“You must be quite upset.” 

When she said this, she didn’t shy away from looking at me. It was just like her. I knew she was set on clearing the air immediately. 

“Will you hear me out till the end?” I nodded, I was also determined to resolve this matter. Before she sat down on the couch, she handed me a thermal bag. There was a warm breakfast waiting for me. Yes, this was also just like her. 

“I didn’t set out to deceive you. I know its sounds like a sorry excuse, but I really didn’t. When we first met I had no idea of what I know now.”

From her stressed mannerisms, to the look on her face, I knew it was all genuine. 

“At the time, I wasn’t the slightest bit aware that “E” was your mother, let alone who your father was. It was all purely coincidental. You don’t know how many times I came close to telling you everything, but I wasn’t allowed to.” She sighed deeply, seemingly getting angry at herself.

“What sorry excuses I’m making, huh?” For the first time, I was seeing thee Astrid Tate look like she would burst into tears. To this, I had to interrupt. 

“I told you, I’m not mad. I also signed a threatening contract with my father. The penalties are no joke. As long as what I know to be is genuine, we’re all good. So, don’t worry about it.”

I personally don’t think she would’ve showed up like this if it was all a lie. 

“Park was probably quite irritable.” She didn’t ask this she simply stated it matter-of-factly. 

“That’s putting it lightly. I don’t think we’d ever shared such disdain with one another. He couldn’t be around as much, but we still have always had a pretty great relationship.”

“You know, he never explicitly told me you are is son. I found out by accident. He’s always spoken so loving about you, you know?”

Her face was once again joyful, what a relief.

“He goes on and on about how much he admires you. It made so much sense when I found out for sure he was your father.” 

She poked my shoulder and motioned for me to eat.

“How did you find out?”

“Well, your loving parents have a hard time being discreet about how in love they are. Your father lovingly called her Eden, rather than “E” one day while she was at the office. I happened to come into the office at the wrong time.”

“Got it, definitely sounds like them.” I was used to only seeing them together at home. They never appeared publicly together, so I’m sure they don’t even realize they should tone it down. On top of that, I had never officially introduced or spoke about my parents to anyone, but Howl. 

“We all know that this job isn’t necessarily safe. That's why Park is acting this way. First and foremost, he’s thinking about his son, not an employee.”

“I understand, but I wish he told me that himself.”

My burdens seemed lighter, but I was still somewhat torn. There clearly was a few more people I needed to speak with before I could feel completely at ease. 

Just like that, a few hours passed and I learned more about Karma Police. It made the desire I had seven years ago to work here more intense. This business I hadn’t previously known fit perfectly with the type of work I wanted to be a part of. Suddenly I was willing to let go of the anguish I felt and turn to finding answers. 

Amongst our long conversation, there always seemed to be missing information. For every small or relatively large case there was somebody else they were also trying to catch. They took it as an opportunity to gain more information on a single individual. As my father had referred to it, killing two birds with one stone, so did Astrid. She didn’t dare to say their name or explain further. 

I didn’t feel the need to ask because I had an idea of who this person was. Over the years, I had noticed a strange similarity between many news stories and one man. Who would have known that this similarity would lead me to discover something more about this job? 

It was a little after I had found success with my first start-up internship. The company had grown rapidly after the implementation of my ideas. Word quickly spread and I was suddenly meeting with many successful business men and women. I had taken a liking to some offers and kept those in mind. However, I wasn’t looking to leave right away. Everyone I’d met with was relatively cut throat, but nonetheless kind to a young kid like me, but this one man was the outlier. 

I’d heard endless rumors about him. Was he a success? Yes, beyond compare, but the ruthlessness  he resorted to in order to succeed frightened many. I was aware that our views were vastly different. So, when he showed up with a proposal, I wasn’t interested and I was also somewhat nervous. He was all together a different type of intimidation. It wasn’t one that I admired. 

I had just come back from a meeting with the team leader when I was informed that he was waiting in our small conference room. I remember the terrified look on the poor secretary’s face when she gave us this information. The team leader was concerned to let me go alone, but I insisted. He was sat smugly at the head of the table like he owned the office. This domineering man, Grey Salvatore, was truly a man without humanity. His dark cold eyes looked like an abyss. They matched the lost man that sat before me. 

When I entered the room, he pushed back the silver hair that had fallen into his face and let out a slight laugh.

“You’re quite lucky.”

“I sure am, but why do you think that?” I reciprocated with a smug response. He was getting on my nerves. He howled and smiled diabolically. 

“You sure don’t disappoint. I never approach anyone first when it comes to job offers. However, you’re lucky I made an exception.” 

What a conceited jerk. I’m sure the grimace on my face was apparent. 

“I guess you’re not prepared to take my offer. That’s fine. I like a challenge. You’re doing fine work. I see your potential, so let’s see how far you can go. I’ll be back of course.” He winked and left without acknowledging anyone else in the office. After that his visits were consistent. He knew exactly when I was set to leave to work elsewhere. Always unannounced and even more arrogant than the last visit. When he didn’t appear the night of my last team dinner, it felt sinister. I had a gut feeling he’d show up at the worst possible time and I wish I hadn’t been right.