Broken Bond: Between Vices and Virtues (BL)
Chapter 104: Let’s play a game!

Chapter 104: Let’s play a game!

"The Horizon Corporation’s Founder and Chairman Nathaniel Horace had spoken about the truth regarding the kidnapping of his youngest son. It was revealed that aside from the HZ Clothing Brand President Athan Horace, HZ Foundation Director Althea Horace, and their other two siblings, Chairman Nathaniel had another son outside the family. Let’s hear the more in-depth news from Miss..."

Luis gaped at the LED TV inside the hospital. He watched the news with large eyes.

The reporter was seen outside the HZCB’s company building from the small screen on the upper right side of the TV. "Chairman Horace was said to be doing everything in his power to put the person behind his youngest son’s kidnapping in jail. There are speculations that the incident was orchestrated by the chairman’s enemies. But an interesting news had reached our ears just today!"

The female anchor who loved gossip beamed with interest. "Oh? Do share with the public what this interesting news you heard of."

"The DV Group Chairman Rage Del Valle was taken by the police during the wedding of his son and his ex-fiancée whose engagement had been broken only a week ago, on charges of being the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Chairman Horace’s son..."

Luis looked behind him, where his boss had been staring at his phone without a frown. He asked with disbelief, "Sir, the kidnapped ’youngest son’ on the news...is it Mr. Arden?"

Silence answered the secretary. Luis’s eyebrows twitched. He looked back at the screen and shouted, "Sir, watch the news! Mr. Arden appeared!"

In just a blink, Azrael was out of bed and was standing before the huge television. However, what appeared was just a silhouette of a person, and the newscasters were trying to guess who it was.

Luis moved away from his boss, and pointed at the shadow, "T-That silhouette certainly looks like Mr. Arden, isn’t it?"

Azrael glared at Luis. He stomped back at the bed as if the tube that was inserted in the back of his hand didn’t get pulled and made it bleed a little.

Luis noticed it and exclaimed, "Sir, you have to stop the bleeding. It’s staining the sheets. Also...what are you doing?"

The secretary asked after seeing his boss take off the hospital gown and wear his old clothes instead of lying on the bed. Azrael grabbed a cotton pad on the bedside table and pasted it on his hand.

"Knox isn’t answering his phone," Azrael replied as he tore off the old bandage on his right hand. The gash was slowly healing, but it was still a bit fresh from bleeding again after punching faces, so he changed the gauze with a new one.

Luis came to him and whispered, "Sir, did you not see the men your father sent to guard you? There are four outside this room, two at the hospital’s entrance, another two at the exit, and four roaming outside. Even I and Sir Roy are being watched. How are you going to escape?"

Azrael gave an immediate response, "Distract them."

"How am I supposed to do that?!" Luis grumbled. He walked to the door and peeked on the narrow window beside it. The four guards he mentioned were stationed one meter away from each other, all were focused on the watching the door.

Their eyes narrowed upon noticing the secretary looking outside. Luis quickly looked away and pretended like he was just looking around.

"Do a backflip or strip dance. Suit yourself." Azrael pocketed the phone and was heading to the door already when Luis blocked him.

"Sir, please, think wisely. The more you anger your father, the more he will only try to come between you and Mr. Arden! Shouldn’t you wait until your father’s behind ba—I mean, until the chairman’s authority over them decreased and lost—

"Those bastards guarding the door won’t falter just because my father was arrested or not. They are loyal to him. Unless he ordered, then they won’t move." Azrael shoved the secretary away.

Luis persisted, not even bothered whether he was shouting at his boss or receiving his sharp glares. "Then, at least wait for Sir Roy to come back! You’re going to meet them head-on?! Are you serious? You just suffered from an injury and now you’re courting death again! Why don’t you call Mr. Arden first?!"

Azrael snapped, and he angrily shouted back, "I told you he’s not answering! I’ve been calling him a hundred times already but none went through! Dammit! I’m going crazy. What the hell is this? He must be having nightmares or having a hard time coping with his trauma again. I should be there beside him comforting him! Who the hell brought me in here anyway?! They should have let me stay with him! What’s a bloody head can do?! I won’t die from it!"

Luis’s fingers twitched. He treasured his job because he got paid twice the usual, but right then, his hand was itching to smack the head of his boss and make it bleed again. He couldn’t help but quietly mutter through gritted teeth, "Let’s see if you can still think like that if you wake up two days later."

Not hearing his secretary’s lament, Azrael added, "Also, what’s the point of escaping sneakily? They’ve been watching me get dressed since earlier and now overhearing our conversation!"

Luis paused. His eyes darted to the glass window and met one of the guard’s gazes. He sighed, resignedly. Adjusting his glasses, he retorted much more composed, "Oh...right. Still, you can’t fight the four of them, sir. Try contacting someone, and ask them about Mr. Arden. Besides, I don’t think you’ll be able to see him anyway even if you did escape. If I am his father, there’s no way I’d let my son meet his kidnapper’s son."

Azrael, "I’m glad you aren’t his father."

Luis glared at the floor. If it’s the tiled surface, then it’d be easier to think he’d only hurt himself if his hands threw a punch, not his pocket. "Look, I’m just stating a possibility. If you go now, can you even see him? I bet you’d be kicked out the gates of their mansion as soon as you show your face, sir."

Azrael stiffened. He only imagined that Knox would quickly run to him after knowing that he visited, even if he just stood at the gates. But what if, like him, Knox was locked up as well?

He palmed his forehead and sighed frustratedly. Who else could he call? Athan Horace wasn’t answering his phone either. Then, it struck him. The omega who had a cheeky baby!

Azrael took out his phone and scrolled through Kayden’s contacts. He was still using the phone he borrowed from him even after two days, since aside from Luis and Roy, no one was allowed to visit him.

He found the name and pressed the call button without wasting any second. The phone rang, and when he heard the ’clack’ sound, he immediately inquired, "Is this Shawn Williams?"

The sound of something falling was heard beyond the phone. Then, a nervous voice came through, "Y-Yes...S-Sir Azrael, right?"

Azrael sighed in relief. "It’s me. Can you give the phone to Knox? I’ve been calling him but he wasn’t answering."

"Oh, uhm...that...we haven’t retrieved his belongings yet. Didn’t your men take them?" Shawn asked. He watched Knoa play with Loki from afar. Instead of going back home, Shawn stayed in the mansion after Athan asked him, to take care of Knoa and to keep him safe just in case Chairman Rage’s people will find out about his interference in the case.

Thankfully, his father was recovering well, so his Uncle Steve let him remain in that place.

"I’ll get them back. So, can you let me speak with him now?" Azrael pleaded.

On the other side, Shawn momentarily froze after hearing the desperation in the alpha’s voice. He was uncertain of what to do. If he wanted, he could easily deliver the phone to Knox upstairs, but he didn’t want to disappoint Athan.

In the end, he anxiously mumbled, "Uh...I’m not sure about that. He isn’t allowed to talk to yo—

"Please," Azrael begged, cutting off the omega’s words.

Shawn gasped. He was torn. After a while of contemplating, he let out a defeated sigh and stated, "Okay. But make it quick."

Azrael, "Thank you."

Shawn shook his head in disbelief. Azrael Del Valle just begged and thanked him; it made him doubt if he was really the one who kept punching a dead man that night.

He went inside but stopped at the foot of the stairs after Athan bumped into him. "Where are you going?"

Shawn blinked and blatantly lied, "I was going to check if Knox’s okay. Did you just come from his room?"

Athan replied, "Yeah."

"Great! Then, I’ll just go back to watching Knoa," he waved his hand to Athan and walked back to the garden. When he saw the alpha proceeding in the opposite way, he brought the phone against his ear again. "Are you still there? Don’t hang up."

Azreal was just helplessly waiting to hear Knox’s voice, so he just hummed, "Mm."

Shawn called out Knoa. The kid ran to him. Turning the phone away, Shawn whispered, "Knoa, let’s play a game with Papa, what do you think?"

Knoa nodded energetically, "With Papa, what game, what game?"

"It’s a game called ’bring me’. When Papa said bring him a phone, you have to bring him a phone, got it?"

"Got it!" Knoa jumped in excitement. He waited for his uncle Shun’s next speech with earnest eyes.

Shawn bent down and leveled his eyes at the kid. "Okay, Papa said bring him a phone now. So, take this to him, and don’t let anyone see, okay? If anyone finds out, then that means you failed. A present will be given to those who complete the task."

Knoa bobbed his head, "Okay!"

Shawn put the phone in Knoa’s pocket in the chest part of his denim jumpsuit. He gave his stuffed toy to him and Knoa hugged it closer to his chest, covering the tip of the phone peeking from the jumpsuit.

"Go," Shawn whispered and pushed the kid gently.

Knoa quickly went to his father’s room. He passed with a few servants on the way and waved at them before he arrived at the door. Without knocking, he reached for the doorknob, opened the door, and as soon as he saw his father looking out the window as if checking the ledge outside, he shouted clear enough for the person beyond the phone to hear.

"Papa!"