Violet glared, surprised. She had no idea that Maria would answer like that. “A longtime desire?” Violet repeated questioningly.“Victor used to say that he was going to sort out the feelings that were weighing him down, and that he could do that if he became who he is now. You know what? Victor is taken care of by a mob boss in this town, which is why he can have luxurious privileges like going to an elite school.”“So, the mafia is paying for Victor? Not someone from his family in New York?”Maria didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she chuckled. Did Violet’s question sound silly or funny?“New Yorkers don’t think Victor exists, or ever existed. They literally dumped Victor in a suburb like New Orleans,” Maria replied later. It seemed from the look in her eyes that she was actually upset about what Victor’s family had done to him. Yeah... not much different from Violet.“Do you know Victor’s story before he came to your orphanage?” Violet asked again.Maria nodded without hesitation

Victor opened the wide door with his two small hands. His body was thin, his eye sockets large and rather dark. From a physical point of view, it was definitely not a sign that he was doing well. Especially with his dragging and limping steps, his appearance was enough to invite pity from anyone who saw him. But apparently, the man with the sharp eyes staring down at him from the dining table didn’t feel that way.“Good morning, Victor.” The voice greeted him. Victor looked right at his uncle who had just placed a glass of his best quality milk on the table. “Sit down, enjoy your breakfast.”Little Victor never raised his head when he was talking to Connor. Either it was out of fear or he simply didn’t want to look at the face of the person who was the reason his life was turning upside down like it was now.With limping steps, Victor reached the bench and sat down. An unusually large amount of sumptuous food was served, but none of it was enough to whet Victor’s appetite. He just loo

Victor was surprised by Rose’s question. He couldn’t answer anything with his trembling lips, his two gray eyes clearly radiating anxiety. Since he was silent, it was taken as a justification by his mother.Rose let Victor go and walked over to the table, she picked up the fruit knife that Victor had been unlucky not to put away before his mother woke up this morning. Victor of course ran as fast as he could, he kept the hand holding the fruit knife from reaching any part of his mother’s body.“Mommy, stop!” he screeched, but Rose seemed to fall completely deaf.“WHAT KIND OF MOTHER AM I? WHY AM I SO STUPID AS TO UNKNOWINGLY HURT THE CHILD I LOVE SO MUCH!?” The woman roared, cursing herself with various curses. It felt like she could no longer breathe. Those wounds must not have been inflicted in a single act, she must have injured Victor more than once to the point that she could no longer count the number of wounds.“Mama, don’t do this! I’m fine!”“Shut up, Victor! I’ve made you su

“Wh-what?” “I almost killed him. I thought it would be fun before we see the main show, right? Too bad I didn’t take you to see it.” “I feel lucky that you didn’t ask me to see it,” Maria interrupted. Verlaine shifted his gaze to her, visibly disgusted but trying to hold it in. “Why did you do that, Verlaine? Isn’t that not in our agreement?” Verlaine laughed ridiculously, laughing at Maria’s stupid question. “What did I do wrong? He’s our enemy, right? You hate him too much and want to give him his comeuppance, don’t you?” “But not by hurting him!” Verlaine widened his eyes as Maria’s loud voice startled him. She was stunned, reluctant to move even though she was disgusted that Maria’s ramblings had to add another verse. “I helped you provide information about her and her weaknesses, I also promised to stay by your side until the end. But why did you do something I didn’t like? I told you that I didn’t want Victor to get scratched, and you agreed to that. But you just casually sa

“Is it Victor?” asked Maria, with a look in her eyes that Violet had never seen before. Violet seemed to hesitate to answer, making Maria wait and finally said, “It doesn’t matter who picked you up. I’m just glad you called me when you were okay.” Maria put on her bright smile again. It made Violet think that the uncomfortable feeling was only because of her, not because Maria had suddenly put on a cold face with her sharp gaze. Violet returned her smile in kind, and then the journey continued until they arrived at their destination. Violet had no idea where Maria would take her. They arrived at a crowded place. The atmosphere was a little different than the others. The taxi stopped near an intersection, in front of a rather busy restaurant. “You must not have had breakfast,” Maria said after paying for the taxi. Violet didn’t deny that she hadn’t had breakfast because she was too excited to meet Maria. They entered the restaurant and headed upstairs. “Eating while looking at the c