528 In His Thoughts

Safe house

The current happening just confirmed Damien's suspicions. Now, he was even more convinced that his senses were right. At first, he thought that maybe he was just feeling nervous because he was trying to impress and make his mother happy—that maybe, he was feeling that way because he was trying so hard. He shouldn't have ignored the feeling. He should have known better than to be complacent.

When Styles called to inform them that Golden Phoenix Residences' block had Shadow agents surrounding it, Damien's fight or flight response kicked in. Still, his priority was to take Katherine and Amelia to safety. 

Now that they were on the way to the safe house located outside of Mayne City, he couldn't stop thinking about how Amelia would now need to show her face to Chris. But at the moment, they had no choice. Styles was already on the way there, and they had to continue moving forward.

Glancing at his mother through the rearview mirror, he could see that she was calm and collected as though what was happening didn't shake her. It was the same for Katherine. The latter only looked surprised initially, but now, she had this determined look on her face—and seeing it made him feel at ease. These women with him were both tough and level-headed. He was still worried, but knowing that they were strong to handle the crisis, he knew that everything would be fine.

Turning towards the long and dry path towards the safe house, Damien took a deep breath when the house came into view. Men from Maverick Security guarded their posts and remained vigilant. The car came to a full stop, and they alighted the vehicle.

As the three strode towards the entrance, Katherine walked beside Damien while Amelia hesitated. Noticing his mother's delay, he placed a hand on her back as though he was trying to reassure her.

Styles had already started setting up his workstation in the middle of the room while Chris and Gus hovered over the screens on the table, watching the block's live footage where Shadow agents were. The agents had a photo of Chris in hand, and they showed it to shop owners and passersby, asking whether they saw the man in the picture. So far, there were no other movements yet.

"You're here," said Styles as he turned around, seeing Damien, Katherine, and Amelia by the door.

Gus and Chris looked up, and their eyes landed on Katherine before they drifted to the woman on the other side of Damien. Gus, who hadn't met or seen Amelia, had no reaction when he saw her. But it was different for Chris.

The moment that Chris's gaze met Amelia's, it was as if time had stopped. His eyes immediately watered, seeing his mentor—whom he had considered as his second mother when he arrived in Shadow. The woman whom he thought had died several years ago was now several meters away from him. 

"Christopher…" Amelia muttered.

"Falcon… Is it really you?" Before he could even hear her answer, Chris had already taken long strides towards her. After confirming that she was really alive, he wrapped his arms around her. "Ma'am…" he called, silently sobbing—like a child who had seen his mother after a very long time.

Amelia hesitated for a bit before she returned Chris's embrace. She had been his mentor since the beginning. Now, he's all grown up, looking like a real man. As his mentor, this made her feel both proud and 'old'.

Damien had frozen on the spot. Watching Chris and his mother made him feel something inexplicable that he had to avert his stare. He didn't say anything, but he had the urge to get out of there as his heart throbbed and felt heavy.

"Damien," Katherine called when he turned and walked out of the front door, and she followed behind him.

Amelia wondered what happened, but her attention was called again when Chris let go of her and bombarded her with a bunch of questions. "What happened? How are you here? Why didn't you tell me you were alive?" he asked, not noticing the change in atmosphere around him as he was too excited to see her again.

Taking her time to answer Chris's questions, Amelia thought that she had to explain what had happened after losing their communication. Before staging her death years ago, Chris was her insider until she decided to cut him out entirely in order not to endanger him. Although she knew the truth about Shadow, she believed that it was safer for Chris to stay inside rather than take him with her because Parker had already given the order to 'shoot to kill' if she was found. Thus, Chris had no idea that she was still alive.

Meanwhile, Damien found an old concrete bench out in the front yard. He sat and rested his elbows on his knees, and then his hands steepled and supported his head.

"Hey… Are you okay?" Katherine asked as she approached. Instead of sitting beside him on the bench, she kneeled in front of him and touched his arm, her eyes full of worry.

However, Damien didn't know what to tell her, because he himself couldn't explain his thoughts and feelings. "I… I don't know…" he mumbled. Actually, a part of him already knew, but maybe he was just too prideful to admit it. All he could do was stare at her eyes, unsure of what to tell her.

Katherine scanned his face and saw how sullen he looked. He clenched his jaw as if he was trying so hard not to show his expression, but after glancing at Amelia and Chris over Damien's shoulder, she had a feeling why her man was like this. Framing his face with her hands, she smiled and reassured him, "You're her son. Nothing is going to change that."

His heart fluttered upon hearing her words. Even without telling her, she seemed to have read what was bothering him. He thought this was absurd, especially since he had only known Amelia for a short time, but seeing that she had someone like Chris—probably also because it was Chris, he felt bitter. Was he really jealous because of Chris's relationship with Amelia? Or was he like this because it was Chris—first Katherine, now his mother?

"I feel stupid," Damien muttered, a small mocking smile escaped his lips, thinking that his feelings were ridiculous. He was a grown man in his thirties for Pete's sake!

"I understand why you're feeling like that. But you shouldn't." Katherine squeezed his arm. Damien was always confident in front of her. But whenever it came to his mother, he couldn't help but feel insecure. It hurt her that he felt like this, and she wished that she could take this feeling away from him.

So, as much as she could, she consoled him, "He's only her mentee… And she's like his... teacher. What you two have is bound by blood. Literally. And no one can take that away from you." Meeting his gentle and thoughtful gaze, she added, "You're not going to lose her."