Chapter 291 - Home In Molave 37

Only Charles and Rona knew how emotional they got. When Jane popped her head in the narrow opening of the door, right after she got their consent, they were already wrapped in each other's arms, eyes bloodshot. Rona smiled at her while brushing her tears away, but her jaw dropped when Jane opened the door wider, ushering Kristian in.

Rona sprinted towards him, her already surging emotion peaked once again. Gathering Kristian into her arms, she cried hard until she fainted. Kristian also cried with her; his shrill, childish voice blended with hers in a heartwrenching strain.

"What now, Dr. Charles?" Jane said with a teasing smile. She knew Charles didn't want her to expose the condition he asked for Jane.

"You're right, Jane," he grinned like a long, lost-and-found puppy. He then turned to Rona and held her hand. "Let's go home now. I can't wait to take you and Kristian home."

"I'm sorry, Charles, but I'm not going anywhere with you if Hayri won't be home. He did so much for me. If not because of him, I wouldn't have kept the hope that my son is still alive."

"Do you mean you already know about Kristian?" 

"I even have the DNA test result that Hayri facilitated for me. He even accompanied me to the school and talked to Madame Theresa. He is a friend to me in my most dejected moments, even when we were yet in Turkey. He is there for me in my times of needs and even in expanding my businesses. I just can't celebrate my happiness when he is out there."

Jane's tears were like a faucet after Rona turned on the handle. She missed everything about Hayri, his presence, his thoughtfulness, and everything that he was to her.

"Don't worry, ladies. I hold him safe in my hand."

"He's not safe until he is with Jane," Rona protested, making Charles look up at Jane.

"So, it's more than just friends?" Charles lifted a brow, pursing a smile.

"More than just friends."

Charles then turned to Kristian. "Son, get inside the room first. I, your mom, and auntie Jane are going to talk." Raised as an obedient child, he quickly stood up from Rona's lap and went inside the bedroom.

When the sound of the opening and closing door floated into their ears, Charles opened his laptop. Through an app he opened, he connected a video call to Markus. Markus surprisingly picked it up right away, and a panorama of the Madani Islands floated into the screen, The video clips progressed to sea views then down to the seafloor. Colorful fishes, corals, sea mammals, and stretch of white sand then rolled. Then, to their surprise, the images changed to machines, submarines, and pieces of equipment. What followed next were machines burrowing into the seafloor and dropping of black boxes. Jane and Rona held their breaths, what could those types of machinery mean?

Charle's voice then floated into their ears as he addressed Markus. "Markus, this is Mr. Blacksmith speaking to you. Have you seen the black boxes?"

Vivid views of the black boxes soon floated into the screen. It had blinking red numbers indicating digital timers.

"Bombs?" Both the ladies gasped and held their mouths, watching Markus' reaction through the screen.

"In my own time, those boxes will bury down the treasures of the Madani Islands into the fathomless depths of the ocean. The love of those treasures has been the cause of greed, endless desire for more wealth and power, which resulted in killings and other forms of crime. You know how you and your family tree contributed to the chaos of our once peaceful and beautiful islands."

Markus did not say a word, but his eyes that stared back into the screen seemed to throw fire and brimstone towards them.

"I have gathered all the Madanihanons away from the islands in the disguise of a clan party. The original plan was to exclude your family lineage, but I change my mind. Perhaps, if these treasures that corrupted their minds and made them arrogant enough to rebel against the government will vanish, they will remember to do what's good and fair for everyone. Sadly, Markus, I can't exempt your closest family tree, because they prompted you to rebel like this. All the exits are guarded, so all of you can no longer escape."

Markus' eyes darted with glints of fear as his eyes became sharp and unsteady. Before he could say any word, Charles spoke again. "Release Mr. Louise Hayri Dioko now, and I am giving you the chance to negotiate with me. A chopper will be landing close to your hideout in twenty minutes."

Tears finally gathered in the corner of  Markus' eyes as videos of his family played at the screen, appealing to Mr. Blacksmith to lift his revenge. A video of his wailing mother also rolled out, asking Mr. Blacksmith to release him, claiming that it was his fault why Markus became the headache of the country.

"I'll give you twenty minutes to decide." Charles then ended his call and turned the video call off.

Rona sobbed once again the moment he stopped the call. "Charles, never in my dreams did I expect to see you become like this. I no longer know you."

"Rona, I have my reasons. You know better than anyone else, how it is in our homeplace back then. They killed our grandparents, our great-great-grandparents, so they deserve it," Charles reasoned out as he tried to coax Rona to understand him.

"Still, that doesn't give you the right to put the law in your hands. God even forgives those whose hearts are already black with sinning. He even extends their life span, giving them chances to change. Why can't you? We are only humans, and judgment shouldn't be in our hands."

"Rona-"

"Charles, all my life, I have been praying that someday I will see you again. I close my heart to other men because I believe it in my heart that someday, we can rebuild our family. But I'm sorry. I can't accept you like this. Killing Riza is enough, but killing another is no longer acceptable. Will Kristian and Kyle be proud of you? Will Kyle be able to forgive you someday for not giving his father a chance to live?"

Charles sighed; he could no longer afford to lose Rona again. She meant more to him than those velvet diamonds. She meant more to him than the treasures of the Madani Islands and more precious than the lives of those evil Madanihanons.

"If I'll forgive Markus, will you marry me?"