A Change of Plans
A Change of Plans
Clarity woke up in the morning to the sound of knocking on his door—someone had been knocking for a while.
He glanced at the clock on the bedside table; it was still seven in the morning. Too early, he thought.
He sat up, wiped his face with his hands several times, and tried to tame his messy hair.
He opened the door, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.
Eve was standing there alongside a nurse. She smiled upon seeing him and spoke in an enthusiastic tone, "Sorry for waking you, Your Majesty."
Clarity stared at her in bewilderment, whispering, "What is her problem?"
"Just joking with you! Sorry for waking you before your usual time, but I need to get something," Eve said, pointing to a syringe in the nurse's hand. "This syringe needs your blood."
"The syringe needs my blood? Is it suffering from anemia or something?!" Clarity deadpanned.
Eve’s smile widened. "Your ideas are truly amusing. Let's put it that way... say the syringe needs blood—would you leave it to suffer?"
Clarity stared at Eve for a few seconds, then shut the door right in her face.
Eve stood there in complete shock. What had just happened was the ultimate act of dismissal she had ever experienced in her life—one for the history books.
She grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open forcefully, stepping into the room. Clarity was still standing there.
"I’m not joking with you, Clarity," she said with a challenging look. "Let the nurse do her job."
"Who said I was joking? I know you're thinking of running some tests on me."
"So? What's your problem with that? They're just general check-ups."
"They don't have anything to do with performing surgery, do they?"
"No... how could I do something like that when you're against it? These tests aren't for the surgery; there's just something I want to verify."
"Regarding my health?"
"A... absolutely." Eve gestured for the nurse to enter while Clarity sat on the bed to let her work.
Once finished, the nurse left the room, followed by Eve, who bade Clarity farewell with a faint smile.
Walking down the corridor, Eve stared at the syringe in her hands, whispering, "I'm sorry, Clarity. The probability of it is around 20%, or maybe less... but there's no harm in checking."
Her mind flashed back to her conversation with Bruno:
"Eve, this might sound strange to you, but I need this," Bruno had said. "I suspect something about Clarity... and this doubt keeps growing. So run a DNA test on him and check if it matches mine, just to settle my doubts once and for all."
"But Uncle, Clarity already has parents, and he's legally registered too."
"I looked into his background. His personal info was registered only recently—probably after his father's passing. Plus, he lived far from the capital."
"You really dug deep!"
"I only asked Eric, but he's skilled at these things. Besides... I don't want thoughts like this distracting me right now, especially when I'm entering a rather difficult phase. So let's just verify it."
"Alright, I'll handle it."
"I'm sorry... if this causes you any confusion or trouble."
"Not at all. I already cherish Clarity... it might be impossible, but I still hope we find Yohan soon."
Snapping back to reality, Eve stared at the syringe and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'll also use this sample for general medical check-ups, just as I told you. I'm sorry, Clarity."
She suddenly noticed Elavin walking right beside her. Surprised, she asked, "How long have you been standing there?"
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"Since you started apologizing to Clarity."
Eve stopped walking and handed the syringe to the nurse, who continued down the hall. Elavin stopped as well.
"Did you discover something?" Eve asked in confusion. "Was I thinking out loud?"
"Is there something I'm not supposed to discover?"
"Not really, but next time... try letting me know you're nearby."
"I called you 'Director' several times, but you were completely lost in thought."
"Right, my apologies... What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"I wanted to confirm something, but... I'm confident you care about Clarity and would never bring him harm, in any way."
Elavin finished his sentence, turned around, and walked away, leaving Eve in a state of bewilderment and sudden guilt. "That kid..." she muttered.
Elavin had seen Eve with Bruno the previous night and overheard part of their conversation. Though he didn't know Bruno at all, it had made him deeply anxious for Clarity's safety.
At the end of the hallway, Clarity met Elavin, speaking in a calm, casual tone: "Hey man! I woke up early today, so let me handle the morning duties."
Clarity wrapped his arm around Elavin's neck, adding, "Fin... please don't say no. You know I hate evening shifts."
Elavin smiled, gently pushing Clarity's arm away. "Alright, alright, it's yours."
At the syndicate building, Bruno’s phone rang. He sat up from his lying position, bringing the phone to his ear. "Aaron?"
Aaron sat on his bed, replying, "It's me, Uncle. Sorry for the delay, but I couldn't find the right moment to contact you."
"It's fine. Tell me what you know."
"Regarding those units—they belong to the Capital Guards, which is why they aren't present in neighboring cities. Their official duty is to prevent crime and illegal activities... sounds noble on the surface, but they were formed specifically to counter you, Uncle. My grandfather and Konar are trying to block you from seizing the remaining properties. It seems my grandfather has chosen to side with Konar."
"He always does."
"He's being extremely strict this time. They were discussing it last night, and I managed to join in and gather a lot... Oh, wait a second."
Aaron lowered his phone as his mother entered the room. He gestured that he was talking to a friend, so she quietly set a glass of juice on the table and left. Aaron resumed:
"They talked about the Foundation Building and the Commercial Complex, saying they would use the Guards to block your access. As for the fertilizer factory, Konar seemed confident, claiming it was completely secure. I tried to probe further, but he stopped talking about it."
"Things would have gone smoothly, but they decided to move," Bruno noted.
"What are you going to do then? I'm worried."
"I'm considering my options, but I won't be reckless, nor will I accept defeat."
"I have to hang up now, Uncle. Stay safe."
Aaron ended the call, got off the bed, and put on a formal black coat. He grabbed his bag from the table, drank the glass of juice, and headed toward the main gate.
His father, Konar, was waiting in his car with the front passenger door open. Aaron got in, and Konar smiled warmly at him. Aaron forced a faint smile in return, doing his best to mask his inner resentment. He acted friendly, expressing a desire to join Konar at the government building—a proposal Konar happily accepted.
As the car pulled away toward the government building, Aaron asked, "Why don't you have a driver?"
Konar smiled. "Don't you know? Bruno sent a driver from his group once, and the guy almost caused a horrific accident."
"Almost caused an accident? And died with you? Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to just target you without killing himself too?"
"I don't know, but his followers are just a bunch of lunatics."
"Did the driver actually say he worked for Bruno?"
"He didn't need to say it; trying to kill me was proof enough."
Aaron took a deep breath, turning his gaze toward the window and rolling it down to let the cold air in.
"The heater is on in the car, close the window," Konar murmured.
"I hate warm spaces," Aaron replied coldly. "They feel suffocating."
Looking at it again, Aaron thought, Konar has always been like this. His driver almost gets into a casual accident, so he decides on his own that Bruno is behind it. Then he presents it to Grandfather with added spice, playing the victim. Just like what happened with Ari's death... He hasn't changed at all.
By noon, as the sun reached its peak, the weather turned somewhat mild.
That morning, the doors of the syndicate building remained shut as everyone awaited Bruno's orders. Later, several members were permitted by Bruno to return to their homes.
Jake stayed in his room trying to finish some tasks, with Daniel serving as his companion and assistant.
Jake held a sheet of paper up, gazing at it with pride, though its contents weren't entirely clear.
"What's that paper you're looking at so happily?" Daniel asked.
Jake smiled, raising his right eyebrow. "A treasure I've been working on for a long time, and it's finally almost complete. It's the blueprint to securing the Commercial Complex."
"Does it really need a blueprint?"
"Not a literal blueprint—it's a master plan I've drawn up."
The room door opened, and Bruno stepped in with a heavy, serious look. He had always been stern, but he seemed even more tense lately.
Seeing his dark expression, Jake stood up from the sofa, followed by Daniel.
Bruno took a deep breath, eyeing Jake before asking calmly, "What's the status of your preparations for the Commercial Complex?"
"They're going well. I'm almost finished. I got an important lead regarding the building's owner, though it's incomplete. She's the ex-wife of..."
"Stop," Bruno interrupted. "Forget about the owner."
"But... it seems important. It's connected to the royal family somehow."
"Ex-wife of whom? Why does that matter? Does drafting a plan require prying into people's private lives? I asked you to research the status of the building itself—the staff count, structure, and relevant operational details."
Jake cut his speech short, remaining silent with a cold expression.
Bruno exhaled deeply, rubbing his hair with both hands as if suppressing his frustration. "Don't act as if I just scolded you," he muttered softly.
"You did."
"Fine, I apologize for that."
Jake maintained his cool demeanor. "I apologize too. I was in the wrong... We've always searched for our opponents' weak points and exploited them to reclaim previous buildings, but... it seems I made a mistake this time, one way or another."
"You didn't make a mistake. But we are setting aside the Commercial Complex for now. Instead... we are moving to reclaim the fertilizer factory first."