Chapter 55 - Danny's Advice

It was a long but eventful day in general. The children were worn out after so much excitement bustling around in the house and were soundly asleep upstairs. The maids had also retired for the night as they had to get up early the next morning to make preparations. Wilmer is the only one awake now and had just returned home from work with an unexpected guest. Nobody was quite expecting it but then again, nobody truly knew the man. He was always dressed so colourfully and stuck out like a sore thumb wherever he went so it was a real shock to see him acting so subtle and solemn for once.

Also, it was probably not common knowledge that a certain school counsellor was acquaintance with Mr Wilde the CEO of the world-famous Wilde Inc. It might have been a coincidence and it might not be the case but Wilmer and Danny knew each other from long ago. One could call them old friends.

"You're looking rather settled down here and it hasn't even been a week," the counsellor commented and Wilmer chuckled.

"Home is where the heart is. I've just gotten more of a reason to settle down in one place for now although I must say, Orita isn't too happy. She wants to come but someone has to look over matters going on in the headquarters. You know how it is, there are sharks everywhere. Can never be too careful."

Danny didn't say anything and accepted the glass of bourbon. The two men took a sip and enjoyed the burn of alcohol in silence. The day has been long and the night seemed rather heavy. While the children slept soundly, it was up to the men to work on protecting their peaceful world. Debbie and Benjamin only knew parts of the plan discussed by Orita and Wilmer but Danny was different. If it wasn't because of Danny, Wilmer wouldn't have the confidence to send both his daughters and Jasper to the school without any connections in the higher-ups. Sure, money did wonders sometimes but it couldn't solve all the problems in the world.

"What do you think of them?"

Danny nodded without answering immediately. Wilmer wasn't in a hurry either and waited patiently for his response while they enjoyed the drink. Danny didn't want to admit it but there really was a genius within their midst. Most of the children who were proclaimed geniuses were only considered smart and exceptionally bright. It was the support of the society that allowed them to fully develop their capabilities which resulted in them gaining recognition of being a 'genius'. However, ever so often one true prodigy will pop by and wow the world with their originality. Those were the gems Danny was looking for.

"Your adopted daughter is the same as me," he told the CEO who hummed. For anyone listening to their conversation, it wouldn't make much sense. However, that spoke volumes for Wilmer who'd been friends with Danny since forever.

Back during their university days, Danny and Wilmer worked together. That was before Wilmer came to know Orita. Danny was always the brain behind their crazy ideas while Wilmer spearheaded the projects to make those ideas a reality. However, they'd been very naive. It wasn't the business that killed their friendship. The business failed but their friendship remained strong. Orita came into Wilmer's life around that point when he was at his lowest and that was the start of their love story. For Danny, he saw how his friend had other commitments and like the good friend he was, decided to make his quiet exit from their lives.

If there was something that was unique about Danny, it was how the quack of a man was an undetected genius himself. Wilmer always admired and slightly envied Danny for his ability to pull ideas out from thin air. The man was also known to be extremely eccentric. It didn't matter if it was his habits, thinking or fashion sense... they were all weird. The man was a walking human encyclopaedia with the ability to do almost everything after seeing it done once. His keen sense of observation gives him an uncanny ability to read people and predict actions far into the future. Danny was able to think of things so far into the future that people couldn't believe him. It didn't matter if they were talking about market shares or technology, Danny was always spot on. Nobody could quite understand how he derived at those conclusions either.

Another lesser-known fact about Danny - he worked closely with the grey side of the law. If one put it simply, Danny was an informant outside of his school counsellor guise. He was also Wilmer and Orita's go-to person for information about anything. Benjamin knew Danny and would work with the man on a few tough cases. Right now, there was a far more critical project that Wilmer wanted to talk about.

"Can you help her?" the CEO asked.

Danny sighed. "Debbie is there for a reason. This is out of my scope, Will."

Disagreeing, Wilmer looked Danny in the eye. "There is nobody else in this world who can understand the mind and feelings of a genius more than you. You teach a bunch of them in your day job..."

There was only a burst of cold laughter. Danny put the drink he was nursing down and met Wilmer's stare. "You really think so?"

Wilmer didn't reply.

"All the other kids are bright. They're brilliant but I wouldn't call them geniuses. That's a label that society gave them. Your biological princess and her knight are very bright children with promising future. Reminds me a lot about yourself and Orita. However a genius has a very dark mind, it's a place that nobody else but themselves can reach and understand."

Wilmer didn't say anything and allowed Danny to elaborate. The counsellor didn't do 'serious' often because he hated it. Life was too short to be unhappy all the time. Thinking about his darker side of life only caused him pain that he'd rather be without. Many times, Danny asked why couldn't his gift be passed on to someone else... someone like Wilmer perhaps.

"Scarlet's been through a lot too... she just doesn't show it too much."

Danny shook his head. "She's fortunate that she has a family to guide her. If you really treat me like a friend you will take my advice to raise her normally. I'll continue giving you reports about your three monkeys at school but don't ask anything more from me. I don't want to see another tragedy happen. She'd be better off not knowing what she's capable of. Ignorance is bliss."

Wilmer wanted to ask more but he knew Danny wouldn't be willing to talk when he was in this kind of mood. It didn't happen very often but Wilmer knew his old friend enough to tell when the counsellor simply withdrew into his shell. Tonight was one of those moments and he let it be.

If there was one thing Wilmer knew, it was that Danny was reluctant to help groom any geniuses to reach their full potential. The CEO didn't know much about Danny's past but he could sometimes see the haunted shadows in his friend's eyes. From research and understanding, many geniuses come with a package of mental disorders and conditions, some more severe than others. Danny was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but that didn't change the fact that Wilmer thought he was brilliant.

It didn't take very long before Danny wanted out and Wilmer didn't stop him. Just at the door when Danny was about to leave, he turned around and said this.

"It is often lonely at the top. Sometimes I look back and ask myself if it was really all worth it. Look at me now and compare it to Scarlet. If you truly have in your heart what is good for her, you wouldn't take this happiness away from her. Genius or not, talented or not, I feel like happiness should come everything."

Without another word, the counsellor left as silently as he came, leaving Wilmer to think over his friend's advice. Was not allowing Scarlet to develop her potential really the best for her? Both Wilmer and Orita strongly believed in supporting their children's passion as long as it wasn't harming anybody. How can that be a bad thing?