say but was rudely cut off by the man.
“Enough of your excuses!” he snapped. “I won’t put up with this bullshit anymore. Pack you stuff and be gone by tomorrow morning or else, I will kick you out myself.”
“Mr. Val, please try and understand the situation I am in,” Pearl said, putting her hands together. “Please, I am begging you. Just give me two days and I will have-”
“You are testing my patience, girl,” he said, scowling. “Keep this up, and I will kick you out of here right this second!”
“Please. My father is very ill, and we have nowhere to go!” she said, looking at him imploringly. “Please, you must understand!”
“That’s it! Get out!” he snapped. “Get the fuck out of here, right this second! I have had enough of you and your father. He is always coughing and throwing up. God knows what disease you filthy vermin have brought into my building. Leave! Right now!”
“I am not sure that would be in your best interest,” Pearl said, trying to sound calm despite her racing heart. She knew that this might eventually happen, and she had prepared herself for when it did. “You kick us out, and I go to the police. You think I don’t know about the illegal smuggling business you run in the basement? You kick me out, and I will go to them right now. You ain’t fast enough to cover all your tracks in such a short time. Plus, I already got all the evidence."
"You filthy liar." He growled. “You don’t know shit!”
Despite his brave act, Pearl could see his knees shaking, and she knew that she had gotten him.
“I have proof,” she said, taking out her phone and showing him the pictures she had taken of all the documents and the smuggled material. “Go ahead. Delete it. I have plenty of copies already made. You can try and get me killed but that won’t help you either. If my friend doesn’t hear from me in the next two hours, he will automatically send those to the police.”
The man stood there, completely frozen. For a second, he didn’t even move, and Pearl started to panic internally.
“Fine,” he eventually snapped. “You have two days. Return the rest of my money, you bitch!”
With that, he walked away, and Pearl finally let out a sigh of relief. She was afraid that he would call her bluff and that would be the end of it. This was her only copy of the evidence she had managed to collect by sneaking around. And, she certainly didn’t have any friends waiting for her. She slowly opened the door and walked inside the small room. It was even dirtier and smellier than the rest of the building.
In the corner of the room, sat a weak-looking man who clearly looked more aged than he really was. He coughed vigorously before gasping out, “You are back. You have been gone so long, I thought he had you.”
“Papa, you have nothing to worry about. We have left the past behind us and we are safe here. He won’t find us now. You can stop worrying about it,” she said, walking over to him. “I finally found a job at an agency that hires nannies. I will have money soon enough, and then I can get you into a hospital and even get you a better place to live. Everything will be alright now. We are safe, Papa. He is gone from our lives, forever.”
Even as Pearl said these words, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was being watched. In the depth of her heart, she knew that the past was slowly catching up and this time, she might not be able to escape.
Chapter 2
Rio narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man standing in front of him. The man was quacking with fear, his eyes averted as he refused to look into the eyes of his leader.
Rio leaned back into his chair and said in a calm yet dangerous voice, “You failed to obey my orders. Because of you, the mission almost failed. Because of you, we lost two bear shifters last night. Because of your incompetence and disobedience, our alliance with the Ura clan is threatened. How do you plead?”
“Leader, please! Forgive me for what I did. Please, do not punish me! I have a pup and a wife waiting for me!” He whimpered, falling on his knees as tears streamed down his cheek. “Please, Leader! Please, Master Rio, show