The Choice

Ari was probably going to be my only child since there was only one heir mentioned in our deal and Miraj didn't show any signs of wanting more kids. I myself wasn't sure if I wanted another child. Pregnancy wasn't a pretty phase. All of this just made Ari too important. He was the sole heir to two most influential families in the country of Anmya.

My legacy came from my father. He was from a family clan of mercenaries that the ordinary people in the world knew nothing about for centuries. I had an entire family of ancestors who came into the world and left it without the world knowing about them. Things changed when my grandfather noticed the world was shifting its power from the strongest to the wealthiest. Money became more important than personal strength because the world was finally fed up of violence after two millenniums. Everyone wanted to at least pretend that they lived in a peaceful world.

He started a legal business, dealing in security and brought us out into the light. It was before the digital age so it was still possible to fake an entire family's existence in records. It wasn't really faking since all of those people had existed. The mercenary business once sanctioned as illegal by the UN was hidden in the dark by my father and a security firm was a front to hide the money from it. The security firm eventually turned into an entire corporation dealing with security personnel and security gadgets.

Miraj's family had a similar story but he had a choice to either take up his father's mantle or his mother's or both. Just like Ari would have to make a choice in the future. Both of Miraj's parents were from biggest mafia families and he chose his mother's family. He hated his father and I didn't bother to ask why but what I did know was that Miraj wanted nothing to do with the power that would come from taking over his father's family.

His father didn't like it. He desperately needed an heir for his family business and he thought my three year old son would be his best bet. The man was insane if he thought he could beat both me and Miraj, and take away our son.

In three years of my son's life, there have been three attempts at kidnapping him. All orchestrated by his psycho grandpa. It pisses me off that my son has to go through all this at such a young age. I worried about the mental scars it would leave behind. His parents are tainted enough with blood and that had already made his future bleak. He had to make a choice in the future and whatever he chooses, it won't be a normal life. I, at least, wanted to give him a good childhood. But his grandfather was hell bent on not letting it happen.

So when I was chasing the bastards this morning, my patience for Miraj's father snapped. I may have been a bit reckless for an hour which allowed them to get so far away from the city that I couldn't call for immediate help. I wasn't sure if I regretted it.

I was still in Ari's room with Miraj and I think the pause in my explanation was bothering him now. He had been understanding of my difficulties in explaining because he understood what Ari's trouble does to me. It did the same thing to him. But this pause was too long because I was unwilling to talk further. Unless he explicitly asked, I wouldn't give an explanation for my next actions.

He opened his mouth to speak and his phone chimed with a message. He pulled it out of his left pant pocket and checked the message. Once he was done, he put it back as he asked me,"Luke says they found the other car on the road side almost an hour away from the city and the tracks led to the Jager forests. Too far in, to follow during the night. Want to explain why you didn't call me when you realized they were heading towards the old highway road or anytime before you entered a no network zone?"

I smiled. He spoke in explicit words but asked the wrong question.

"No."

I walked out of Ari's room to take a shower.