Angelica shrugged her shoulders and said, "It seems your beloved mother still doesn't have enough courage to face you after she showed 'too much love' to you yesterday."
"I can't let her keep doing this. I understand that she might feel guilty for what she did, but this can't go on. I can't live without seeing her smile. Today, when she returns from work, I will console her," he said in a solemn voice.
Angelica shot a knowing glance at him and said, "I know you will get angry at me for saying this, but… that is not normal."
"Whatever. I am in no mood to have this conversation."
Rudy locked the front and back doors and headed toward the bathroom.
"Hey, hey. What are you planning to do?" Angelica asked curiously and peeked from the couch.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Wh-What is it?" Lucy asked while stuttering.
"It's me, Rudy."
"W-What do you want?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to say that I have locked the doors. I will keep the food in the refrigerator if you feel hungry. And you can keep the lights on if you want to. I will be sleeping in my room. You can wake me up if you need anything."
"Okay."
"Good night."
"Night…"
Rudy went to the kitchen and got himself some food on a plate while he placed the rest in the refrigerator.
"Where should I eat?" he asked Angelica.
"I want to watch the anime I was watching, and I can't do that here, so let's go to your room."
Rudy went to his room and finished eating while Angelica watched anime on Rudy's phone.
She had caught up to almost all the ongoing series episodes she had missed when they were in the vampire world.
She was sleeping on top of Rudy but turned to the side after he got a boner.
"That was so much fun~" She looked at the time and noticed it was exactly 3:00 AM.
"Hmm… There are still like four to five hours before Rudy wakes up. I can binge 12 episodes of anime."
As Angelica was watching, she stopped the video and slowly glanced at Rudy.
"...!" her eyes widened when she noticed a black aura emitting from Rudy's body.
She gulped down nervously and watched in horror, wondering what she should do next.
"Amn…" Rudy turned to the side, and the emission stopped.
PHEW!
Angelica sighed in relief and muttered, "That scared me. This had stopped happening lately, so I wasn't ready for it."
She kissed Rudy on the cheek and thought, 'He must be having a nightmare. Perhaps, reuniting with his entire family tonight made him remember his past life's painful and horrible incidents.'
Angelica lay beside Rudy and rubbed his back while watching anime on the phone.
.
A few hours ago, John and his team returned to the police department.
John left his office and made his way to the office in the center that had a head chief written on the door.
He knocked on the door and opened it.
"Sir, you called?" he asked.
"Ah, yes. John, come here."
John sat on the chair and asked, "Is it about today's bank robbery case?"
"Yes. But first of all, congratulations on solving your first case. You are as clever and quick as your father.
"That's not true. I didn't do anything…" he muttered.
"Also, congratulations for getting promoted to chief. You deserve it."
"I don't really—"
"Oh, come on. Stop being humble. You have made it so far. I am proud of you. If your father was alive, he would have laughed out loud while patting your back and congratulating you.
I know it's not my place to say, but you have always been a good kid, and I treated you as my son as I don't have one of my own. And now that I am retiring next week and someone else will be coming to take my place— although I know who it's going to be.
So I just wanted to say that keep doing what you are doing, and I wish you the best of luck. May you reach the success your father couldn't. Make him proud, son."
John nodded quietly and uttered, "I will do the best I can."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Now, you should go home and rest. Today must have been tiring for you," the head chief suggested.
"Thank you."
John left the office and made his way out of the police department to his car in the parking lot.
He closed the door loudly and yelled after closing the window.
SIGH!
"I didn't do anything! I don't deserve any of those praises! I don't deserve to be a chief!" he shouted.
John's father was the former head chef of the department, and he died seven years ago in a terrorist attack while saving the civilians.
It was the same situation as John faced today where one of the terrorists had planted a bomb himself and was going to commit suicide— which is why John mentioned them today in front of Rudy.
His father was able to save everyone by giving his life.
"He was my hero. I wanted to become like him, and I did. But I am nowhere near him. As soon as I joined this department, I was greeted with respect. And before I knew it, I was promoted to chief.
However, this all happened because of my father. I didn't do a thing. They respect me because of what my father did for them, for everyone! But I want them to acknowledge me for my own strength!"
John placed his hands on the steering wheel and muttered, "Rudy Ross. I will become like you one day and prove to everyone my worth. I will not betray the trust they have on me!"
RING~!
John checked his phone to see the message regarding the bombs. It was only a four-word message, but it skipped John's heartbeat.
[The bombs were real!]
"Wha…t?"
