Chapter 311: Dangerous Visitor.

[Edward POV]

We stayed at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, a stunning replica of Venice featuring intricate Italian Renaissance architecture, soaring ceilings, and beautiful frescoes. 

The girls and I booked the executive suites—not that we couldn't afford the presidential suites, but the executive suites faced each other, and we were the only guests on the floor, which provided greater security. Several guards patrolled in front of the elevator as it was the main point of entry. 

The girls shared an executive two-bedroom suite, which boasted nearly 2,000 square feet of living space, with each bedroom featuring twin beds. Maggie and Vanessa shared one, Selena and Taylor shared the other.

I stayed in the Executive King Theater Suite, which had the same square footage but included a theater and a gym, along with a king-size bed. 

The hotel has a strict rule about privacy, so we could hang out together without needing to always be looking over our shoulders for paparazzis and guests filming us– not that we ever went to the common area. 

Vanessa and I came out of the elevator together around 3 in the morning. Both of us were laughing at an incident that happened at Snoop's, and we walked in the same direction.

"How can you roll a blunt faster than him? Snoop had a really weird look on his face after he lost." Vanessa cackled. I smirked and said, "He kept wanting to go again, not wanting to accept it."

"He blamed it on his 'old bones'!" Vanessa laughed after she mimicked Snoop, covering her mouth with her left hand slightly while her right hand was hitting my arm.

As we stood in front of the door, she calmed down slightly, still smiling as she said, "Aww, I don't want the night to be over."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't have a 5 hour long event just this afternoon." I said with a playful disdain. She stuck her tongue out slightly and said, "I haven't seen your room yet. But you have seen mine. That's pretty unfair."

"You can see it in the morning." I replied casually, snubbing her intention of continuing to play. Vanessa pouted slightly and crossed her arms together, "At the very least, you should walk me to my door."

"You didn't pay attention didn't you?" I turned to her with a grin. Vanessa was confused, and she asked, "Pay attention to what?"

I pointed at the door and said, "This is your room."

Speechless for a second, Vanessa used her keycard and the door opened. She looked at me with a slight shock and then accused me, "You planned that didn't you?"

"Don't blame me! I just followed you when we walked."

"And I followed you!"

Both of us burst into laughter before saying goodnight. As I returned to my room, the cheerful mood vanished.

"Took you long enough," said the mysterious man in a fedora, impeccably dressed in a suit, as he swirled the drink in his hand.

"I helped myself to your minibar, if you don't mind," he added casually, crossing his legs as he set the drink down on the side table.

"That's a little rude. People will think I'm the one who drank," I replied, greeting him casually as I sat down in front of him.

"But sure, I don't mind since I'm the one who kept you waiting. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the most notorious man in the world, Mr. Raymond… Reddington?" With a smile on my face, I looked straight at the man in the fedora, who resembled James Spader.

He chuckled in disbelief, "My god, you're just like your mother."

That comment soured my mood a bit.

"Calm, composed, and most importantly, extremely bold," he continued. "Your mom, however, never reeked of marijuana. She'd be quite disappointed if she found out." He teased, a slightly concerned expression crossing his face.

A pang of guilt assaulted me even though I tried not to care about it. "Can you tell me why you wanted to meet?" I asked, getting straight to the point. A few hours after we checked into the hotel, he had come with his aide, telling my security that he wanted to discuss an important issue. My security detail contacted me as he warned them not to call the cops or else someone close to me would die. They had no choice but to contact me about it. 

Raymond nodded slightly before he said, "Alright then, we should talk. It's very late, and we don't really have time for chit-chat. I assume you're aware of the events happening in your mother's country?"

I nodded and replied, "I have a brief overview of it," which was a lie.

"That's good enough," he said casually before turning serious. "In less than 12 hours, the freedom fighter bases all around the country will be raided simultaneously. There's little opportunity to get your mother and the rest of the patriots out of the country before that happens, and that's what I'm here to discuss."

I felt a bit confused. "Huh? Why me?"

Raymond looked taken aback. "Because it pertains to the safety of your family."

"Ugh," I groaned disdainfully. Raymond seemed puzzled and asked, "You don't care what's going to happen to her?"

"She made her bed. Now she has to lie in it," I replied indifferently. "You cannot save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

He stared at me intensely before responding, "Two times."

"What two times?" I asked, still confused.

"She saw her friends die… from starvation," he added casually. "Do you know what that's like? Seeing the lights go out from their eyes, their bodies becoming thin husks of what they once were?"

I fell silent as he continued, "When the Soviets fell in 1991, your mother smiled for the first time, thinking that the stalled gears of her country would finally move again."

Not breaking eye contact, he said, "You have no idea what she has been through. I'm sure you have resentment towards your mother, but I also know there's no way you're going to abandon her."

I sighed, thinking for a moment, and took out a small card from my wallet. I handed it to him before leaving the living room to pour myself a drink in the pantry.

"Laminated?" Raymond looked at the card and saw it contained the details of a trading account along with its password. "Get a new card maker!" he shouted from afar.

"I made it myself!" I retorted.

He chuckled and said, "I'll refer you to an excellent craftsman in this area. He's very handy with this sort of stuff and wouldn't betray the customer's private information."

"I don't need it. I already ordered the machine," I scoffed. "Refer me to the ones who make your hat."

He took it off his head and pointed at it, "This? I got this from a small shop in Washington. It's easy to find—just one street over from the congressional building."

As he wore it back, he said, "Do you want me to bring anything to your mother? A bouquet of roses perhaps?"

"That's not necessary for their trip to Canada." I replied, insinuating the place I wanted them to go at the same time. Raymond was speechless for a second before he let out a long sigh as he scrutinized me.

Although I agreed to help, I didn't want her to come back into my life. 

Raymond took the card and stood up from the seat, walking away.

Even if we didn't discuss it, the money inside the account would be used to buy the patriots new identities and a way out of the country, more than enough for them to live the rest of their lives comfortably.

The resistance would fall. As the trade talks began, people in Cuba finally saw hope for their country, which is why they would reject the freedom fighters' agenda. They had been in the darkness for so long, and my mother's group couldn't inspire light for them. So her own people betrayed her as they were too devoid of hope to continue. 

My mother is losing because she cannot inspire hope.

Raymond Reddington might think he found me, but in actuality, I reached out to him by staying at the hotel he owned. Yeah, he owned the hotel, from the shadows. 

I understood very well what was going to happen, and Raymond was the only person capable of saving them. I only acted like I was forced to help to prevent him from thinking he was doing me a favor.

Raymond was a businessman—a very dangerous one. As the family fund in Cuba dried up, he couldn't go and save my mother without getting remuneration, as he would be looked down upon in his line of business for doing charity.

Before he left, Raymond turned to me again and said, "Don't worry, as far as everyone is concerned, this is just your family's hidden asset that your mother gave me for safekeeping."

He was reassuring me that I wouldn't be implicated in any of it. Raymond was a man of his words. It would be as if he never stopped by. 

"By the way, I just want to say, wonderful album, and absolutely mesmerizing voice. I really love the orchestral rendition of your song. I'll be sure to buy a ticket if we are ever in the same city." 

I smirked slightly and said, "I'll make sure to charge you extra then."

He grinned and then left the room, greeting my security guard standing in front of the room casually. After he left, I finally sighed in relief and said, "Robin, deactivate protection protocol."

"Deactivating." Robin replied before 5 small drones appeared out of thin air. It cloaked itself using holographic technology before it went into guard mode. I was meeting with a very dangerous man after all, so I had to keep some security measures in place.

"Robin, contact Aunt Camila. Tell her I want to speak with her." 

…

We returned home the next day. There's only 4 more days till Christmas. My dad and Frankie cornered me in the kitchen while I was cooking and Frankie asked, "Edward, what do you want for Christmas?"

"Just get some cat toys for Vader." I replied easily.

My dad shook his hand and said, "That's for her. What about you? What do you want?"

I counted what I wanted with my fingers, "World peace. One Piece Ending. Re-animating Naruto from the start with a much higher quality animation. A big tiddy goth– Um, I don't know, you can get me some scarves or socks."

"A big tiddy what?" Frankie was confused. "Nothing nothing." I shook my head dismissively with a mischievous grin on my face as I stirred the pot. "You guys know what I want? Maybe for you two to go on a trip together."

Both of them exchanged wary glances before Dad replied, "We're not leaving you for Christmas."

I rolled my eyes and said, "You can go after. Just hire a hot nanny to take care of me and we'll be fine."

"No, how about, some sneakers?" My dad rejected my idea for the nanny instantly.

I pouted slightly and said, "Sneakers will be fine."

Then, I stopped stirring the pot and asked my dad, "Continue to stir this for me."

While he was stirring, I put on my jacket and took my wallet with me. Confused, my dad asked, "Are you going somewhere?"

"I'm going to Haley's to see her place." I replied casually.

My dad was shocked, "Hey, I don't know what to do with this!"

" Stir that for 20 more minutes in low heat before turning the fire off." I said as I left the house. 

Most of the houses in the neighborhood have already put up their Christmas decorations. Colorful lights, plastic snowmen as it's not snowing here, festive trees and wreaths. 

"Got to admit. Christmas in Wisconsin looks a lot more fun." I mumbled to myself. 

While I was walking toward the Dunphy's, I suddenly heard some clattering sound coming from a house beside me, and then I heard an old man cursing. Turning towards Mr Kleezak's house, I saw that he had tripped on the steps and almost dropped his box of Christmas lights.

"Mr Kleezak, are you fine?" I asked in concern.

"None of your business kiddo! Continue walking." The old man continued gruffly, his leg was still limping. I approached him slightly and shouted, "Do you need–"

Before I could finish my words, he already closed the door behind me. "Why did he take off his lights? " I mumbled to myself. 

"Oh my god, my inner, Hallmark movie character personality is coming out." I widened my eyes in shock before I rushed to Haley's place.

Walking down the basement, I saw the renovated room and Jay working hard to build the closet with the rest of his contractor. "Hey Jay!" I greeted casually. "What's the emergency?"

Jay turned around while still holding the shelves, "You're here. Quick, help me install the closet before Phil comes by."

"What?" I was confused when Phil burst through the door, shouting, "Stop! I told you! We're not using Pritchett Closets stuff!"

"You don't even pay me! At the very least, you could market my product in the video!" Jay argued.

Phil shot back, trying to remove the closet, "I told you we're going to discuss sponsorship deals first!"

"We're family!" Jay exclaimed, aggrieved. He turned to me and said, "Can you speak some sense to this guy? He thinks he's such a big shot after he got 150,000 followers."

"160 thousand!" Phil corrected him. "Wait, how did it increase so much?" I asked, intrigued by their argument.

"The project got featured in the news this morning," Jay explained. "And a morning talk show!" Phil added excitedly.

"Really?" I googled it instantly but couldn't find anything, so I asked Robin to look it up for me. It turned out it was covered on several talk shows. Phil's video had managed to break into the mainstream, which wasn't surprising.

An elderly talk show host watched Phil's renovation video and commented, "See? That's a good father. He listened to his daughter and built her a studio just for her to follow her dream. I'd marry a guy like that in a heartbeat."

Another host added, "This is the most cost-effective renovation I've ever seen! Not to mention it's very creative. I can't wait to see the end result."

As the renovation started, Phil introduced the episode, saying, "Welcome to another episode of basement renovation, where I use my real estate skills to build a fashion workshop for my teenage daughter who loves making dresses."

It was a simple enough introduction for the short video, but as the series continued, many viewers recognized the good-hearted intention behind Phil's renovation, and it was even mentioned on Ellen.

Jay, initially skeptical about the entire project, finally changed his mind and wanted to promote his product through the channel.

Just then, Haley walked down, barely paying attention to Phil and Jay's argument. She focused solely on me. "You're here! How is it? Did you check out the room yet? What do you think?"

"I just got here. Why don't you give me a tour?" I smiled softly at her.

Haley smirked with excitement and grabbed my hand. "Okay! I'll give you a tour." Turning to the bickering duo, she said, "Dad, Grandpa, Mom wants to see you upstairs. Also, Dad, I want Grandpa's closet. He custom made it for me."

Jay looked smug as he glanced at Phil. Phil sighed and said reluctantly, "Okay, honey. Whatever you want. I can get us a better deal, but it's whatever you want, sweetheart!"

Haley smiled obliviously, not grasping what Phil was saying. Jay guffawed loudly as he walked upstairs with Phil.

"First of all, the studio." She linked her arms with mine and pulled me into the next room. The studio was already completed—a simple space with two half-body mannequins and a measurement table for cutting fabric.

"Take off your shirt." She suddenly picked up a brownish waffle shirt from the table and turned toward me excitedly.

"Okay." I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. Haley inhaled sharply as she gazed at my body and said hesitantly, "This…I might have made a mistake here. You don't actually need a shirt."

I grabbed the shirt from her hand and said, "Don't be silly. I get cold like everyone else."

As I put on the shirt, I suddenly felt my belly button chill. "Wait, is this a crop top?" I was shocked to see two of my abs visible as the shirt stopped halfway.

"Wait. Did I measure it wrong? I tried to make a perfect fit." Haley pulled the shirt down, but in doing so, the stitches on the shoulder ripped. She widened her eyes in shock before laughing dryly.

"This…is a failure," she muttered with a self-deprecating tone. "Maybe I don't have what it takes!" she mumbled.

"Don't be silly. It's great for a first try–"

"That's my 10th." She interrupted me.

"Um…It's still great. You just need to learn more." I comforted her by patting her head softly. She looked up to me with her big eyes and said, "Really?"

"Yeah. It's great. When you finally have your own collection, I'll model for you." 

Haley smiled slightly before she became determined, "I need to make more slutty shirts."

"No– Not that." I was startled for a bit. 

Haley grabbed my arm again and brought me to the bathroom, "Grandpa installed a shower here, so I don't need to share it with anyone else. I chose that wallpaper myself. What do you think?"

The bathroom has bronze pipes and a moody look, which was something Haley loved. Then, she showed me her bedroom, which was the room we were in before.

"It's still empty, but I think I can move in here before Christmas." She said excitedly. Then, she flirted, "When my new bed come, do you want to–"

Before she could finish, my phone rang. My dad was calling me at an unfortunate time. "Sorry, I have to take this." I said. Haley was dissatisfied but she didn't say anything. 

While we were talking, the two other siblings, Alex and Luke, concocted a plan together and began acting it out upstairs where all the adults were in discussion.