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      "Everything is ready, Boss." Matt affirmed while holding the door open for me.
I stepped out of the car, dressed in the most mundane way possible. The aim was to blend in, and not attract any attention.

   This very hospital was under Black Blood, jointly owned by my paternal grandfather that was among the four founding pillars of the organization.
Now it was part of my inheritance.

But still, I had arranged a tight security, with three snipers at the surrounding buildings and ground men observing from cars, nearby restaurants and some as civilians walking by.

    I knew how much Noah wanted to take me out, just as much as I wanted him gone from this world.

Comfortable in a pair of rugged blue jeans, a little black top and some shades, I made my way towards the doors while Paul parked the car.
    He caught up with me when I halted in front of the reception desk.

   "You're getting old." I teased him as my hand slid a black card with a rose imprinted on the counter.

  "Must be all the workouts." He said flexing his arm proudly.

  "Shouldn't they make you faster?"

We shared a brief eye contact of poking his ego before facing the receptionist who seemed to have grown pale while typing in the visitation details on her computer.

   They always had the same reaction upon seeing that VIP card. But it had more to do with what it represented other than special services. The black rose was the signature of Black Blood. And workers around here were aware of the old ways of the group.
    They had no idea that most of the cruel rules had changed, so had the leadership after I managed to tame two of the four heirs and made them swear their loyalty to me.

      The card was handed back right as a nurse showed up.
Before the receptionist could fill in the nurse about where we were going, the female in a white uniform smiled at us.
      "Miss Raynatt. This way please." Nurse Lilly directed.

I smiled back and followed her with Paul beside me.

We took an elevator to the third floor. It was always dead quiet on this floor except the little beeps from the heart monitors in the private rooms. The air too was cool and fresh unlike the other floors which smelled of medicine and sometimes blood.

     Lilly led us into Daisy's room where she laid still on the bed that had gradually become hers.

  "Any changes?" I asked.

"No Miss." She answered handing me Daisy's report which had a bunch of records of her heart rat, blood pressure and all that.

I received it and walked to sit on the chair in front of the bed.

   "You may leave." Paul released her.

A few soft footsteps and the door shut quietly from the corner of my eye.

  "Hello bestie." I whispered. "It's almost winter. You'd be sulking from the incoming weather."

I put down the report beside the neat pile of books, then picked up the novel seated on top of its kind. As I opened the page with the marker, Paul lowered himself on the blue couch positioned under the large window.

    Everyday, Lily had to read Daisy something, but I tasked myself with reading her her favorite novel genre. Hoping that through some miracle, she would eventually wake up and recover.

I held the novel in one hand, while I took Daisy's hand with the free one.

      "A short recap; Sebastian has already punished his brother for sleeping with his wife, and so we continue.... 'The night seemed darker than ever, like a reflection of his gloomy life. Could it be that the world was....'."

--------------------------------

  As the weather slowly shifted, so did the air. It was getting more chilly as the night took over.
My idea of a relaxing evening had been interrupted by a meeting request from the elders. They said that both heirs had to attend it for the sake of peace.

     I wanted to ignore it, after all I was the boss. But Paul convinced me to attend while Matt stated that if I failed to attend, the elders may automatically give Noah all of their support. Said that they needed to see dedication if I wished to govern the organization for loyalty mattered a lot in it.

Pushing the hesitation aside, I gave in to their poking and attended it.

     "Have no fear. No bloodshed is allowed when the elders are around." Matt assured as we entered the meeting hall.

   I snorted. "Do I look like I'm afraid of a bit of blood?" I questioned him proudly.

"Of course not. Just needed you-"

   "It's fine." I smiled.

This would be my first time meeting the so-called elders. Just like the founders, these elders played a part in the organization but never dared seek leadership. They were after all rich and influential.

   "This way, ma'am." The servant at the doors directed. Her black eyes held some warmth, which lightened the dense tension hanging in the air.

She led me to my seat, and I followed, ignoring the piercing gazes from the geezers.

         There were name tags on the table for each seat, alongside a bottle of water and an empty glass of wine.

Seeing the glass reminded me of the time Jack asked me to pour him some vodka. And the little intimate moment it led to.

   Snap out of those distracting thoughts. Reason yelled in my mind.

   I gave myself a little slap mentally, before raising my eyes on the name tags placed around the table.

   Noah's was directly opposite mine.
As if these elders were plotting on having us murder each other with our glares.
But my heart froze when I saw the tag next to mine...

     'Jackson Raynatt.' 
No! No! And no!

This was not a coincidence. Someone had planned this.
It had to be that asshole Noah. He of course knew my history with Jack. He had to be the ass behind this arrangement.

But why was the leader of Shadows invited?

  I quickly signalled Matt who stood far behind me.

    "Yes Boss?" He whispered with his head hovering over my shoulder.

   "Why didn't you tell me Jack is coming?"

"I'm terribly sorry Boss. The guest list is strictly limited to the elders."

   Fuck!

I shut my eyes for a second then opened them to face reality. My reality.
"Okay." I dismissed him.

Who the hell did these old geezers think they are? If this was how Black Blood functioned, then neither Noah nor I was in power. These crooks seemed to have more power than the both of us combined.

    How had I overlooked such an important structure?
Right, I had been so busy with the bastards that were involved in the death of my parents and grabbing power that I failed to realize where the real power laid.

  
  The next to arrive was Noah.
He was brought to his seat, and our eyes immediately chained as he sat down.

His shirt silver hair was laid back neatly, leaving his facial features unveiled for all to appreciate. While he did have good looks, his heart was like an ice cave.

    "We meet so soon." He teased, his face in the same emotionless mask as usual.

   "You can thank the elders."

Noah's eyes bounded from me and onto Jack's name tag. For the first time, I saw some evil excitement stir in the depths of his blue eyes.

   "Seems you have more reasons to thank them than I do."

  I snorted lowly, glaring the life out of him.

The elders didn't mind our little fight, in fact, they acted like we weren't even there and started discussing something amongst themselves.

  "I know you did this."

"Oh!" Noah gave a fake shocked face. "Why would take credit for such a big reunion dear? I wish it was me."

"This is not over. You'll pay for this little game you playing here." I threatened.

      Noah shrugged. "I'll be waiting."

The doors opened almost immediately, and I was afraid of checking who had walked in. There was only one empty seat at this round table... Jack's.

Other than Jack, Noah and I, those elders present were only six. Meaning there were at least six families on the side that acted as pillars to this organization.

   
    My palms grew sweaty. My fingers fidgety under that table.
I was anxious, so bloody anxious.

   The scent of a familiar cologne made my heart pound twice faster and twice harder. I had anticipated this moment to be more magical and more brilliant. Not a surprise attack.

    Gentle footsteps, then a shadowy figure made himself comfortable on the chair to my right.
I didn't want to look, only saw his blurred frame from the corner of my vision.

Everyone was present. Now the damned meeting could start.

      
Someone started handing us some documents. He looked oddly familiar. It was like a younger version of Steve.

   But my attention was grabbed by the words on the papers.
I skimmed through them, shocked by all the rules written there.

   "This is absurd!" Noah blasted smacking the papers on the desk. They knocked away his name tag, but that didn't matter.
"Is this a peace treaty or a slavery contract?" He demanded scowling at the man to my right.

    The elders held their silence, but I could read the shock present on their faces.

      "Given your leadership history, this is the best rules I could find." Jack spoke out.

Gawd! His voice hadn't changed one bit. It had the same depth, the same fierce tone beneath it.

    "That was the past." Noah argued.

Jack placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward.
I gave in to the little selfish voice and looked at him.
The long hair was gone. The beard was back but the biceps bulging from under the sleeves of his white shirt remained resilient.

     His form hadn't changed one bit despite the years that had passed.

  "Is it?" Jack questioned. "There are still many activities from the last leadership that taints your organization. Not forgetting the internal disputes amongst yourselves." He turned to me when he said that.

And for a few seconds, the world around us vanished. It was just me and him staring into each other's eyes. The blue color in his looked darker than I remember.
His new hairstyle made him look much younger than his actual age.

   The little intimate moment was disrupted when he looked away. His expression held no excitement for seeing me. Had he gotten over me that quick?
Was he mad at me?
Did he now hate me?