Chapter 128

128 The Cruelty of Fate

As soon as the bell rang, the fight had begun. It was a fierce battle. Two men with the same height and age, but different body weights. Marcel Douglas was a fighter who maintained his excess weight, while Ron Smith was a fresh fighter who had light weight due to a lack of food nutrients.

Unfortunately, in the three rounds battle, it could be guessed who would be the winner. A Jab ended the match in the third round. Marcel fell backwards with a battered face. The anti-slip carpet that became the base of the ring was covered in blood.

It was an entertaining fight, except for one person who had to hold back his emotions and the throbbing in his chest when he saw his own brother being beaten up by others to K.O. Jack was forced to let Marcel be beaten up and remained fair as a referee. He was not biased. The fact was, Marcel Douglas was lost to Ron Smith.

Once the match was over, for the first time, Jack was invited to Apollo’s headquarters which was also located on Bluevalley Street. He was called directly to meet Viggo Fisher in his office room.

“Jack Douglas.. Is this the same person who held my hand when I was about to hit a waiter boy a few years ago?” The man who was sitting on the large single sofa folded his legs.

Jack bowed respectfully, “We’re just growing up. That’s all.”

“Hm.. Seems you’re right. Even siblings will be separated when they have their own lives. Even siblings rarely have time to meet when their parents have died. Is that right?” Viggo said.

Jack just smiled faintly and nodded once.

Viggo continued to smile silently, then took his cell phone from his trouser pocket, and put it to his ear, “Tell him to come in,”

.....

At that moment, the door to the room opened. From behind it, a big man with a half hump long ponytail hair came in.

“He’ll be your assistant. For starters, you’ll be holding a few blocks of stores on Bluevalley Street. He’ll be the one to help and explain what you need to know. From now on, your name is Red.” Viggo explained.

The ponytailed man bowed politely to Jack, “My name is Kenny Brown. Wish we could work together in good, Mr Red.”

Jack looked at Viggo questioningly. The surprised face made the man with the tattooed body laugh.

Honestly, Viggo was indeed a leader who had a cruel soul. He was known to be sadistic and merciless. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t like other people. From the first time he saw Jack, he could already feel the attractive aura of him. The way Jack looked at him with his sharp eyes made Viggo amazed and could immediately judge that he would be a great right-hand man. All of his judgments were also more unanimous when he saw Jack prove his loyalty through his attitude in the Marcel Douglas VS Ron Smith battle.

Jack’s plan went smoothly. He didn’t think things would go this fast. In just a few months, Jack’s position kept rising until he had many subordinates. But that was different for Marcel. The younger brother just remained a fighter as usual.

But things didn’t go that smoothly. The money the two brothers collected seemed never enough because their father’s debt had a very large nominal value. In addition, there was a mother whose illness was getting worse and never got better.

Cancer treatment was not cheap, but had an exorbitant price. They couldn’t even register their mother in insurance because the insurance rejected people who were seriously ill.

Even though Jack and Marcel’s salaries were now quite large, they still couldn’t afford to buy many things they want. All their money was spent on their mother’s treatment. This made their mother, Emily, feel a burden. What she knew, her sons were working in a money lending company as debt collectors. This fact made the middle-aged woman feel hurt by seeing her children have to do such work only for a mother who could never provide a decent life for her sons.

What’s even sadder was she didn’t even know that her two sons lied to her about their real job. Emily would have been even more devastated to learn that her two sons had been forced to work for Apollo, which the people of Redvalley Street hated so much.

**

Marcel walked over to Jack who was standing contemplating in front of their house. He pulled his brother behind the house, “Jack. Are you sure about your new assignment?”

Jack chuckled while holding his head with a frustrated face, “If I refuse, then everything will fall apart. Our struggle will be in vain.”

“But how do you extort our own people? How do we hide it again from mom and grandma?” Marcel asked.

The news of Jack being appointed as Viggo’s right-hand man had reached Marcel’s ears. That was great news. But Jack’s new assignment was a bomb that detonated right in front of his eardrums. He was now also holding Redvalley Street, which meant, he must be responsible for the withdrawal of deposits that have made Redvalley Street residents suffer. He had to openly hurt the neighbours who had helped their families when they were at their worst, to the point of not having the least money to eat.

“There’s no other way, Marcel. Maybe they’ll judge me as a criminal, a betrayal. I will leave this house. But you still have to stay to take care of our family.” Jack said.

“Then, what about mom?”

“Mom has been hospitalized. Although I hate to say it, I understand that the chances of mom returning home would not be fast. She still needs intensive care in the hospital. During that time, don’t tell her anything. Just say that everything is fine.” Jack answered.

“Jack ..” Marcel looked at his brother with painful eyes. His heart felt heavy when he had to see his brother sacrifice so much, “Let me help you out,”

Jack smiled and shook his head weakly, “You’ve helped a lot, Marcel. Even then, you were willing to give in to Ron so that my plan could go smoothly. I know it wasn’t easy. For now, you could help me by taking care of our family. Remember, we are a pair of legs that have to do our job.”

That was right. In that fight, it was a great opportunity for Jack to prove his loyalty to Viggo Fisher. Before the battle started, Jack had secretly discussed it with Marcel. Actually, Marcel’s defeat from Ron was an intentional one. Marcel deliberately relented, taking deadly blows from the skinny man, so that his brother could gain Viggo’s trust.

The brothers knew that Viggo must have thought that Jack still cared about his little brother so much that he wouldn’t let him be beaten almost to death. And Jack proved his changed-mind by just watching Marcel get killed in silence. He was a fair referee until the end. But on the other hand, they both know that Marcel’s strong body could certainly withstand attacks from Ron Smith.

Jack looked at his younger brother who was still looking down. He knew Marcel objected to this plan, “This is just a few months or years sacrifice for a peaceful life forever for everyone. Maybe at first, I was thought of as a villain, but later, I will return as a hero. Trust me, Marcel.” he smiled.

“Why are you so strong?” Marcel muttered with both fists clenched.

“Because I have you as my bother. And in the future, you will become stronger than me.” Jack replied.

Come to think of it, that was the last time Jack and Marcel could have a long talk together. Because after that, Jack left the house by leaving a letter saying that he was tired of living in poverty and would live a new, better life. He made his grandmother, Lilian very sad. Although Jack was not his biological grandson, she loved the kid with all her heart.

Not long after that, Jack appeared as the leader of a small group tasked with withdrawing deposits on Redvalley Street. It made their family hated by all the residents of Redvalley Street. They were considered a family of traitors and did not know how to thank others. At that difficult time, it was Marcel who had to protect his grandmother alone.

**

“Mom was asking about you again,” Marcel said to Jack. They were both on the emergency stairs of the hospital. It was the only place where they could meet for a moment because no one was watching.

Jack just kept silent with a gloomy face, “Just wait a bit longer.”

“Mom’s condition is getting worse. You know that, right?”

“I know. Then, what about grandma?” Jack asked.

Marcel nodded, “He’s fine. Only her tavern has no customer.”

“Can’t you see mom for a while? She really misses you.” Marcel asked again.

Jack shook his head, “If I get caught, I’ll lose Viggo’s trust. Everything will be ruined for nothing.”

Marcel couldn’t answer anymore. Apart from feeling sorry for their mother, he also felt sorry for Jack who seemed depressed. He had to pretend to be a bad guy, terrorizing the neighbours he used to greet. He had to hurt the people he loved. That was the tough thing to do.

Not long after that, fate had to test the two brothers again. In the end, Emily, the mother of Jack and Marcel, couldn’t stand it. Late-stage breast cancer had carved away her whole body.