?”       “I don’t scare. And I don’t exclude that he went to the home of the one who was guilty of all his trouble.”       “Damn, I’m starting to be worried about him.”       “Listen, Ryan, if you’re still in that neighborhood, get out of there for God’s sake,” Anna insists. “Being there is dangerous for you. If those people see you’re looking for something, they won’t pity you.”       “Don’t worry, sweetie, it’s gonna be fine. I’ll take a couple of photos and get out.”       “Quick, buddy! If something happens to you, it’s gonna be too much!”       “Okay, okay, as you want!”       “If you know something else, let me know it. I’ll go to the room and take my phone. It will be with me. So, you can call me at any moment.”       “Deal!”       “You'd better hurry up with sending photos and a voice message! Every second probably does matter now! Maybe, we must take measures to save Peter from the danger that’s threatening him.”       “I barely understand you, but I won’t argue with you.”       “I promise, Ryan, I will tell you everything. You will understand it. But a little later. Now I don’t have time for this.”       “I got it, Anna,” Ryan replies confidently. “Don’t worry, now I will send everything I can, so the guys and you can decide what to do.”       “Thanks a lot, I’m waiting.”       “See you later, friend.”       “Yeah, see you.”       Anna presses the button to end the call and puts the phone in its place. Then the pale girl closes her mouth with a hand, looking into the distance with widely open eyes and starting to breathe a little heavily.       “Oh, God, not this…” Anna whispers under her nose. “If that house belongs to Marcus, Peter is gonna be dead, for sure. We won’t do anything if we don’t take measures in time. Helene and he will die! One hundred percent!”       Two seconds later, Anna moves off sharply, runs to the stairs, and goes up to the second floor to take her smartphone. Meanwhile, her friends are still sitting on the back of the house and trying to distract themselves with talks and cheer up Sammy a little. At some moment, Daniel moves his eyes to the door, thinking his girlfriend has been out for too long. After he apologizes to the men and girls and tells them what he wants to do, he leaves them and goes to the living room, where he finds nobody. It makes him frown slightly and realize that something is not right.       But Daniel does not have to think a lot because Anna shows up in the living room later, going down to the first floor with her smartphone in her hand. After she barely steps on the floor, the anxious man comes to the girl and takes her softly by the forearms.       “What’s wrong, Anna?” Daniel asks quietly. “Why aren’t you coming? We’re all waiting for you!”       “Sorry, plans have changed a little,” Anna replies thoughtfully.       “What do you mean?”       “I think I know why Peter is ignoring all our messages and calls.”       “You know?”       “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything now. But the guys should know it, too.”       “Did someone call you or send a message?”       “I can say so.”       “And what did they say?”       “Call Terrence, Edward, Raquelle, and Natalia here, please. We need to talk about something.”       “Here?”       “Yeah, quick, please! We can’t waste time!”       “Erm, okay, as you want. I will call them now.”       Confused, Daniel comes hesitantly to the door that leads to the back of the house, leaves the living room, comes to Edward, Raquelle, Natalia, and Terrence, tells them what Anna wants, and comes back, while the girl is standing near the stairs and waiting for them as she embraces herself with both arms with sadness in her eyes. By the way, Sammy does not stay outside, following the friends and sitting on the floor shyly near the sofa.       “What’s going on, Anna?” Raquelle wonders. “What do you wanna tell us?”       “Hey, I think you’re kind of pale and tense,” Natalia notices thoughtfully.       “It’s really critical, guys,” Anna says determinedly, squeezing her smartphone in her hand. “There is some news about Peter.”       “Peter?” Edward pronounces surprisingly.       “What’s wrong with him?” Terrence surprises.       “The case is that Ryan just called on the wired phone.”       “Ryan?” Daniel asks. “Ryan Potter, who decided to become Ryan Clayton?”       “Yep. He went to the home of a guy to help him improve his studies. And when he left, he saw Peter somewhere far from himself.”       “What?” Peter?”       “Is he sure that was Peter?” Edward specifies. “Maybe, it seemed to Ryan?”       “Ryan says that was Rose,” Anna protests. “And when he recognized him, he decided to watch him a little. Noticed he was excited and even scared. At first, the blond just looked at every single house, but then two men came to him, took him under his arms, and pulled him after themselves.”       “Oh, God…” Natalia closes her mouth with a hand.       “What men?” Raquelle wonders.       “Young,” Anna pronounces quietly. “One of them is kinda big-eared.”       “The one, who tried to strangle Peter near the house of yours and mine, also had big ears,” Daniel notices thoughtfully. “So that it was the first thing you could see…”       “And where did those men pull Peter?” Edward asks.       “One of the houses,” Anna replies and looks down for a second. “And I have a suspicion that it’s the house of Marcus.”       “So, do you wanna say Peter went to his home and said nothing to us?” Terrence asks surprisingly.       “I guess that’s why he turned off his phone. That’s why we can’t reach him.”       “Damn, if it’s the truth, everything is bad…” Raquelle exhales sharply.       “When Ryan told me about the young guys, I understood it all.”       “Didn’t he see Marcus himself by chance?” Natalia specifies.       “Nope, I guess. But Ryan said he took some photos of Peter and those men and promised to send me everything now.”       “Hey, since Ryan was in that neighborhood, he can one hundred percent send us the address!” Daniel exclaims. “Which means a chance of finding Peter is much higher!”       “He promised to send me a label on the map. And record a voice message to tell everything in all details.”       “And when will he do?”       “He said he’d do it as soon as possible.”       “He must hurry up,” Natalia says with anxiety. “What if we must take measures immediately.”       “We have to make them!” Edward exclaims. “If Peter went to the home of Marcus all alone and told us nothing about it, he is in great danger.”       “Wait, but when did they agree on the meeting?” Terrence frowns strongly. “How long was Peter hiding this from us?”       “On any day!” Raquelle replies.       “What if it happened yesterday?” Anna assumes. “When we were at Rose’s home!”       “Right!” Edward clicks his fingers. “Did you see him looking at his phone lying on the table at times? And Rose went to the kitchen with it!”       “And then he didn’t come back to us for a long time,” Terrence adds. “And when he came back, he looked much more dumbfounded than before! Though he tried to pretend that nothing happened.”       “But why? Why did he say nothing to us?”       “Oh, fuck, guys, how could we screw it up like this?” Daniel wonders, clapping himself on his forehead. “How could we miss this moment?”       “It’s obviously a trap!” Natalia pronounces excitedly. “Marcus made him go to his home on purpose. And he probably threatened him with something awful if he came alone. That’s why Pete was scared.”       “Or he told us nothing on purpose,” Anna gives the version. “He thought he wouldn’t be able to reject our help if we knew everything.”       “Exactly!” Edward exclaims. “He thought the guys and I wouldn’t let him go alone. And we wouldn’t let him go, or we’d go with him.”       “Gosh, it’s really insane!” Daniel exclaims in a loud, high voice. “That guy is really crazy! He’s dooming himself to death! He wants to put his fingers in the socket at his wish!”       “I know he did it to save Helene, but Natalia may be absolutely right about the trap,” Terrence adds.       “And Marcus is not afraid that his neighbors may suspect something,” Raquelle crosses her arms over her chest. “Yes, of course, he’s an innocent folk in their eyes, but I think they may have questions if someone went to Longbottom’s home too often.”       “Anyway, all the words of Ryan are confirmed, we can send the police there and catch that gang in crime,” Natalia puts her hands on her hips. “And then they can find Helene. It doesn’t matter if those men confess everything, or the police find some clues that can show them her current location.”       Sammy barks loudly and confidently enough for the first time in a while, listening closely to the talk of the friends.       “Hey, look!” Anna exclaims, moving her eyes to the screen of her smartphone. “Ryan sent the photos!”       While Anna opens the message app, the others surround her from all sides. They can see several MQ photos, in which they quickly recognize Peter looking excited enough, and two men, who say something to him and pull him after themselves by force.       “That’s Peter!” Edward confirms. “One hundred percent!”       “And that’s our big-eared karateka,” Daniel says confidently. “The one, who tried to strangle Rose and almost drowned Marshall.”       “Aha, and this asshole attacked him after the concert before our eyes!” Terrence exclaims. “Who was arrested by the police.”       “Of course, the quality of these photos is not good, but we can see everything clearly,” Anna notices thoughtfully.       “Yeah, it seems like we’ve got the confirmation of the fact that Peter is in danger,” Natalia concludes.       “We knew about their previous meeting, but he said nothing about this one,” Raquelle adds. “It means it’s gonna be special. Not like the others. The last one.”       “Oh, Ryan sent something else,” Anna says, scrolling through messages in the chat with Ryan. “The label on the maps and photos of a neighborhood…”       “Can’t understand where it is,” Natalia shakes her head. “I’ve never been in a place like this.”       “I can’t say anything, either,” Edward confesses.       “Hey, open the maps through this label!” Raquelle says. “So, we can understand where it is better.”       Anna presses the message with coordinates that redirects her to the maps app, where she and her friends can see the place shown by Ryan.       “As far as I understand, the neighborhood is far from here…” Anna says thoughtfully, examining closely the nearest places. “Ryan said it would take one and a half hours to reach it from his university.”       “Listen, guys, I know these places…” Terrence says, looking at the screen of Anna’s phone. “Really familiar…”       “Have you been there?” Daniel specifies.       “I think so… And… If my memory doesn’t let me down, I went there to see a house when I planned to leave my rented apartment.”       “Does it mean you know how to go there?” Raquelle concludes.       “Yeah, I do. It’s really a long way, but the neighborhood is really good. Very quiet, calm… That’s why I like it.”       “But why didn’t you buy the house you examined there?” Natalia asks. “You disliked it?”       “Nope, I liked the house. And I even agreed to work on getting documents. But some time later, I decided to abandon the deal ‘cause the owner turned out to be an asshole.”       “They didn’t want to bargain?” Anna rounds her eyes.       “Yes. I wasn’t happy with the price and tried to lower it a little. But the owner was a stubborn donkey who tried to assure me that it was a good price. Though first, I checked hundreds of advertisements and could assume what the average price of a similar house was. And second, the house was good, but I wouldn’t say it was worth it.”       “I see.”       “The case is not about greed. I had money. And I was ready to pay two or three times more. But I wanted it to be worth it. Not to run into any bad surprises. I agreed to buy it when I was full of emotions. I was delighted by the house. But when I calmed down a little, I thought and realized that my heart didn’t belong to it. The thought that I’d live there made me feel like cats scratched inside me.”       “Was the situation with your house different?” Edward crosses his arms over his chest.       “It was different in the case of my house. I fell in love with it immediately and understood I didn’t wanna see anything else. And I still don’t regret pissing off that man.”       “The situation changes then!” Daniel notices much more cheerfully. “Since we know where Peter went, it means we have a chance to stop Marcus and not to let him do anything to him.”       “Aha, Ryan even took a photo of a house!” Edward exclaims. “I guess that’s the one where Marcus is living. Those assholes pulled Pete to that one.”       “Oh, I remember that!” Terrence exclaims. “The house I examined was somewhere near. I went by that one when coming there.”       “Does it mean you put an eye on big residences and small and simple houses?” Raquelle surprises.       “Yeah, I initially wanted to buy a small house. But then I thought I deserved much more and decided to hang out to the fullest. And I started to pay attention to expensive places.”       “Oh, Ryan sent a voice message!” Anna exclaims. “Let’s listen!”       Not waiting for anyone’s reaction, Anna plays the voice message on her smartphone and turns up the volume so everyone can hear it. At first, Ryan greets everyone and then tells them everything he saw and did. But the friends find out nothing new from this record, even if they make sure that something awful may happen at any time.       “So, there’s no doubt – Peter went to the meeting with Marcus and told us nothing on purpose,” Daniel exhales sharply, starting to walk in circles before his friends’ eyes.       “And what do we do?” Anna asks hesitantly, locking the screen of her smartphone and embracing herself with both arms.       “First, contact Mr. Johnson and tell him about this,” Raquelle says determinedly. “So, he can organize everything.”       “And what do we do?” Terrence throws his hands up. “Just sit and wait for Peter to die at any time?”       “Yeah, but it’s dangerous for you to go there,” Natalia notices. “Marcus hates you to the core.”       “And if you show up on the doorstep of his house to protect Peter, his people will kill you immediately,” Raquelle adds in a high-pitched voice.       “We know, but we can’t also sit on the sofa!” Daniel protests. “There are at least four of them, but Peter is alone! He won’t deal with them! If there are not just these two in the house of that asshole, even a miracle won’t help Rose. So, we must go to help him out not to let those assholes do anything to him.”       “The guys are right, guys,” Edward says quietly. “No matter what, we must go to that place, look around, find Marcus’ house, and protect Peter.”       “We get it, guys, but it’s too dangerous,” Anna replies with anxiety. “God forbid, those cads do something to you.”       “And we may not even know it!” Raquelle exclaims.       “We can’t leave our friend in trouble,” Daniel says determinedly. “Peter does know he can show off as much as he wants, but we won’t leave him. We’d go anywhere for him and deal with anything that wanna harm him.”       “Let’s just talk to Mr. Johnson so he can organize the operation and arrest Marcus and his accomplices?” Natalia suggests.       “No, we will not wait!” Edward raises his head proudly. “We will go there!”       “Please, guys, don’t put yourself under this risk.”       “If we at least don’t try, we’ll never forgive ourselves for that. And how could we be called friends if we decide to leave the person in trouble? If we don’t save him when we know that the danger is getting closer.”       “So, MacClife, did ya miss asking for trouble?” Raquelle puts her hands on her hips. “Haven’t you had your ass kicked for ages?”       “Indeed, bro, your eyes filled with a bright fire!” Terrence notices with a kind chuckle, pushing Edward in the rib with his elbow.       “Aha, you finally got a chance to let it go, wave your hands, and take a costume of Superman covered with dust from the closet,” Daniel laughs with his arms crossed over his chest.       “Right! He must surprise someone with first-class tornado kicks, practice your wit, and spend your titanic power on something.”       “Rose said he was fighting that asshole, who pushed him off the stairs with great pleasure. He literally had an orgasm every minute that the battle lasted.”       Daniel and Terrence laugh shyly, while Edward growls irritably with rolled eyes.       “Hey, thick-headed pensioners, it’s not actually time for your stupid jokes!” Edward throws gloomily. “Not time to make me the one you can bully.”       “Sorry, bro, but you really got too excited when you understood you could beat someone’s face,” Raquelle smiles innocently.       “The case is actually serious! Our friends are in trouble! We must do our best to find them and save them. It’s time to understand that joking with Marcus and his gang doesn’t work. And if they decide to end Rose and Marshall at his home, they will do this. If nobody meddles and stops this hell.”       “Hey, does someone mind it?” Daniel opens his eyes surprisingly.       “Yeah, we just joked a little!” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest.       “No time to joke!” Edward states determinedly. “It’s time to turn on our brains and do something.”       “Don’t do this, guys, we’re begging you!” Raquelle begs with pity in her eyes. “I feel that it won’t lead to anything good. Not only can Peter and Helene suffer, but also you three.”       “Well, I would bet this, sister.”       “Yeah, may those assholes catch us first!” Daniel challenges boldly. “May they know we’d tear anyone apart for our brother.”       ‘We’re glad you’re so brave, determined, and united,” Anna says quietly. “But let’s leave all of this to the police.”       “We have no time to wait for them to get ready for the operation,” Terrence protests. “Peter won’t deal with that gang all by himself. They’ll catch him immediately and get a chance to do anything they want to him. And I’m silent about Helene! You saw what they did to the girl for just one week! Wouldn’t be surprised if she must be rushed to the hospital after this hell. And psychologists.”       Sammy barks loudly and confidently multiple times.       “Even Sammy agrees with us!” Edward notices. “He says we must go to help Rose out.”       “And what should we do?” Natalia wonders with pity in her eyes. “Sit and wait for the news about you getting harmed or actually killed?”       “Let’s do this thing…” Daniel says quietly and determinedly. “The guys and I will go to the neighborhood, look around, and try to find the house. You stay here and wait for the news. But if we don’t show up in two or three hours, you can call Mr. Johnson and tell him about us.”       “Yeah, you have the address and know where to find us,” Terrence adds. “Just give these coordinates to Mr. Johnson so he can work on it all. I hope we have enough time to find Longbottom and not to let him do anything to Pete.”       “We don’t want anything to happen to you,” Raquelle replies in a little shaking voice. “And we can’t wait for so long.”       “Don’t worry, girls, we promise it’s gonna be okay.”       “We’ll find Peter and save Helene and drive them here,” Edward promises. “No matter how much time it will take. We won’t leave without them. We won’t leave until those assholes to pay for everything they’ve done to them.”       “Maybe, you won't?” Anna asks hesitantly.       “We have to,” Daniel pronounces quietly. “No matter what, Peter needs us. And we can’t let him down. We can’t give him any reason to doubt that he let us be his friends for the reason.”       Sammy whines quietly, and Raquelle, Anna, and Natalia look at each other with anxiety, understanding that they cannot change the minds of Terrence, Daniel, and Edward about not doing what may harm them a lot.       “Alright,” Raquelle pronounces resignedly, inclining her head and looking down. “Go.”       “If you think it’s right, we won’t mind it,” Natalia adds.       “But for God’s sake, be very careful,” Anna begs. “Don’t let them do anything to you.”       “Together we’re the power,” Terrence replies confidently. “We’re strong alone, but nobody can defeat us when we’re together.”       “We’ve got a mission, and we’re going to accomplish it,” Edward adds. “We’re coming to save Peter and Helene from those assholes.”       “We’ll be praying that you do this,” Raquelle promises with sadness in her eyes.       After looking at each other and the tense and sad girls, Daniel, Edward, and Terrence come to Anna, Natalia, and Raquelle respectively, and take them in a strong hug. While the men press their sweethearts closely to themselves and caress their heads tenderly, the girls put their arms around their necks or run their hands over their backs, snuggling their noses in their shoulders and barely holding down a wish to cry bitterly because of a bad presentment.       “Please, sweetheart, be careful,” Natalia pronounces in a shaking, quiet voice. “I won’t take it if something happens to you.”       “I’ll be back soon, my love,” Edward promises softly and kisses Natalia on the top of her head. “Very soon. With another victory.”       “I’ll be going crazy until you’re back,” Anna cries quietly. “Until U can hug you and kiss you again.”       “Wait for me, princess,” Daniel pronounces and leaves a short kiss on Anna’s shoulder. “And I’ll be thinking of you all the time.”       “I’ve got a very bad presentment,” Raquelle says literally in a whisper. “I’m afraid that something might happen to you.”       “Whatever happens, I promise I’ll be back alive,” Terrence replies confidently and puts his hand on Raquelle’s cheek. “And unharmed.”       Some time later, Sammy gets everyone’s attention by barking heartbreakingly with great pity. Daniel steps away from Anna first, comes to the dog, gets down to his knees in front of him, and grabs his face.       “Your owner will be back soon, Sammy,” Daniel says confidently. “The guys and I will do our best to make it real.”       “If we don’t do this, you can pee our shows,” Edward tries to lighten the mood, stroking Sammy’s head. “Bite them… Punish us for not keeping our promise.”       “And Peter’s gonna be okay,” Terrence promises, clapping Sammy slightly on his back. “We won’t leave without these two. We will not.”       Sammy whines with pity again, accepting the attention and love from the men, while the girls hug each other at some moment and watch what’s happening with sadness in their eyes.       “So, guys, are you ready?” Daniel asks after he gets up on his feet.       “If we start now, we’ll end it sooner,” Terrence replies quietly.       “Yeah, let’s go,” Edward pronounces determinedly.       “You know what to do, girls,” Terrence turns to the girls. “If we don’t show up for a long time, call Mr. Johnson.”       “We got it,” Natalia nods hesitantly.       “May Sammy stay here,” Daniel advises. “He hasn’t recovered after the wound. Taking him with us would be a risk.”       “We’ll watch him,” Anna promises, petting the head of Sammy pressing himself to her legs. “And I will send you the address of the neighborhood just in case.”       After they nod silently, Daniel, Terrence, and Edward look at each other and take some of their stuff from the coffee table. They look sadly at Raquelle, Natalia, and Anna and leave the house a few seconds later, closing the door, while the girls watch them as if they see them for the last time. Although the men seem determined and focused at first sight, they are also anxious and scared to some extent deep inside. They are afraid that they may meet a failure, and their friends may die because of horrible people. They do not know where they go, who they go to, or what is going to wait for them. But the MacClife brothers and Perkins try not to think of the worst and just go to do their duty.       Being horrified by the perspective of the long and exhausting expectation, Natalia, Raquelle, and Anna sigh heavily and start walking nervously in front of each other, while Sammy watches them with sadness in his eyes, wishing to see his owner, whom he misses so badly and has been worried about all this time.       “We will not listen to them,” Raquelle says determinedly enough and quietly. “We’ll do what we want.”       “What do ya mean?” Anna frowns slightly.       “We won’t be waiting for two or three hours. We will call Mr. Johnson right now.”       “Yes, you’re right!” Natalia agrees. “We must not wait and do nothing! We’ve gotta ask for help!”       “If they come too late, we will lose the guys. We should warn him about everything in advance so they have to get ready.”       “Since we’ve got the address where the guys went, there’s hope.”       “This is the only thing we can do now,” Anna says thoughtfully, typing a text on her smartphone. “The thing we must do. If we’re doing nothing, the guys will be doomed to death. We can’t let it happen.”       “And get ready for a super long expectation,” Raquelle says with sadness. “At least two or three hours.”       “Since we know the guys aren’t unprotected, we can wait,” Natalia replies thoughtfully.       Sammy barks quietly in approval.       “Quiet, quiet, boy, it’s gonna be okay,” Anna calms down, yanking Sammy by the ears. “The guys can do this.”       “We’re sure Helene will be found and come back home soon,” Raquelle says quietly. “We should just let the guys and the police do their business. Now they’re our only hope.”       Again, Sammy starts whining quietly and looking at all the girls with pity, while they give him attention. When the friends decide to sit on the sofa, the dog joins them and puts his head on the laps of Raquelle, who caresses his head softly, while Anna runs her hand over the back of the retriever, and Natalia yanks him by the ears. A little later, they find Victor Johnson's number in the phone book, still finding it hard to remember, and type it to warn him about the trouble Peter got involved in. The trouble that Edward, Daniel, and Terrence are about to end up in.       

***

      Doing his best to get rid of the panic attack that weakened a little but did not leave him at all, Peter arrived at the right place and found Marcus’ home. At first, he was just walking in circles around it, not finding the courage to come to the one with the thought that his whole body was paralyzed from fear. But then Darren and Luther showed up out of nowhere, took him under his arms, and pulled him in the right direction by force, not missing a chance to say something snapping to provoke him somehow.       Marcus’s accomplices bring Peter quickly to the modest, small house that he barely looks at from top to bottom. After opening the hall door and entering it, they end up in a small apartment with white walls where they can see a small sofa, two armchairs, a coffee table, several benchtops, floor lamps, and a couple of pots with live plants that the owner of the house takes care of. A few small windows light up the room in the daylight, even if they are covered with transparent curtains, and a medium-sized TV hangs on the wall against the sofa. Straight wooden stairs placed in the other corner of the room lead to the second floor, and there are those that lead down, probably to the basement under these.       “Where’s this old bastard?” Peter asks with an evil sneer in a rude, low voice, getting his arms sharply out of the grip of Darren and Luther and starting to walk nervously through the whole living room. “When will he finally show me his wrinkled face?”       “So, Rose, can’t you wait to die soon?” Luther laughs evilly. “Are you so exhausted that you are begging us to end your tortures?”       “I can’t wait to beat his fucking face and hang his whole gang by the balls. And finally take my girlfriend out.”       “Don’t worry, blond-haired, Mr. Longbottom will get down now,” Luther promises and crosses his arms over his chest. “He is a little excited to meet you. He is ready to open all the cards and answer all your questions.”       “The only question I care about is where he hid my girlfriend. And I give a fuck about other things.”       “We will see if you will give a fuck when you know all the truth.”       “He can put it in his old ass. I don’t need it! I need Helene!”       “If you didn’t have to die today, we would be happy to hit you in your fucking face,” Luther says. “To teach you to respect older people.”       “Seriously?” Peter surprises falsely, turning on Luther and Darren. “Respect the one who is ruining my life? Respect the one who let some fucking assholes touch my girlfriend and fuck her!”       “M-m-m, we see you liked the photos and videos that the lord has been sending you all the time,” Darren smiles slyly. “But you know, we liked having a deal with this chick, too.”       “Aha, when she was out and naked,” Luther adds. “M-m-m… I never felt so good before…”       “It’s a shame that you broke and lost nothing before all this shit,” Peter replies coldly in a much lower voice.       “It’s alright, we’ve played enough with her. And now, it’s time for that shorty to give her life. Pay for her past sins and for agreeing to become your girlfriend.”       “I swear, you empty-headed assholes, if none of you tells me where she is now, I swear I shall make fucking meat out of you. Turn you to dust. Tear you apart.”       “You will never see her, Rose,” Darren says quietly. “The lord decided not to give you such a great chance. Be happy with just knowing what you are going to die for.”       “It’s alright, assholes, it’s alright,” Peter hisses through his teeth, clenching his hands into fists tightly with a heavy breath. “You will pay me for everything. You will ask for trouble. I just came here. We have a little time. So, I can get everything out of you. Absolutely everything…”       “Oh, oh, how threatening our cowardly boy is,” Luther sneers contemptuously. “How hard he is pretending to be sassy.”       “Hey, blond-haired, didn’t your pants get wet on the way here?” Darren asks, putting his hands on his hips. “You’ve got such a pale face! You need a little before you pass out here like a girl.”       “Your balls probably squeezed fucking hard because your loyal pals are far from you and cannot protect one little coward.”       “Relax, freaks, I shall not give you pleasure to get multiple orgasms by torturing my friends,” Peter says in a low, rude voice, doing his best to hide the growing excitement, even if he keeps shaking strongly and breathing heavily. “They know nothing about my meeting with this old bastard.”       “Come on?” Darren and Luther surprise falsely at the same time.       “Come on, Rose?” Darren continues. “Come on?! You’re gonna have a heart attack sooner than the lord tells you everything and wanna get rid of you!”       “Indeed, mate, you are nothing without your loyal gang!” Luther exclaims. “You are a freak that can do nothing but try so hard to prove that’s not the truth.”       “Wait for a while, bastards,” Peter replies coldly. “When I deal with your old lord, I shall deal with you next.”       “Ha, what can you do to us? There are many of us, but you are alone! You don’t even have that pathetic fucking dog that tries to save you and the gal so hard.”       “Trust me, I can do much more than you think. Especially after you the fuck dared to harm my girlfriend and USE HER SHAMELESSLY!”       “Whoa, whoa, calm down, man!” Luther raises his hands in front of himself. “Don’t scream here like a drama queen!”       “I shall destroy this whole house to the fuck if I don’t see that old ugly bastard in the nearest five minutes,” Peter threatens, clenching his hands tightly into fists. “Where is that asshole hiding? And where is he hiding my girlfriend? BRING HER TO ME NOW BEFORE I BURN THIS PLACE TO THE FUCKING GROUND!”       “Hey, hey, why are you screaming at my house?” Marcus’ voice pronounces out of nowhere.       Peter turns around to the voice sharply and sees Marcus getting downstairs with his head proudly raised, holding the railing.       “Do you want all my neighbors to come here?”       “Here you are, fucking asshole…” Peter hisses through his teeth, feeling that everything starts boiling inside him, but also feeling a growing sense of fear and panic. “You have shown up, finally…”       “I shall not imitate such non-educated cads like you and do what people usually do when they meet.”       Marcus smiles very falsely.       “Hello, Peter. Welcome to my modest place.” Marcus throws his hands up. “As they say, feel at home.”       “It would be great if someone set the explosives in this house and exploded it along with you,” Peter snaps, tensing every single muscle of his body to the pain. “So you, bastard, get up in the air and die! And stop poisoning the lives of the innocent people.”       “M-m-m, are you still trying to hide your wild fear of me by giving some snapping comments?”       Marcus comes confidently and closely enough to Peter and brings his face to his face, making the guy get back sharply in fear.       “Your eyes speak for you. Besides, your protectors are not near. That’s why you feel much more helpless and vulnerable.”       “Said by the old, helpless bastard that can do nothing anymore and surrounded himself with some young assholes for this reason,” Peter snaps. “If these assholes left you, you wouldn’t be so sassy and snapping.”       “You’re right to some extent,” Marcus agrees quietly, locking his fingers tightly. “My age doesn’t let me be as active and fast as before. But it doesn’t mean I am absolutely helpless.”       “Everyone can work their tongue.”       “You excelled particularly in this thing.”       “Alright, stop, honorable!” Peter waves his hand sharply. “I have no time and wish to deal with you. Let’s solve it all quickly so I can go.”       “Oh, no, my sweetie,” Marcus shakes his head with a sly smile. “You will not go anywhere. You will leave my house with your feet first.”       “You mean yourself?”       “So, Rose, are your legs shaking from fear?” Luther laughs contemptuously. “Cannot breathe? Everything is squeezing inside to the pain?”       “It’s alright, Luther, he is now on the denial stage,” Marcus assures. “He doesn’t want to believe that everything is really happening to him. But he will accept it all very soon.”       “Did you naively think that it would be easy for you to try to kill me?” Peter surprises and crosses his arms over his chest. “Did you think I’d give up on you at my wish to make you happy and make no sound if you shot me down?”       “It will happen, my boy.” Marcus raises his head proudly. “Be sure, you will want to die and beg me to do this when I give an order to end your sweetheart. Without whom your life doesn’t seem nice to you.”       “Where is she?” Peter demands the answer in a much lower, ruder voice. “Where is Helene?”       “Not here, surely.”       “Where is my fucking girlfriend?”       Peter runs to Marcus sharply, grabs him by the collar, and shakes him strongly with widely open eyes.       “ANSWER NOW! ANSWER ME BEFORE I TURN YOU TO DUST!”       “Hey, freak, move your hands off the lord!” Luther roars, pushing Peter off Marcus very rudely.       “Shut up and don’t meddle, bastard!” Peter snaps back.       “How do you the fuck dare to talk to the lord like this?” Darren resents and hits Peter strongly on the back of his head. “Who the fuck are you? Who do you think you are?”       “Yea-a-ah, someone like you must have been beaten since childhood with a jump rope every day,” Marcus shakes his head with a thoughtful face. “Strongly! Because you are non-educated at all.”       “Do not avoid the answer, honorable,” Peter says rudely. “Answer me where Helene is and what you did to her?”       “Nothing yet. But the gal knows that she has a little time. Because you are here… And two guys of mine went to her to follow my next instructions.”       “I tell you to bring that girl to me. RIGHT NOW! I WANT TO SEE HER!”       “Calm down, Peter, she is not here,” Marcus replies confidently. “I’m not such a stupid man to hold someone at my house. Yes, there is a basement here, but I decided not to risk it. Moreover, the police have already come to me a couple of times and asked about the gal. I had to pretend to be surprised, smile gently, and keep calm not to betray myself. To pretend that I don’t know who Helene Marshall is.”       “I shall find her wherever she is. I shall not leave Helene in trouble and will not give her to you and your assholes, whose balls I want to cut with a chainsaw.”       “I think the guys have told you how much pleasure they got from using the gift I made for them. I could not leave them without my thankfulness for the help they had been giving me for many years.”       “And I shall never forgive you for that. I shall never forget it. I shall not calm down until I take revenge on you. Until I put a bottle or something else deeply in the asses of the bastards who dared just to BREATHE on Helene. Dared to THINK of her. LOOK at her. TOUCH her. FUCK HER!”       “In short, we have told you everything,” Marcus replies quietly. “You will never see the gal and save her. And we will not tell you where she is. I mean, we will just notice that Helene is far, far away from here. In the place where the police would not find her.”       “Bastard…” Peter growls irritably. “FUCKING ASSHOLE!”       When Peter gives Marcus a slap in the face, he gets a strong hit in the jaw from Darren and gets pulled aside by Luther. While Mr. Longbottom himself continues to keep calm and pulls the collar of his light t-shirt.       “Don’t worry, my boy,” Marcus smiles innocently. “You will meet her in heaven. You two will go there. So, why would you lose your nerves and say what I shall not care about?”       “Do not wake up an animal inside me, old bastard!” Peter throws gloomily, shortening the distance between himself and Marcus and setting his contemptuous look into his eyes with a heavy breath. “Either you bring my girlfriend to me now, or I will destroy this whole house to the fucking ground! YOU DECIDE, HUH!”       “Are you stupid or deaf?” Darren resents. “You were told clearly that Marshall was not here, and you would not see her.”       “YOU ARE LYING TO ME! YOU ARE HIDING HER SOMEWHERE HERE!”       “Mr. Longbottom would not risk his good reputation and make his neighbors suspect something bad by holding the gal in his house by force,” Luther replies confidently. “We found a much better place that would be good for her.”       “Aha,” Darren nods. “No food, no water, no light, no warmth… And as it turned out, the gal feared insects and mice to death. There are so many of them there. She screams every time she sees them.”       “What?” Peter explodes in a bass voice.       “She got what she asked for,” Marcus replies quietly. “We offered friendship to her. We suggested that she behave well for a more or less comfortable life. Maybe, I would have even agreed to hold her in my house for some time, locking her in the basement where nobody would’ve found her.”       “But Marshall turned out to be a stupid idiot who went against us,” Luther adds. “She tried to escape many times, screamed, resisted, insulted us… That’s why the girl is spending the last hours of her life in a dark and rotten place without food and water.”       “I shall kill you…” Peter gets red from anger. “KILL, BASTARDS! YOU WILL PAY ME FOR EVERYTHING!”       “Leave your resentfulness with you, Peter,” Marcus says. “We will ignore it anyway and will not run to do what you want.”       “I GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR WISHES! I TOLD YOU TO BRING HELENE TO ME, AND IT MEANS YOU WILL BRING HER TO ME!”       “Listen, boy, let’s talk about everything in order.”       With these words, Marcus comes to Peter and hugs him around the shoulders, making him feel that a cold wave runs over his skin, his muscles contract from the pain of a strong tension, and he gets paralyzed from fear.       “I promised to open all the cards and tell you about the reasons that made me do all of this before your death.”       “I give a fuck about everything you want to tell me!” Peter throws rudely, moving Marcus’ hand off his shoulder sharply.       “Oh, no, trust me, you will be interested in this. And the more I shall speak, the more you will want to know everything.”       “I said I GIVE A FUCK!”       Peter turns on Marcus sharply.       “I only care about one thing – my girlfriend. I didn’t come here to listen to your nauseous speeches and see the faces of these bastards, who are helping you. If not for Helene, I would have never come here.”       “Would you not have come here because you are scared? You are afraid to stay with me face-to-face?”       “I repeat, I do not care about why you started it all. You must just set Helene free. NO MORE! YOU MUST DO NOTHING ELSE!”       “And yeah, I want to inform you that any people who would enter this house from this minute on, will not leave it alive. So, even if your friends are hiding somewhere and waiting for your sign, my people will deal with them quickly.”       “Don’t expect a show, honorable. The guys know nothing about our meeting. I told them nothing because I was not going to risk their lives.”       “I get it. You do not want to carry a bag of sins. You don’t want to be guilty of the death of your friends.”       “Who are you to talk about sins?” Peter sneers evilly. “The one who killed hundreds of innocent people just for fun with no shame.”       Marcus says nothing and just laughs evilly with his mouth closed with a hand, glancing aside.       “Luther, Darren, leave us alone,” Marcus says. “Walk near the house, watch the situation.”       “As you wish, sir,” Darren inclines his head.       “If you see something suspicious, let me know immediately.”       “Of course, Mr. Longbottom,” Luther pronounces.       “Alright, get out! Let me talk to the boy face to face, please.”       Nodding confidently, Luther and Darren turn around and leave the living room through the hall door, while Peter watches them with a glance full of contempt, with his head proudly raised.       “Alright, nobody will bother us now,” Marcus says confidently. “You and I have stayed alone.”       “I see you are too brave?” Peter sneers evilly. “Do you think I will not kill you with my own hands while these assholes walk their balls out?”       “Are you sure I am so helpless and cannot get rid of you without the guys’ help?”       “Do this then! Show me you are not a coward!”       “I am not a coward, but your pants are wet from fear now. And you are standing here as white as snow. You speak in a shaking voice. You are shaking.”       “When I saw your wrinkled face, I got a wish to kill someone. You and your gang of jackals, preferably.”       “I guess you are now so scared not just because you stayed alone with your enemy.”       Marcus starts walking slowly in circles around Peter, who does not stop watching him closely.       “Probably, what’s happening kind of reminds you of something interesting. Something you do not want to remember so badly.”       The last words of Marcus sound like they went through a deaf wall for Peter because he gets a new wave of panic attack that is expressed by a shake of the whole body, a heavy breath, a fast heartbeat, a slight dizziness, a ringing in his ears, and sweaty hands.       “M-m-m, I see these words resonate within you,” Marcus smiles slyly. “But you don’t understand what’s happening to you. Why it makes you get panic attacks. Why your eyes get so much horror at the sight of unfamiliar men.”       With these words, Marcus shortens the distance sharply between himself and Peter, making the blond jump back instantly with a sense of weakness in his legs.       “But don’t worry, my boy, we will surely figure everything out.” Marcus claps the dumbfounded Peter on the cheek. “Maybe, my stories will make you feel much stronger feelings and help you remember what you’ve been trying to run away from all your life.”       “I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” Peter says in a loud and high voice. “I do not!”       “Oh, no, you do understand. You do understand it.”       “You talk some bullshit. You want to drive me crazy! You want me to stop realizing what’s real and what’s not!”       “Yeah, I’m not absolutely sure that the information I know now is real. But I’m starting to understand everything as I see your reaction.”       “If you made me come here so I get another piece of your verbal diarrhea that does not make sense, why did you the fuck start it all?”       “No, Peter, this time, our meeting is going to be special,” Marcus assures. “We are going to have a rich program, and we have a lot of time. No meaning in rushing.”       “I get it,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest. “When you look forward to something, it warms you up not less than the moment when you get it.”       “Absolutely correct! That’s why I suggest you and I sit on the sofa and relax a little.”       Marcus takes Peter by the shoulders, brings him to the sofa, and seats him on it.       “I hope you love strong coffee. I made a little bit of it in a coffee machine specifically for this case.”       “Ha, interesting!” Peter sneers evilly. “First, you want to feed your enemy and then kill them! That’s smart, honorable! That’s pretty smart!”       “Yeah, think I’m a little different criminal.”       Marcus goes to the kitchen, which is placed right in the living room and closed with just one fence.       “And actually, we have very much time.” Marcus comes to a cheap coffee machine placed on the white kitchen drawer, takes two cups, and fills them with strong coffee from a small kettle. “Even if I tell you the reason for my actions from start to end, we will still have time. Time before my people deal with your girlfriend.”       “I'm starting to vomit from your so-called courtesy,” Peter replies coldly, looking around the whole living room gloomily.       “I’m just usually a calm enough man who can keep his emotions under control. Of course, I can get mad. But it happens rarely.”       “Only a psycho can keep calm as they kill an innocent person and ignore all their pleas for plea.”       “You consider yourself innocent and fluffy?”       “I’ve never done anything bad in my life!”       “Are you so sure?”       Marcus turns to the living room quickly to make sure Peter does not pay attention to what he is doing and smiles slyly as he sees him sitting on the sofa and looking at his hands with his back slouched slightly.       “I’m not a supporter of the theory of the kindest and most innocent people committing no sins in their lives.”       “I give a fuck about what you think!” Peter exclaims. “I know myself well! Much better than you, just saying.”       “You know nothing about yourself, my boy.”       Marcus takes a little plastic box with unknown powder from the drawer and adds one slide in one of the cups of coffee, the strong smell with a chocolate vibe of which spreads throughout the whole room, little by little.       “And I shall prove it to you now,” Marcus adds, puts the box with powder in its place, and closes the drawer. “Prove that you’ve not been living your life for more than twenty years. The life you were not deprived of by accident.”       “Yeah, yeah, yeah, this cruel world is trying to get rid of me like some kind of mark,” Peter rolls his eyes.       “By the way, I say it for the reason.” Marcus starts mixing coffee in the cup with something he just added with a spoon. “This phrase has a certain meaning.”       “Which one, let me ask you?”       “Not all at once, Peter. Don’t be so impatient.”       “It seems like the guys are right that you’re just trying to wash my brain with some shit.”       “M-m-m, I see you are now wondering what everything started with?”       Marcus takes both cups and carries them carefully into the living room.       “I am only interested in one thing: why did you the fuck kidnap my girlfriend and torture her with all those terrible things for one week?” Peter asks coldly.       “It’s the same case,” Marcus replies quietly and puts the cups on the table. “The reason why I told my people to kidnap the gal is tightly connected to the reason I hate you.”       “We did nothing bad to you! And we hadn’t known you before it all started!”       “But I’ve known you for much longer than you think.”       “What do you mean?”       “Yes, yes, my boy. Everything did not start recently. It’s a very lo-o-o-ong story.”       “Yeah? I think you are just sick! You went a little crazy at an old age! Though I am not sure if you were healthy before.”       “Don’t worry, I am absolutely healthy.”       “I don’t know any sick psycho that would admit it. Every sick person truly believes that they are healthy.”       “Maybe, it’s true. But it doesn’t have to do with me.”       Marcus sits on the sofa next to Peter with a proud look, while the blond tenses unconsciously all the muscles and swallows nervously due to the strong sense of discomfort.       “Actually, stop talking about some shit.” Marcus takes one of the cups, not looking at this one, and tries to give it to Peter by force. “Let’s better drink some coffee.”       “Do you really think I will drink your shit?” Peter surprises, moving the cup aside.       “Do not refuse, Peter. Don’t you feel the magnificent smell of the coffee? Just smell it!” Marcus breathes in the smell of coffee that gets into his nose. “M-m-m, I love it… Not less than a baking chicken. Though I love it so much in any way. I love it so much that I would eat it for the rest of my life.”       “Huh?” Peter rounds his eyes slightly.       “Of course, I could’ve baked a couple of wings or legs. But I thought it would be too much to feed my enemy with chicken that costs a lot.”       “I wasn’t going to eat this shit. And I am not going to drink this coffee.”       “Wrong!”       Marcus puts the cup offered to Peter on the table and takes another for himself.       “You know what an incredible taste it has!” Marcus takes a sip of coffee. “M-m-m… Amazing! I can feel slight vibes of chocolate. And this coffee gets much better with milk.”       “You turn out to be a talentless seducer, honestly,” Peter snaps. “If you filmed in an advertisement, I wouldn’t obviously buy the item you offer.”       “Don’t pretend to be shy, Peter. And yeah, if someone offers you something with all their heart, you must accept it.”       “I doubt you’re doing this with all your heart.”       “Of course, I know you’re an insolent and non-educated asshole. But maybe you show some respect for the one whose home you are in now. The one who is much older than you.”       “Ha, why should I please you?” Peter sneers evilly. “You do bad tricks to my girlfriend, my friends, and me, and you want me to kiss your feet and hands after all of that?”       “You just need to treat me with respect.”       “You must deserve respect. And it doesn’t depend on your age. If you act like an asshole when you’re ninety, you have no right to tell people to obey you, pretending that there is nothing bad in your actions.”       “Yeah, the present youth surprises me truly,” Marcus shakes his head and takes a sip of coffee. “They all think they have the right to tell everyone what to do. They do not show any respect for older people. Children are too insolent these days.”       “I give a fuck about what you think! I treat people the way they deserve. If they love and respect me, they get the same answer. If they despise and humiliate me, they get the boomerang effect.”       “Still, I advise you not to refuse to drink a cup of coffee. And when we drink it, I shall be happy to tell you the story from start to end and answer all the questions you will surely get.”       “I repeat, I’m not going to drink your fucking shit!” Peter says rudely.       “Do not test my patience, boy.”       “Or what?”       “I shall get this coffee into your mouth by force!”       “You have no right!”       “Older people have a right to anything.”       Peter says nothing and frowns slightly as he starts to suspect that Marcus is insisting on drinking this coffee for a reason.       “I’m starting to think all of this is suspicious,” Peter expresses his opinion. “You definitely want to make me drink it for the reason.”       “Don’t ask questions,” Marcus insists and puts his cup on the table. “Since older people tell you to do something, you must obey them immediately.”       “Why should I the fuck obey you? Who the fuck are you? Nobody! Besides, I’m not a child anymore. I am an adult man who can decide what he needs.”       “If you had children, you would tell them what to do. For older people, you will always be nobody. And will never be adult enough to tell them what to do.”       “Thanks, but I don’t need your education lessons.”       “You should just close your mouth and drink this coffee at your wish.”       “Don’t hope,” Peter pronounces confidently.       “Use the moment while I am kind. If the gal was an idiot and refused to live with me in peace, maybe you want to be smarter.”       “Drink this shit yourself.”       “Drink the fuck, I said!” Marcus takes the untouched cup and gives it to Peter by force. “Drink everything! So you leave no drop!”       “You are betraying yourself, honorable,” Peter smiles slyly.       “Shut up, puppy! Take the cup and drink before I make you do this by force.”       Peter says nothing for a few seconds and just laughs shyly, not doubting that his guess is absolutely right. Then he brings his face closely to Marcus’ face and sets his contemptuous look into his sly eyes.       “What did you add to this?” Peter asks directly and gets up sharply from the sofa. “Which shit does this cup have?”       “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marcus smiles innocently.       “So, did you think I wouldn’t guess anything? A smart dog never eats anything from strangers’ hands and waits for the owner’s permission for the reason.”       “You, stray dog, definitely need the owner. You went loose because everyone gave a fuck about you.”       “It was stupid to believe it would accept something from my enemy. They do this for just one goal – to harm.”       “You know, I really thought you and I would drink a cup of fresh coffee and talk about what this story started with.”       “Yeah?” Peter takes the cup from the table. “And then I would start to feel very bad and lie on the floor, dying of some unknown shit? Just like my friend did after you and your friend, who ran away from the city, tried to poison him! Who, luckily, was strong enough to recover quickly.”       “It would be a perfect plan for my crime.”       After he glances at the cup in his hands, Peter wipes everything determinedly on the small rag lying near the sofa and puts it on the table with a crash.       “Yes, it’s good, but fucking failed.”       “You ruined my rag,” Marcus says quietly. “I have to spend two hours washing it or pay money for a professional cleaning.”       “No, you are not allowed to use my bank card. And I shall not give you any checks.”       “Alright, you bit me through!” Marcus raises his hands in front of himself. “Everything was supposed to happen thanks to the extremely venomous poison that works slowly. If you take a small dose, you just don’t feel good. But a big dose gives you so much unbearable suffering that you want to die.”       “Seeing how hard you tried to give me the poisoned coffee, any idiot would guess everything.”       “And while you would’ve been suffering, I would have enough time to tell you the story. And when I would’ve had to open my biggest secret, you would’ve been one step away from the grave.”       “To be honest, I was expecting something like that from you. Especially remembering what happened to my friend. Thinking that all my friends could’ve died if they hadn’t been lucky to drink the same water.”       “It would’ve happened if that little asshole had not meddled. Nobody would’ve even understood what happened to you. And you wouldn’t have known who to blame.”       “I quickly understood that all those attacks were connected with your attempt to poison my friends. Though I didn’t understand how it was possible. How they could get us.”       “But as you see, everything was super easy. The world is small, as they say. I was so lucky Luther had a friend who worked in the place where you and your friends should’ve played a concert.”       “That’s why I shall never stop protecting my friends,” Peter says confidently. “I shall never stop being careful and watching everything that surrounds them. Thinking of everything that happens to them.”       “Oh, I don’t care about your friends!” Marcus sighs tiredly. “Died or not – I do not care. I attacked them just to harm you. I wanted to make you super excited, fret, fume, and work your brains. I gave a fuck about the gal and gave an order to kidnap her to drive you crazy. And I sent you all the messages about her for the same goal.”       “Yeah, I see you don’t care.”       “If none of your friends wants to meddle in our business, alright, I shall harm nobody. So, the guys live and build their careers. But I remind you: if at least one of those assholes shows up on the doorstep of my house, he will be dead.”       “Then tell your bastards to set Helene free immediately. Or give me the coordinates of her location – I shall find her and take her out.”       “I shall not make such a great gift in the case of Helene,” Marcus refuses determinedly. “Her death was also a part of my plan of revenge.”       “Why?” Peter explodes. “What did she do to you?”       “Became your girlfriend. If she didn’t date you, nothing would happen to her. She would be sitting at home, kissing her dirty dog in his ass, and cleaning after her grandmother, who only has two Mondays to live after this one-week stress.”       “Helene is not guilty of anything for you! She is guilty of nobody! But you are the fuck taking revenge on her!”       “No, Peter, I don’t take revenge on her. And yeah, she is not so innocent and fluffy. I have told you so many times about it.”       “It’s a lie! I know you are bluffing! I know you wanted to slander this girl for me and make me leave her! Make me feel lonely and unhappy!”       “You believed it at some moment. Luther was a witness to your fight with Helene, whom you blamed openly for lying and betraying you.”       “Alright, I admit it. But now I am sorry about it. Sorry about attacking her with charges that have not been proved. And yeah, all those nude photos your jackals took are not the clue to me.”       “Nevertheless, you doubted her when you got a reason,” Marcus notices cheerfully, gets up from the sofa, and comes to Peter. “And there are some reasons for that. Either you didn’t trust your gal and thought she could betray you. Or the problem is you. You were humiliated once. You fell in love like a child with a beautiful girl, but she used it insolently and showered you with mud when you relaxed.”       “That’s good my friends were near and didn’t let me believe in that bullshit, and let anger cloud my mind. At first, I was mad at the thought that they defended Helene instead of supporting me. But now I understand they were absolutely right.”       “Wrong, my dear. It’s not bullshit. I know something about Helene’s past. I mean, the way several innocent people suffered because of her. And if the truth hadn’t been out, they all would’ve had to pay for what they did not do.”       “I shall not believe any of your words. You have no proof. And words mean nothing.”       “We will talk about the gal a little later. But now I want to talk about you. Talk about what this story started with.”       “I do want to talk about it, too, you know,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest.       “As I’ve said…” Marcus starts walking slowly in circles in front of Peter’s eyes. “I actually don’t care about your friends and harmed them to make you mad. No matter what, my main target has always been you.”       “Why? What did I do to you? Why are you doing all of this to me?”       “I’ve been waiting for this moment for years,” Marcus says with a sly smile. “Very many years. And I still cannot believe it’s really happening. This is the moment when I can get rid of you once and forever.”       “I lived a fucking quiet life and did my business, but then one bastard showed up and started to ruin the life of my girlfriend, my friends, and me.”       “Do you think it started recently? On the show, when you ran into Darren before the eyes of the crowd of little girls?”       “What?” Peter frowns strongly. “So, do you want to say everything started much earlier?”       “Much earlier than you think, my boy. This story has been continuing for a long time. I mean, there was one big pause in it. When I knew nothing about you and thought I dealt with you. But one beautiful day, everything changed, and I decided to put the started case to an end.”       “Shit! Fucking shit!”       “Do you want to know how I learned about you? How I understood why you were the one I needed?”       “The band.”       “Smart boy,” Marcus pronounces quietly. “Yes, correct. If you and your friends hadn’t decided to start a band, I would’ve probably never known about you. You would’ve lived a quiet life, and I would’ve thought the one I hated to death was alive or was far from me.”       “And how did you understand it was me? What if you confused me with someone, but I suffer for nothing?”       “No, Peter, I confused nothing. When I learned more about you and your band and fit some facts, I understood you were the one I needed with no problems.”       “So, were you planning to get rid of me a long time before I started a band with my friends?”       “Exactly!”       Marcus stops and turns on Peter, crossing his arms over his chest.       “You should’ve died when you were a baby. Well… Not died or ended up far, far from here. But sadly, some people let me down. And you are here. Fucking alive! And I have to spend time trying to get rid of you.”       “That’s how…”       “I thought everything would end after I heard of your suicide attempt. When I read the news on the Internet, I was happy I wouldn’t have to do anything because you would make me happy with your death.”       Marcus clenches his hands tightly into fists with a quiet growl.       “But not! You did not the fuck die! Your friends and the doctors literally surrounded you and tried so hard to save you. Your gal even gave her blood for you. And when your condition got worse, and you got an infection in your body, she literally moved into your room. Cried on your chest, talked, caressed you… It seems like she left her job to be with you all the time. There were moments when your doctor literally kicked her out of there.”       “Second, honorable…” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “First, how do you know about the infection? Second, how do you know Helene gave blood for me? And third, how do you know my girlfriend spent several hours per day in my room?”       “M-m-m, trust me, I know even more about it,” Marcus smiles slyly.       “I don’t get you?!”       “After the first blood transfusion, your condition got much better. Everyone thought you’d survive, wake up, and be released. Thanked the gal for saving you. But then, the day of the second transfusion came. And something went wrong during this process, and you got worse. It seems like what could happen because the best doctors worked in the hospital and knew their business well. But the answer is actually easy: someone violated the safety and got your organism infected with a mortal infection that could have killed you shortly.”       “You have to do with that?” Peter guesses, frowning slightly.       “Yes, you didn’t get the infection accidentally or by inexperience, as it was assumed initially. It was the work of my familiar doctor. I mean, I knew his father. We’re still very close friends. He told me his son was working as a doctor in the hospital where Peter Rose was. The one everyone talked about back. I came up with a plan and asked him for help.”       “That’s why…”       “I also met his son, who agreed to help me after his father persuaded him. At first, he refused and said he didn’t want to risk his job, which he barely got. The case is not only about fierce competition but also high claims. One or two mistakes before you are kicked out.”       “You know, honorable, you didn’t surprise me,” Peter says quietly. “Yes, not at all. I mean, now I've stopped doubting that my brain didn’t lie to me. You confirmed everything.”       “You aren’t surprised that you were infected on purpose?”       “When I was in the hospital, my consciousness was confused enough. I barely realized what was happening. And in one of those moments, I thought someone was walking near my bed too much and injected something into me with a syringe. I even remember someone whispering, ‘Why did I agree to do this? Why did I decide to risk such a good job?’ And I vaguely remember that the same person transfused blood to me. I remember I felt bad at some moment and passed out later.”       “So, have you known it all this time?”       “I thought it wasn’t the truth until the very end. That I was hallucinating. Everything seemed unreal to me. All talks, all actions – everything was like in a daze. That’s why when I woke up, I decided not to be stuck on it and started to think it was a mistake. And my friends still think so. I told them nothing about all these visions.”       “So, you know the truth now,” Marcus shrugs with an innocent smile. “That guy did everything quickly without problems, no claims for him. I thought you wouldn’t make it this time because the situation was too serious, and you were fed with huge doses of antibiotics. Your doctor seriously thought of preparing your friends and your lady for your death. But at some moment, a miracle happened, even if nobody counted on it until the end. Your condition got much better. And a little later, you woke up. Yes, the infection made your organism very weak, but you survived. And in the end, my attempt to get rid of you failed.”       “Alright, something is getting clear…” Peter throws gloomily, putting his hands on his hips.       “Oh, I just began to tell you the story. There are many more interesting things.”       “Come on, surprise me with something else.”       “I shall do, don’t worry. I shall tell you something that’s going to have your jaw drop on the floor.”       “I’m overwhelmed by your words yet.”       “Nevertheless, after that case, I didn’t give up on trying to kill you. There were many cases, but you hardly guessed it.”       “Yes, about a bigger part of them. But there were cases when I had some suspicions. And I had a feeling that someone was watching me all the time. But I didn’t pay attention to that and thought it was connected with the band’s work. I thought people just started to recognize me.”       “M-m-m…”       “For example, attempts to hit me by a car or a scooter were hardly an accident. Attempts to rob me. I remember someone tried to split acid on me. That’s good I turned my face aside, jumped aside, and ran in time. And I was lucky I wore glasses. Though acid ended up on my coat and burned it in some places. I had to throw it off. And what about trying to plant the explosion under my car? One day, someone called me when I was at home and asked me to come to the parking lot immediately. I left my business and went there. As it turned out, the security saw a suspicious man when they watched the cameras and went to find out everything. They neutralized the criminal quickly and called the police, sappers, and something else!”       “Yeah, I will not deny it!” Marcus confirms quietly with a sly smile. “It was my work. Since the attempt to hit you to death or split acid on you didn’t work, the car explosion should’ve worked like magic. The guys and I were sure that we’d do this because we thought there were no cameras in the parking lot, and people went there rarely.”       “It was stupid to plant the explosion in the daylight.”       “Yeah, but the access to the parking lot was closed at night, sadly. My guys tried to get in there, but they did not do.”       “I thought it was the work of some crazy fans. All of that was connected with my band’s work. And at some moment, I even started to ask myself if I should’ve started it all. But I also didn’t want to let the guys down, who wanted to perform on the stage for thousands of people. I started to be afraid more and more, but I didn’t give up. I didn’t because I wanted to perform, too.”       “C’mon, sweetie, you did know what you were doing. You knew the life of famous people could be too hard.”       “I did, but I continued to do my business. And I told the guys nothing. They know nothing about the attempt to split acid on me and explode me with a bomb.”       “And by starting the music career, you literally signed your own death warrant. Thanks to this, I found you. I found out that the case was not over. Since the others could not do this, I had to do everything by myself.”       “I wonder how you understood that I was the one you needed,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest.       “I will not deny that I had doubts at first,” Marcus replies quietly. “I was not sure that I was wrong. That’s why I just waited for some time. I watched you. I was looking for any information.”       “So, are you happy?”       “Yeah. Of course, I didn’t find out so much, but I was making more and more sure that my effort was worth it.”       “Why?” Peter asks coldly in a much lower voice. “Why did you the fuck start it all? What did I do to you? What do you want from me? WHY THE FUCK DO I HAVE TO TAKE IT ALL? EXPLAIN IT!”       “It’s a very long story. That started a long time before your birth.”       “Does it really have to do with my mother, who one of your assholes mentioned in the talk with Helene?”       “It does,” Marcus nods. “Your mother has to do with it.”       “If she got into something, she must solve it by herself. Since that woman gave a fuck about my problems and left me when I needed her, she should not expect any help and love from her son.”       “Ah, Cornelia, Cornelia…” Marcus starts walking slowly in circles before Peter with a quiet sigh, locking his fingers behind his back. “An alcoholic to the core. She has drunk everything down. When she was weaned to it once, she could not wean herself away. I mean, she didn’t want it. She did not have any motivation.”       “Let me ask you, how do you know that woman? Which business did you have with her?”       “The case is, Peter, that long-time alcoholic woman was hiding you from me so hard. Cornelia didn’t want me to find you someday.”       “What?” Peter frowns strongly. “Hiding me?”       “Yes, yes. Although her brain was drunk down, she did remember you and was even a little worried. In the opposite case, you would not have lived in this world anymore.”       “What kind of shit are you talking about? Why would she hide me? She didn’t think of me at all! I was always nothing for her! If I died, she wouldn’t care!”       “No, my boy, it’s not true. I can’t say Cornelia loved you to death, but she had some warm mother’s feelings for you. Alas, alcohol and drugs have never been friends of people and always ruined even the strongest relationships.”       “And what did she do to be forced to hide me from you?”       “I said that woman was hiding you from me!” Marcus repeats irritably.       “WHY did she hide me?”       “Not to let me get rid of you.”       “She knew about your plans?”       “She did. Cornelia was aware of the story from start to end. I mean, she knew your own father gave you in for money, and bad men wanted to sell you abroad. And she could’ve told you that. But as I see, she did not. Or… She could not. Because alcohol ruined her memory.”       “Fuck…” Peter pronounces surprisingly, glancing aside. “She knew you were hunting me, but she said nothing. She didn't say you could show up at any time.”       “I could not because I knew nothing about you when you were a child and a teenager. I learned about you after everyone started to talk about a very talented band that was promoted actively by the one who was more famous and beloved. So, you live quietly during that period. Though I really doubt it happened. Because everyone kicked your ass.”       “Pardon, honorable, but I haven't understood the fuck anything from what you said.”       “By the way, I forgot to say that when Cornelia and I met outside by chance, I learned about you at the same time. I mean, I saw her. That half-alive alcoholic woman lying in the dirty pool in ripped clothes after she stole a bottle of vodka from a supermarket and drank it.”       “My mother is alive?”       “I don’t know what now, but she was holding on back then. Though I thought she would die if she drank a couple more bottles. Maybe it happened. I don’t exclude that Cornelia drank to the fuck, fell with her face in the asphalt, and just froze to death in the dark, cold night.”       “That’s how…”       “We didn’t have a good talk. But after a little money reward, she managed to answer some of my questions, drinking a bottle of elite vodka. I found out where that woman lived. I found out where I could find you. But I also found out that you got out somewhere and moved into a different place. As Cornelia said, you used the moment to leave the one to take care of you.”       “Aha, take care,” Peter blunts gloomily. “She gave a fuck about me and stole all the money I earned. And she beat me for the reason and without. Is that what she called care?”       “She did the right thing! Though I think she didn’t beat you enough because you eventually became an uneducated and insolent bastard.”       “Do you think it’s fine because you were beaten strongly yourself?”       “When children don’t obey older people, there’s nothing bad in hitting them with a jump rope on their asses. That’s how they were educated in the past centuries, and nobody complained. Everyone became decent people and thanked the older people for all the lessons they got. They respected them, feared them, bowed to them…”       “Don’t read me lectures. First, you are nobody to tell me what to do. And second, I am an adult man who knows what to do better.”       “M-m-m, are you so sure?” Marcus smiles slyly. “Are you sure I am nobody to you?”       “Yes! And I don’t understand why the fuck you thought that you could talk to me like this?”       “Look at me closer, boy.” Marcus comes closer to Peter. “Look. Don’t you notice anything interesting? Don’t you notice that you and I are similar?”       “I only see the old wrinkled face that I want to hit to death,” Peter throws rudely.       “Don’t deny what’s real, Peter. Deep inside, you do understand there is some resemblance between us.”       “I see nothing like this!”       “But I do see. When I look at you, I see myself being more than twenty years younger. The same hair color, eye color, features… Some of your habits are similar to mine. For example, you wink the way I do at times. I also know you have myopia, and I have it, too. And I know who you inherited your talent for music. No matter what, I have to admit that you have a talent.”       “What are you hinting at?” Peter gets suspicious, clenching his hands into tight fists.       “Cornelia was hiding you from me for a reason. And she did not reveal one very interesting secret that only several people knew before today.”       “Reveal it yourself since you decided to make full confessions today.”       “You can guess everything if you work your brains a little.” Marcus brings his face closer to Peter’s face, while the blond steps back automatically. “The answer is on the surface.”       “Huh?” Peter oohs quietly, rounding his eyes with a sense of a stopped heart.       “All your life, you’ve thought you have nobody but your mommy, who actually gave a fuck about you.”       Marcus starts walking in circles before the eyes of Peter, who watches him closely, like a charmed person.       “No father, no brothers, no sisters, no grandparents, no aunts or uncles… You truly thought you were literally an orphan. And you became the one when Cornelia left home and didn’t come back one fateful day. At least, when you lived in that one-floor place on the outskirts of the city.”       “I accepted it a long time ago,” Peter says quietly. “And I’ve never aimed to find my family. Since I learned to live without it.”       “So, have you never wanted to know the truth about your family?”       “Why do I the fuck need it now when I’ve grown up and been living my life?”       “I see…” Marcus pronounces thoughtfully and smiles evilly. “But as they say, something we don’t expect and don’t want always happens to us.”       “Even if you know something, I want to hear nothing. I want to know nothing about those who would probably want to use me to live the best life on my account.”       “Calm down, boy, nobody needs your money. At least, I don’t need it.”       “Why else are you chasing me so hard and trying to kill me?” Peter surprises loudly.       “I’m trying to kill you to take revenge for the death of my close person. Who would’ve been alive if you had not been born in this world.”       “Don’t tell me you had an affair with my mother.”       “The case is not about Cornelia.”       “What then?” Peter explodes. “Who the fuck are you? What the fuck do you want from me? Who I killed, not remembering that?”       “I am the one who never wanted you to be born. The one who did his best not to make it happen, but sadly, missed something. And it was too late to change something.”       “What?”       “I don’t need your money, Peter. I only need your death. The death of the person who should’ve never come into this world. I was sure I would never see you again and live a quiet life until the end of my life. But one fateful day, I found out that I had been deceived. Those who were told to do it did not get rid of you. To get rid of my unwanted son, whose birth was never a part of my plan, once and forever.”       “Y-y-your son?” Peter opens his eyes widely, getting sharply pale and starting to breathe heavily enough from excitement.       “Yes, Peter.”       Marcus stops with his head proudly raised and turns to Peter.       “I am your father. The father you have known nothing about all your life. The father, whose life you ruined by just being born in this world.”       After these words, Peter feels that his legs get weak, while light dizziness hits his head. The muscles are tensed with the pain, the invisible power is squeezing the chest, depriving him of the opportunity to breathe, and the heartbeat fastens as if he had a long, intense race. Looking closely at the face of Marcus smiling shyly, the man really sees some resemblance that he noticed when they met for the first time, but he tried to assure himself that it did not mean anything until the very end.       Searching for his own father has been a priority for Peter. He has never expressed a wish to find out something about him. And now, when he had to find out who he is, Rose understands that he decided not to even try to do this for the reason. Because the blond would not have thought his parent would be such a horrible man. The criminal who is famous around the whole city or even the world, who killed hundreds of innocent people many years ago. Who has been attacking him all this time to kill him one fateful day.