Chapter 18: I Don't Care What You Do With Eli, But Don't Drag Him Into Any Dangerous Stuff
Before Giovanni could utter another sound, Elijah's fist connected with the side of his jaw. The heavy-set man cried out, stumbling sideways, the air knocked clean out of him as his face flashed from red to a ghostly white. Eli grabbed his lapel, hauling him forcefully out of his chair and throwing him onto the worn floor, scattering the thick stack of cash across the desk.
"Let's try this again," Eli murmured, his voice low and utterly cold. He planted his boot firmly on Giovanni's chest, leaning down. The restaurant owner wheezed, his fingers scrabbling uselessly at the leather of Elijah's sneaker like a beetle flipped onto its back, unable to right itself.
The first hard, vicious kick landed squarely in Giovanni's gut, making him fold in half with a wet, guttural gasp like the sound of a punctured bag of wet cement. Elijah didn't pause, pulling the man up by the lapel and driving his knee up in a brutal arc, cracking it against the man's chin. Giovanni's head snapped back, a fine mist of blood spraying out as his teeth clicked together.
Giovanni tried to flail, reaching out weakly, but Yuri was already there, smacking him across the back of the head with the hard, metal grip of the pistol. The man collapsed onto his side, coughing up blood spittle onto the tile floor. Eli pulled him up by his thinning hair, driving his knee into the man's ribs—a precise, calculated strike that sent the owner crashing onto his knees, gasping for breath.
"Punks," Giovanni managed, the word thick with phlegm and pain, clutching the fresh, bleeding wound on his head. "You rotten little punks," he swore, the words laced with a sudden, debilitating fear.
Zigi leaned in close, bringing the gleaming butcher knife right under Giovanni's chin. It was a huge, heavy thing, probably used for separating slabs of meat. Zigi licked the flat of the blade slowly, his smile wide and chilling with the kind of look that made your heart drop just looking at it.
Giovanni watched the knife, shaking violently now. His bravado had crumbled entirely, replaced by liquid dread. The thought he might have entertained earlier—Kids these days—was surely replaced by the stark realization that these were not just arrogant kids; they were animals. For once in his life, he didn't dare think this generation's youth were so fierce.
Elijah grabbed his sweat-drenched collar again, pulling him upright, eye level. "That's just the first warning," Eli murmured, his voice flat, devoid of any emotional heat, which somehow made it worse. "Next time, I won't be this playful. Vasquez owns this territory. You understood that years ago. Now you remember it." He shoved Giovanni back.
With a deep, defeated groan, Giovanni forced himself to stand, every movement a fresh stab of pain. He stumbled toward the thick stack of scattered Noxs he'd been counting moments before, frantically fishing out 1,200 Noxs like his life depended on it. He handed the stack to Elijah with trembling fingers, his breath coming in gallons.
"Please," Giovanni pleaded, the word catching in his throat but his gaze though was still fierce. "I'm sorry, I promise. Next month. On time. I swear it."
Elijah took the cash, peeling the bills back and counting them quickly, a small nod of satisfaction settling over his face. Yuri grinned, enjoying the mix of fear and rage in Giovanni's eyes like it was a good show.
But Zigi, always the blunt instrument, spoiled the moment. He frowned, his eyes narrowing from the knife to Giovanni. "Wait a minute," he demanded, annoyed. "Didn't this old bastard say he never heard of Vasquez? How the hell does he know the exact amount he owes?"
Giovanni froze, instantly realizing his mistake. His swollen face crumpled into fresh panic, realizing he'd walked right into Zigi's trap—a trap set by the very person he'd mentally dismissed as the dumbest member of the trio, which made the error sting worse. Yuri grinned, pulling the pistol's slide back with an audible click, pointing the cold barrel towards the old man's kneecap.
"Interesting, isn't it?" Elijah murmured, pocketing the cash slowly. He leaned in, his breath warm and oddly intimate against Giovanni's bleeding ear. "So you do know Vasquez. You just thought you could play dumb with us?"
Giovanni paled further, the blood draining from his face, leaving the wound on his head looking like a piece of dark fruit. He tried to speak—something about it being the agreed 1,200—but all that came out was a terrified stutter as his eyes locked on Zigi's chilling gaze.
Yuri's smile widened, sharp and sly. "Yeah, that's right," he interjected, stepping up to seal the trap Zigi had accidentally laid. "I remembered the amount should be double, shouldn't it? 2,400 Noxs. But since you didn't know the price—we'll consider it a misunderstanding. Next time though, it's double of this which I believe should be the original price, yeah?"
Elijah exhaled sharply through his nose in half amusement and half approval as Giovanni's face crumpled into total despair. The old man's hands shook violently as he forced himself to nod. The fight was gone. How he wished he had simply come clean earlier. The trio, satisfied, slipped out the way they came, leaving the owner bleeding and ruined in his expensive chair.
—————
Meanwhile, the silence in Vanessa's home was quiet, almost unnaturally so. The tension in the living room was thick enough to feel it.
Akari sat on the couch, the cheap fabric rough against her legs, watching Vanessa move. She wasn't moving with hostility or judgment, just... watching. Her expression was clinical, cold in a way that would genuinely have shocked any of the female members of the Miller's.
Vanessa, attempting to ignore the relentless scrutiny, walked over to the kitchen counter, fumbling with a kettle. She was trying to create normalcy, a safe little bubble of neighborly routine. "Tea?" she asked, her voice too bright but also too casual.
"Why," Akari began, the single word hanging in the air, "would you leave your home, come to ours, and make an elaborate excuse for my younger brother to come out, if you just wanted heavy shopping moved?" Vanessa paused mid-reach for the teabags. Akari's eyes didn't shift. "And what exactly is happening?"
Vanessa frowned, a flicker of genuine confusion crossing her features. "When did Eli get another sister besides Iris?"
Akari didn't move, just leaned back into the chair, crossing one leg over the other with unnerving composure. She offered a thin, mirthless smile. "Yesterday," Akari continued, soft and deliberate. "He didn't tell you? That's interesting."
Vanessa let out a controlled sigh, turning fully to face the girl now. "Look, I didn't know Elara adopted another daughter, and I certainly didn't mean to offend you, Akari, was it? I was just... asking for help from Eli. That's all." She tried to play it off, reaching for the kettle again.
Akari raised a single brow, a silent question that demanded more than words: What kind of help, Vanessa? Because this doesn't seem like it. Vanessa wouldn't meet the gaze. She busied herself with the tea preparation, her back a wall of awkward avoidance. "It's personal," she finally mumbled.
Akari leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm, her elbow braced on her knee as her unwavering stare boring into Vanessa. Vanessa tried to ignore it but the weight of that gaze was too much, making her skin prickle.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Vanessa asked, her voice tight.
Akari's lips curved just slightly. "Curious. About your relationship with Eli."
Vanessa frowned, tilting her head. "What relationship are you talking about?"
Akari simply leaned back again, perfectly relaxed in her uncomfortable observation. "I don't know. Maybe you could tell me."
Vanessa cleared her throat, adjusting the pastel sweater she'd worn for its deceptive innocence. "Why do you seem to want to know that?"
"Like I said. Just curious," Akari repeated, the phrase stripped of any light meaning.
Vanessa sighed, running a hand through her hair. "There's nothing between us. I'm just Eli's neighbor. We aren't close like that." She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly, trying to regain control by turning the question back. "And aren't you a little too curious for a newly adopted sister?"
Akari tilted her head, unimpressed by the deflection. "I may be adopted," she said, voice flat. "But that doesn't mean I have to pretend I don't see things." Her eyes narrowed as her smile faded into a chilling smirk.
She stood up slowly, deliberately, and walked toward Vanessa.
Akari stopped inches from her, looking down at the slightly older woman. The change in the girl was total; the nervous, traumatized child had vanished, replaced by a cold, repressed intensity—a sharp, quiet side of her personality that seemed built on hard-won survival, her true self bleeding out.
"I don't care what you do with Eli," Akari said, her voice dropping to a barely audible register, yet every word landed with the weight of granite. "But don't drag him into any dangerous stuff. Or I will personally break your legs. He's mine to play with." She tilted her head slightly, eyes flicking down and up. "Hmmm. Well. Maybe not legs."
Vanessa blinked once, puzzled. Who the hell was this girl to threaten her? Where was all this confidence coming from? Just because she fell into hell from heaven some random girl in a likely borrowed sweater thought she could dictate terms.
But being the older one she couldnt let a mere child rage bait her. Vanessa scoffed, rolling her shoulders back with forced bravado. "Break my legs? Sweetheart, you've got the wrong idea—I'm not dragging Eli anywhere he doesn't want to go." She leaned in. "And if you think you can stake some weird claim on him, you're gonna be disappointed."
Akari smiled sweetly, a chillingly empty gesture that didn't reach her eyes. "Disappointed? Good. When was the last time I wasn't? I said he's mine to play with and break properly—" Her hand shot out, gripping Vanessa's wrist with surprising strength—the tendons standing out like cables beneath her pale skin. "—not yours to ruin prematurely."
She released Vanessa's wrist abruptly, turned, and walked back to the couch, settling in to wait for her 'brother'.
Vanessa stood still for a long moment, rubbing her throbbing wrist. A thin, dark line of thought settled over her: this new family member was far more complicated than she seemed.