Chapter 8

The tortured goon didn't wait to be told twice before throwing himself at their feet. Ignoring the surprised looks of his subordinates, he tearfully apologized to both niece and uncle when he felt the silence in the air. He glared at his buddies who took the hint and threw themselves at the dignified feet of those bullies as they saw them and began chanting apologies.

"To err is human, to forgive, divine," Cara graciously told them, thoroughly gratified to the marrow as she overcame her "shock" and patted her chest, looking quite "flustered."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, uncle, but I'm too terrified to remain here," she said, turning to Dexter with brimming eyes ready to water any moment.

"With uncle here, you have nothing to fear," Dexter boasted, puffing his chest out in pride.

"Let's go home now," he added as he led the way and courteously let her go ahead and followed right after, glaring at the rascals who watched them in bewilderment.

"How much did you win tonight, uncle?" Cara suddenly asked as they got half way to their house.

"It's all here," Dexter obediently replied, taking out all the money in his pocket and handing it over to her. Her face got brighter by the second as she counted it, her hands almost leaving afterimages which baffled her uncle.

"We made forty thousand bucks, and this is your share," she said, taking out fifteen thousand and handing them to him, leaving Dexter mentally scratching his head as to why fifteen thousand bucks were being stuffed into his hands instead of forty.

"Is there something you'd like to say, uncle?" Cara innocently asked, blinking puppy eyes at him.

"Nothing, my dear niece. Whatever you say is filled with wisdom," he hastily replied, swallowing the lump that had found its way to his throat and the constriction in his chest.

"I knew uncle was so magnanimous," Cara flattered, her pearl teeth shining in the starry dark as they walked on.

"Kid, why do you need so much money? Shouldn't you give it to me for safekeeping?" Dexter asked with an aching heart as they trudged along.

"I know mother is ill. I'd like to take her to the hospital," Cara softly said, stunning her uncle, who knew how many years his sister had tried to hide the fact because they barely had enough to eat, let alone treat such an advanced illness.

He was still lost in awe of his niece when the piercing glare of a car's headlight rested on their silhouettes. Her uncle subconsciously shielded his eyes while Cara ignored the light and kept walking.

They noticed but ignored Hendrix seated at the back seat of the car, his eyes closed as his lips moved in an inaudible prayer while his fingers kept rolling the prayer beads in his hand.

The closed eyes, however, fluttered open as his car passed them, and the edges of his lips curled up nicely, shocking Owen seated behind the steering, so much so that his jaw dropped as he observed his friend through the rearview mirror.

He had no idea this friend of his had a penchant for smiling anymore, that he had to rub his eyes with his free hand to be sure, but by the time he was done, the smile was gone.

He had always thought his friend to be an emotionless block of ice and was still befuddled when he heard Hendrix's voice.

"The Griffin's return to Yunjing was due to a financial crisis, and they are on the edge of bankruptcy," he told Owen.

"What?!" Owen almost yelled, his head whipping back to stare at Hendrix incredulously.

"Spread the news," Hendrix said, fixing him with a cold gaze which didn't help with Owen's confusion.

But just as he was about to question Hendrix, he realized that this was a great idea actually. It'd help separate the chaff from the seeds in Hendrix's world and force the bad eggs to reveal themselves.

"Alright, brother fifth," he grinned as he made a turn to head towards Hendrix's favorite bar.

"Not tonight," Hendrix saw through his thoughts and said. "They'll have your special tonight, and your strength is quite depleted after the attack from the holies tonight," Owen said, his brows furrowed in concern.

"My system is getting used to it. It wouldn't be of much help for long," Hendrix said with a sigh, resting his head on the seat of the car as he wearily closed his eyes.

"Would Aunt and Madam Griffin be visiting the Smith's in the morning?" Owen asked, steering the conversation away from troubling thoughts.

Hendrix slightly lifted his head and raised a brow at him.

"Don't be like that, fifth brother. I'm sure the Smith's biological daughter is an awesome person; she wouldn't mind the state of your financial affairs," Owen said with certainty, ignored by Hendrix who had no word for his long-windedness and continued with his prayer beads.

...

It was three in the morning when niece and uncle sneaked into their homey basement.

"Sleep well, dearest niece," Dexter whispered conspiratorially.

"Sleep well, uncle," Cara whispered right back, enjoying the camaraderie as she soundlessly found her way into her room, threw herself on the bed, and went off like a lamp.

Oblivious to the rendezvous between her daughter and brother, Rae woke up early to make porridge for breakfast. Worried that Cara wouldn't like the plain porridge, she prepared a couple of eggs along with her dish.

"Sister," Dexter called as he walked over to the dining table and emptied the contents of his hands on it. Rae stared at him in surprise, wondering when he left the house as she continued to stir the remaining porridge in the pot.

"I bought donuts and steamed meat buns for breakfast," he told her as he prepared the table, while she dried her hands and scanned the mouthwatering food on the table.

"Why did you spend so recklessly when there's porridge at home?" she asked with a small scowl.

"I was given a bonus at work, besides, my niece needs to know that she can eat healthily here as well," he fibbed. Rae sighed on hearing Cara's name, knowing that what was on the table was far better than what she had prepared and mentally caved in.

"Is my niece still asleep?" Dexter asked, his eyes quickly scanning the sitting room with no sign of Cara, while Rae's eyes turned to saucers.

But before she could say anything, he was already on his way to her room.

"I'll go call her to come eat."

It took Rae all her willpower not to swoon as she watched her brother, who was at loggerheads with her daughter the day before, suddenly raring to be the best uncle.

"Good morning, Mom; good morning, uncle," Cara's voice came from the door as she shut it after her, puzzling her mom and uncle who glanced at each other then at her.

"Are you okay? Where did you go?" her mother asked.

"Oh, I went for a run," she replied noncommittally as she plopped down on a chair, panting slightly.

"Why stress yourself so much?" Rae asked with a slight heartache as she handed Cara a glass of water.

"My fitness level is too weak, so I'd need to build up my stamina bit by bit," Cara said, about to gulp down the water when she spotted the food on the table and settled for a sip instead, not ready to choose water over food.

"Dearest niece, I bought steamed meat buns and Chinese donuts for breakfast," he told her, leading her to the most comfortable chair on the dining table.

"I bought milk as well. You'll need more calcium for your skinny bones," he fawned over her as he sat beside her, hoping she accepted his peace offering so they could go gambling again.

"Thanks, uncle," Cara said, her eyes never leaving the food.

"Dexter, are you running a temperature or having a fever?" Rae asked, concerned, as she felt his head and neck.

"Aren't you being dramatic?" he asked with a small laugh, as he gently pushed her hands away.

"Cara is my only niece. Who else do I dote on if not her?" he said, smiling fondly at Cara who gave a smile of her own while her heart ached at the sight of the food waiting to be devoured.

Rae was flabbergasted at the new development and wondered if her brother was only putting up an act in order not to hurt her feelings as they settled down to eat.

"You don't look so well, and I'd like to take you to the hospital for a thorough check-up," Cara said after the meal, putting down her chopsticks as she glanced at her mother who froze halfway as she was about to swallow a morsel of food.

"You don't need to do that," Rae replied, glancing uncertainly at her brother, wondering where this was coming from. But Dexter dug into his meal like that was all that mattered.

Rae, on the other hand, preferred to endure her illness in silence rather than be a financial burden, considering the economical state of their family.

"How about I examine you then, since I have a little experience with Chinese medicine?" Cara insisted, unwilling to let her mother off the hook where her health was concerned. That statement made Dexter glance at her in surprise, but his heart calmed down on seeing the absolute certainty on her face.

"Oh," Rae murmured, glancing at her brother again, but he had turned his attention back to his food. Whatever his dearest niece said was right and true, as long as he was concerned.

"Yeah," Cara replied, waiting for a more positive response from her mother. Being a renowned doctor in her previous life amongst other talents, she was sure this illness was nothing she couldn't handle and needed her mother to be in the best of health for what she sensed was to come ahead.

"Go ahead then," Rae sighed softly as she rolled up her sleeves and stretched her hand, touched that her daughter was willing to do this for her. Cara nodded as she gently held her mother's arm on hers and placed two fingers on her wrist as she examined her pulse.

She could sense how feeble it was with an undercurrent of something else she couldn't quite place. She examined further and found symptoms of deficiency of blood, chronic malnutrition, and cough.

"Have you donated blood recently?" she casually asked as she let go of her arm. Her question momentarily stunned Rae as she nodded subconsciously before shaking her head in denial as she came back to her senses.

"Donating blood is putting it nicely. She sold it at the health clinic," Dexter interjected, staring accusingly at his sister.

"Which hospital in their right senses would let her do that in her terrible condition?" Cara asked icily, seemingly freezing the atmosphere with her bottled-up rage, earning her a surprised glance from her mother and uncle. It took all her willpower to tamp down her anger and return the room to normalcy.

"The fault wasn't from the health center; it was from your mother's insistence," Dexter furiously answered, losing his appetite as he remembered what his sister went through, all to please Isha.

"Mom, why?" she turned to her mother with an aching heart at what her mother had to resort to, probably to keep food on the table. But Rae could only bow her head quietly.

"Just so she could get Isha an iPhone," Dexter spat, losing interest in his meal altogether as suppressed anger surged in his chest.

Cara's mouth went agape in shock as she turned to her mother, who was quietly sobbing now, unable to hold back her emotions.

"An iPhone in exchange for your blood?" Cara whispered, thoroughly deflated emotionally as she stared at her mother.

"Yes. Thanks to the manipulations of Isha, threatening her not to eat or stop crying until she got it. Even if it meant my sister selling one of her kidneys, which worsened her already frail health," Dexter coldly told her.