Back at the Dark family estate, Echo was ordered by Ryan to rest and recover from her injuries, so she was stuck at home. Ryan wasn’t going out either, handling all his work on the estate.
The days shifted from the blazing heat of summer to the cool breezes of fall in what felt like no time.
One day, Echo lay sprawled on a stone table in a small grove, sulking as she watched Clement across from her, looking utterly defeated.
Clement chuckled and said, “Isn’t it just that you can’t go out? What’s with the long face?”
Echo propped her chin up with her hand, looking unmotivated. “My wounds healed ages ago. It’s been over a month, so why can’t I go anywhere? He’s imprisoning me, I swear. I should report him for mistreatment.”
Clement took a slow sip of coffee and nodded. “Great idea. Go ahead and report him. Put my name on the complaint while you’re at it.”
Clement’s leg had long healed, too, but getting out of the Dark family estate without Ryan’s permission was nearly impossible. Ryan wasn’t keen on seeing Clement around either, so Clement was stuck there too, deprived of his tomb-raiding hobby and reduced to freeloading for the time being.
Echo shot him a glare. Like anyone would even dare take Ryan to court! Her threat was just hot air.
“Ugh, I’m so bored!” Echo groaned, slumping down on the stone table and yelling in frustration.
No one would tell her anything about the Dark family’s current business. Ryan had even handed over all her usual responsibilities to that brat Edward, treating her like an even bigger freeloader than Clement. At first, she’d been touched by Ryan’s thoughtfulness, but now she felt like she was rusting away from disuse.
“You ungrateful slug, here we are working ourselves to death, and you’re over there complaining about being bored!” came an annoyed voice that wavered between childlike and adult as Edward, who was going through puberty, strolled up.
Edward shot her a look of disdain and growled, “If you’re going to freeload, do it right and stop whining. I’ve got a ‘fun’ job waiting for you if you don’t shut up.” He waved his fist at her as a threat.
Echo glared at him, feeling exasperated. She had no idea how things had taken this turn, but ever since the castle incident, Edward had somehow gained a certain level of authority around the Dark family estate. Especially among the crew who had gone to the castle with Ryan-those guys were practically indulging Edward, and Ryan hadn’t even bothered stopping Edward from building his little group of followers. It was infuriating; even Edward had his own posse now, while she was still stuck here doing nothing.
Edward noticed her glare and gave a smug little snort, sitting down next to her and grabbing a cup of coffee. “As Ryan’s future wife, you need to act the part. Now sit up straight,” he barked, giving her a hard slap on the back.
Echo jerked upright, snapping, “You disrespectful brat! How dare you act so cocky in front of me!”
Edward only looked at her with smug eyes as if to say, Yeah, I dare. So what?
Echo clenched her teeth in frustration, itching to put him in his place but not sure where to even start.
Watching the usual back-and-forth between Echo and Edward, Clement chuckled and changed the subject. “So, Edward, how are things going with your mission? You’re always off somewhere; are you at a critical point?”
Edward shot Echo a glare, then looked at Clement with a faint smile and ignored Echo’s curious expression. “You think those politicians can really take us on? Please, they clearly have no idea who they’re up against.”
He paused and added, “Yeah, I’d say we’re at a crucial stage now. We’re just gathering the last few pieces of evidence to bring them down. It’s nothing difficult-if we could put them in power, taking them down is child’s play. Besides, they’ve managed to offend the entire underworld this time; they’re lucky no one’s outright taken them out already.”
He didn’t go into detail, but the current state of things was pretty clear: these leaders had dared to rely on their weapons imports and the president’s backing. But when it came to choosing sides, no one was going to stand with a government that antagonized the entire network of arms dealers and gang families. It was obvious that dropping those leaders was in everyone’s best interest, no matter how powerful they’d once been. Soon enough, they’d be forced to resign, and their fate would be sealed.
Though Edward was technically addressing Clement, it was clear the real audience was Echo. Ryan had kept her in the dark, telling everyone to let her rest and recover. That injury through her back and abdomen wasn’t something she could shake off; Bill insisted she avoid stress and keep her movements minimal for the sake of her health-and any possible future health complications.
But with Ryan keeping her out of the loop, Echo had been dying for any bit of news, and Edward was the only one willing to throw her a bone, even if he was usually too blunt to bother talking to Clement, despite him being Ryan’s uncle.
Hearing him talk, Echo couldn’t help but jump in. “What about Kevin’s side? How’s that alliance holding up?” She’d been worried about that too.
Edward rolled his eyes. “What kind of question is that? You were the one who called for the two families to join forces in front of the whole underworld. No one would dare break that agreement-unlike some people who change their minds as casually as they eat.”
Right now, the underworld was more united than ever, a rare sight after centuries of old grudges. Every single family had put aside their differences to take down their mutual enemies.
Echo didn’t bother reacting to Edward’s attitude; he was always mouthy with her anyway. But from what he said, it seemed like the Street and Dark families were firmly allied now, focusing all their efforts on taking down the people who’d blindsided them before. If that was the case, maybe some of the tension between the two families had finally cooled off.
Hearing this confirmation from Edward, Echo finally let out a quiet sigh of relief. She definitely didn’t want the two families clashing endlessly. The last time had been chaos over just a minor move. Now that the entire underworld had a rare chance to unite against a common enemy, a temporary truce was the best outcome.
“Good to hear,” Echo nodded.
Seeing her so relieved, Edward snorted. “You’re really not cut out for this place. Ryan must’ve been blind to pick you.” He kept snorting in annoyance.
With the Dark and Street families openly and secretly working together for the first time, the chaotic market had stabilized fast. When the two powerhouses teamed up, the lower ranks had no choice but to fall in line. As soon as they stopped targeting each other, the market bounced back like a rocket. What used to be an all-out war was now everyone minding their own business, proving that, in this world, there are no permanent enemies or friends.
Echo suddenly reached over and twisted Edward’s ear, grumbling, “Just because I’m not showing my claws doesn’t mean you can treat me like a house cat, huh?”
Edward’s eyes narrowed as he raised his fist, ready to punch her. Clement, watching nearby, just chuckled. He had never seen these two let each other be.
Then, a couple of quiet coughs interrupted them. Edward lowered his fist halfway, and Echo sat up straight, releasing him.