518 A Fulfilled Dream

Felix felt a few warm and strong hands on his shoulder, squeezing him as though they were telling him that it's all going to be okay. His jaw clenched at the heavy feeling he had on his chest. As soon as they left the hospital earlier, he immediately regretted that he defied Damien and Katherine's orders, and he had put the team at risk. 

And although Damien wasn't mad at him, he knew that he had let him down which made Felix feel worse because the other didn't berate him for what he did. He wished that Damien scolded him instead. Felix didn't know what would happen from now on. Would he become a wanted man?

"What exactly happened when you entered the room? Did Parker do something before you arrived?" asked Katherine, breaking the room's growing silence after watching the news report.

Snapping out of his trance, Felix turned around and saw the others waiting for his response, so he began to explain, "I don't know if he did something to her. I entered the room and saw the senator gasping for air." He averted his gaze to the side as he recalled the scene from earlier. "Her oxygen mask was on, but she had trouble breathing. When I noticed her clutching her chest, I pressed the emergency button right away. Then she grabbed my shirt and tried to say something—"

"What did she say?"

Felix's eyes darted quickly, his head tilted and his brows knitted as he struggled to remember what he heard. "It's…"

"Think carefully," said Chris. "Did you get to read her lips?"

Closing his eyes, Felix concentrated and forced his mind to bring him back to the scene from earlier. The room was still and quiet as the others gave him the time to recall the events earlier. However, the sound of heavy breathing was all he could hear, making it extremely difficult for him to catch the slightest sound that the senator managed to utter.

He was ridden in guilt that he couldn't save her even after taking the risk and bumping into Parker. The feeling of being incompetent washed over him—all because he failed to save a life.

"A…" he started, his voice evidently unsure about the word he was trying to form. "Ally?"

"Ally?" Damien questioned, glancing at the others as he wondered if that word meant anything to them. "What did she mean by that?"

Katherine shook her head. The word was too vague that even after thinking about it, nothing came up. "Are you sure that's all?"

With his eyes still closed, Felix tried again. This time, he fluttered his eyes open just as he formed another word. "Alliance."

All of them exchanged looks, and confusion was written all over their faces when they heard what he said.

"That's the last word she said before she died?" Gus crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What does that even mean?"

"You're sure it's 'alliance'?" Chris clarified.

Felix met the other's stare, nodding as he responded, "Yes. The words after that were gibberish…"

"Does that ring a bell to you?" she asked Chris, but the latter shook his head—he also did not know what the senator meant when she said that.

Damien checked the time on his watch and saw that it was almost eight in the evening. He had planned to go back home in time for dinner because Amelia told him she was cooking. But because of the recent events, he had lost track of time and forgot to inform her they were going home late. He was sure that she was aware of the current happenings with Styles being there with her, but he didn't like that he had committed, and yet he didn't deliver.

Grabbing the suit jacket draped over the backrest of the sofa, Damien brushed his hand on Katherine's arm as he simultaneously tapped the screen on his phone with the other and said, "Let's keep it at that for now. We have to go home." Then he glanced at Chris and told him, "I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow."

And so, Katherine, Damien, Felix, and Noah left the safe house and headed home to Golden Phoenix Residences.

…

Katherine's Penthouse at the 61st floor

A few hours after they finished their dinner, Felix went several floors down and stayed at Markus's place as per Damien's instructions. Starting tomorrow, he would be staying at the safe house to lay low for the meantime. The meal was delicious, but Felix couldn't enjoy it thoroughly because of his situation, so he couldn't eat that much. In the end, Amelia decided to pack him some food for when he gets hungry later.

Katherine went to change out of her clothes and took a bath in her bathroom while Damien stayed with his mother in the living room. He clutched his hands together as he glanced at the brown envelope that laid flat next to him as he sat on the sofa. He received it from Markus earlier and he decided to give it to Amelia right away.

"Damien…" Amelia called, her voice gentle and patient as she stared at her son.

He looked up and met his mother's curious gaze—he couldn't tell why he was suddenly nervous. It wasn't as if he did something wrong, but felt hesitant giving it to her. Perhaps he was afraid that she wouldn't like it. 

"Is everything okay?" she asked. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Rubbing his nape, he cleared his throat and gingerly held the envelope in his hands. His grip tightened for a second, causing a dent on the edge of it. Her eyes shifted to his hands, and he knew that she wondered what he was holding. Taking a deep breath, he finally gave it to her and said, "Here. It's for you."

"What's this?" Amelia received the sealed envelope and stared at it. There were no markings on it, so she didn't have any idea what was in it. Seeing him nod as if he was telling her to open it, she removed the seal and checked the contents. Her eyes grew wide in shock, reading several pages of documents of what seemed like a contract. At a glance, she could already tell what it was, but her mind and heart refused to believe it. "I don't—What is this?"

"One of Dad's dreams. I have thought a lot after you told me about ASLP. It didn't feel right for me that you wouldn't take the money. I know you told me that it was for me, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, I decided to fulfill one of his dreams instead. I purchased Esmea Wolves as a gift for you—"

"But… Sweetheart—"

"I already expected that you would want to refuse—I don't know why you and Katherine make it such a big deal if I spend my money how I like it..." He shook his head and heard his mother chuckle at his small complaint. "But it's ours. I used a portion of your investment's return, so it's yours and mine—your name is on it. And you can't refuse because the contract has already been signed."

Amelia was left speechless. He knew that she would refuse to accept it, seeing as he had spent almost two billion dollars to purchase the team and told her it was a gift. So he's telling her she paid for it too. She looked at the papers again and saw that he had even changed the name from Esmea Wolves to Esmea Falcons. Her heart swelled at the thought of her son being so thoughtful.

Meeting Damien's eyes, she smiled and pulled him in for an embrace. "Thank you. I'm sure your father is happy."