CHAPTER 21.

   “Father, where is Ella?” Marchen asked the elderly man when he got back into his office. The elderly man looked surprised. Marchen had never asked about Ella whenever he came around. He studied Marchen curiously.

  “Why do you need her?” the elderly man asked.

  “I just want to see her,” Marchen demanded.

  Immediately, the elderly man could tell that something was wrong. He figured Marchen must have found out something, but he kept his composure.

  “She might be attending to the injury she sustained yesterday during a fight in the ghetto,” the elderly man replied smoothly.

  Marchen looked at him sharply.

  “She got into a gunfight yesterday?” he asked curiously.

  “Yes. The guy shot her in the hand, but luckily, I had him arrested,” the elderly man said.

  Marchen immediately bought the story. He smiled faintly, almost unable to believe that he had actually suspected Father of having something to do with the attack at his home.

  “Okay, Father,” Marchen said before walking out of the office.

  The elderly man waited until Marchen was out of sight before carefully walking toward the door. He opened it slightly and peeped outside to make sure Marchen had left.

  He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

  “Make sure Marchen doesn’t see you,” he ordered before ending the call.

  He immediately dialed another number.

  “Victoria, Marchen is bringing the lady here for a while,” he said before ending the call.

  Meanwhile, Marchen got back to the car, where AnniBerry was still leaning against it.

  “Is everything okay?” AnniBerry asked.

  Marchen let out a slight cough.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he replied.

  He leaned against the car as well, standing close to AnniBerry.

  “Anni, you’ll stay here with Father for a while until everything is safe,” Marchen said calmly.

  AnniBerry stared at him in disbelief.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You want me to stay here? No, I can’t,” she said firmly.

 Marchen looked at her and exhaled sharply.

  “Anni, my house isn’t safe for you right now, and neither is your house. I need somewhere safe for you to stay,” he explained.

  AnniBerry shook her head in disagreement.

  “I cannot stay here. I honestly don’t like that lady I saw, and I really don’t like this place,” AnniBerry said, her voice filled with discomfort.

 Marchen looked at AnniBerry, worry evident in his eyes. He was about to say something to her when a black Hilux jeep pulled up and parked right beside them.

  The driver's window rolled down, revealing Linx. He smiled at Marchen before stepping out of the car.

  “Hi, Mar,” he greeted.

  Marchen smiled faintly, and they shook hands. Linx then turned his attention to AnniBerry, who seemed completely lost in her thoughts and wasn't paying attention to either of them.

  “Hi, AnniBerry,” Linx greeted.

 AnniBerry turned to him with a faint smile.

  “Hello, Linx,” she replied before turning her face away again.

  Linx leaned closer to Marchen and whispered something into his ear.

 Marchen glanced at AnniBerry.

  “Please, Anni, get into the car and wait for me,” he calmly requested.

  He unlocked the car, and AnniBerry quietly got inside. Once she was settled, Marchen and Linx stepped a little farther away from the car.

  “Mar, yeah... the boss wants you to handle the job,” Linx said.

  Marchen placed both hands on his waist, frustration evident in his eyes.

  “I don't believe the boss wants me to handle the job. He clearly told me Merrilyn would be my last job. Why does he need me now?” Marchen questioned.

  Linx immediately gestured for him to lower his voice so AnniBerry wouldn't hear them.

  “Mar, we're yet to find Mr. Mars, and you know damn well that it's because of this lady that it's taking you this long. You have to find a way to get your hands off her,” Linx said.

  Marchen rubbed both hands over his head, clearly frustrated.

  “Linx, I want her to stay with Father while I go and attend to everything,” Marchen said.

  “What?” Linx asked in shock, stepping closer to him. “If you really want her to be safe, take her somewhere else.”

  Marchen looked at him in surprise.

  “Why?” he asked curiously.

 “Father didn't tell you?” Linx asked, equally surprised.

  “Tell me what?” Marchen asked impatiently.

  “Father is retiring. He wants to sell this building to Victoria,” Linx revealed.

  Marchen's eyes widened. For a few seconds, he couldn't say a word.

  “What did you just say?” he finally asked in disbelief.

  His eyes shifted toward the entrance of the elderly man's house before returning to Linx.

  The shock on Marchen's face was unmistakable.

  “Father is selling this place?” he asked, as though he still couldn't believe what he had just heard.

  Linx nodded slowly.

  “That's what I'm telling you. You can't leave AnniBerry here anymore.”

 Marchen clenched his fists and glared toward the elderly man's house in annoyance.

  “Why did he not just tell me this? And he accepted my plea to let AnniBerry stay in his house. Damn!” Marchen muttered.

  Linx sucked his teeth. “Mar, if you really want to protect AnniBerry, then do not trust easily. You should know better,” he warned.

 Marchen fell deep into thought for a few minutes before snapping back to reality. He turned to Linx.

  “Linx, there was an attack at my home yesterday. Can you help me find out who was behind it?” Marchen asked.

  Linx's eyes narrowed. “Another attack after the first?” he asked curiously.

  “Yeah,” Marchen replied.

  Linx inhaled and exhaled sharply he nodded "I’ll call Carl. Then we can figure it out together,” he assured Marchen.

  Marchen walked toward the car to check on AnniBerry, who was sitting inside, scrolling through her phone.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her, and she nodded. 

  Marchen walked back to Linx, who had taken out a cigarette and lit it.

  “Linx, where can I keep AnniBerry safe?” Marchen asked, looking defeated.

  Linx blew a cloud of smoke into the air. “She can stay with Ashley,” he replied.

  Marchen paused for a few seconds. “No. Anyone else?” he asked.

  Linx took another drag of his cigarette before letting out a loud laugh. “Come on, Mar. My aunt might be a prostitute, but she definitely knows boundaries. She’ll keep her safe,” Linx said.

 Marchen glanced at AnniBerry, who was sitting in the car, focused on her phone. He stared at her for a few moments before turning back to Linx.

  “Linx, can Ashley watch over her carefully?” Marchen asked, worry evident on his face.

  Linx took another quick drag of his cigarette. “Listen, Mar. The Boss already sent for you. It’s best we keep her at Ashley’s for now and take her away from there later. You know the Boss he hates to wait,” Linx said, his expression turning serious this time.

  Marchen walked towards his car and got in. He did not inform the elderly man about his change of mind regarding keeping AnniBerry at his place. He fastened his seat belt, started the engine, and drove off.

  Linx watched him before walking into the elderly man’s office.

  The elderly man was standing by the window, staring outside, when he suddenly heard his door creak open. He turned and saw Linx walk in. He walked towards him.

  “How have you been, Father?” Linx greeted him.

  The elderly man looked at Linx and slapped him across the face.

  Linx kept his gaze fixed on the elderly man, whose face was now filled with anger.

  “I cannot believe you helped Marchen hide that,” the elderly man said.

  Linx opened his mouth and was about to speak.

  “Don’t say a word, Linx,” the elderly man said, cutting him off.

 “You both want to put me in trouble?” the elderly man asked angrily.

  Linx inhaled and exhaled sharply. “Father, Marchen is a grown man, and I know he knows what he is doing,” Linx said.

 The elderly man became even more furious and slapped Linx again.

  “You idiot!” he began. “I took you from the orphanage to be of use to me. I took you in so that you and Marchen could serve me, and this is how you both want to turn out?”

 The elderly man looked extremely angry. He suddenly held his chest tightly, as though he felt a sharp pain, before slowly sitting down on the sofa.

 Linx looked at him worriedly.

 “Are you okay, Father?” he asked.

 The elderly man gave no response.

 “If anything goes wrong, I will make sure you and Marchen retire without receiving a dime, and that’s if you’re not dead first. Now, get out of my sight!” the elderly man threatened.  Linx turned around and left the elderly man’s office without saying another word.

   Marchen arrived at a ghetto-like area and parked his car close to a pink-painted bungalow. He turned off the engine and turned to look at AnniBerry, only to find her already staring at him, surprise and questions written all over her face.

 “Why are we here?” she asked.

  Marchen leaned slightly toward her. “AnniBerry, please. You’ll need to stay here for a little while until I get a few things sorted out,” he said calmly.

  AnniBerry looked around the area and then at the house, irritation evident on her face. “With who?” she asked curiously.

  “Ashley. She’s like an Sister to me,” Marchen replied.

  AnniBerry squinted her eyes in surprise. “What about your dad’s house? I thought you said I should stay there?” she asked.

 Marchen rubbed his head with his palm. “Huh, yeah, but he’s travelling, and you can’t stay there alone,” he explained.

  Marchen glanced at his watch before turning back to AnniBerry. “Give me your phone,” he demanded.

  AnniBerry looked at him curiously but brought out her phone from her pocket and handed it to him. Marchen took it and quickly dialed his number before handing the phone back to her.

  “Here. You have my number now. Call me if anything happens,” he said.

  He got out of the car and walked toward the pink-painted house while AnniBerry watched him from inside.

  A few minutes later, Marchen came back out with a slender-looking woman who had a curvy figure. She wore a very short skirt and a bra top, her long hair flowing freely down her back. Her eyes were heavily adorned with makeup and earrings dangled from her ears.

  As they walked toward the car, the woman kept shewing her  chewing gum and blowing bubbles with her the gum.

  AnniBerry's eyes widened in disbelief. She held her forehead and muttered to herself, “Please tell me this is not who I’m staying with.”

 The lady and Marchen walked toward Marchen’s car. AnniBerry stepped out and folded her arms, looking at both of them without saying a word.

 “Your girl is disrespectful, man,” the lady said, noticing that AnniBerry had not bothered to greet her.

 Marchen looked at AnniBerry before turning back to the lady.

“Ashley, she didn’t ask to be here. I’m the one who needs this favor,” Marchen said calmly.

Ashley let out a long sigh and blew a bubble with her chewing gum. It burst loudly.

 “I see,” she said, staring at AnniBerry with a stern expression.

 Marchen gently placed a hand on Ashley’s shoulder before turning to AnniBerry.

“This is Ashley, Anni. You’ll stay with her until I get back. She’ll give you anything you need,” Marchen said.

AnniBerry said nothing. She simply folded her arms tighter and continued staring at Marchen. Marchen gave Ashley a forced smile before glancing at his watch.

“Please, Ashley, take care of her. I need to go now,” he said hurriedly.

 He got into his car, started the engine, and sped away.

 Ashley watched the car disappear before turning to AnniBerry with a stern look.

 “Come inside, bitch,” she said coldly.

 AnniBerry scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Call me AnniBerry,” she corrected her.

Ashley burst into loud laughter.

 “AnniBerry?” she mocked. “Whoever named you that never thought you’d actually grow up.”

AnniBerry glared at her before scoffing.

 “Whatever,” she muttered.

She walked past Ashley and headed inside, with Ashley following behind.