Chapter 53: Santino's Compromise

"Calm down, Dr. Morgan, of course I will tell you where Abigail is. Once we finish our conversation, I can take you there today!"

Castle tried to calm Henry down, but Henry, who had been frantically searching for his wife for twenty years, and Abraham, equally anxious to find his foster mother, were not in the mood to stay calm.

"Forget everything else now, just tell me where Abigail is!"

Henry Morgan had lost his usual composure and, looking nearly mad, clutched Castle's hands tightly.

Seeing Henry's state, Castle knew further conversation was futile and reluctantly compromised: "Her body is still in a small town in New Jersey. I can take you there right now!"

"Her body? She hasn't been buried??"

Henry could no longer contain himself and urgently signaled to Abraham to start the car.

Embarrassed, Castle responded to Henry's query: "Yes, Dr. Morgan, I only recently confirmed your wife's situation and the location of her body. She's currently in a forest on the outskirts of New Jersey. I think she would prefer you to personally bring her home!!!"

As they spoke, the three quickly descended from the second-floor drawing room. Henry, abandoning his usual demeanor, hurried towards Abraham's car parked by the curb, urging them, "Hurry, hurry, Abraham, we're going to bring your mother home."

Instead of immediately getting into the driver's seat, Abraham handed the keys to Castle. Considering the emotional state of the father and son, Castle agreed they weren't fit to drive. So he took the keys without hesitation, started the car, and headed straight for the forest in New Jersey where Abigail was killed by Adam.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Italy, within the ancient castle of the D'Antonio family.

Santino D'Antonio walked ahead alone while Gianna, smiling charmingly, flirted with John Wick as she escorted her brother towards his room.

Initially, Santino planned to delay, hoping for a turn of events, but Gianna saw right through him. She not only threatened her foolish brother that if he didn't hand over John's blood oath marker immediately, she would declare war on all of Santino's forces today.

She also informed Santino that she would not only destroy his power base but would also capture and imprison him, though she wouldn't kill him. Freedom, however, would be out of his reach. If he doubted her, he was welcome to test her resolve.

Upon being threatened by Gianna, Santino hastily tried to claim that the blood oath marker wasn't on him, hoping to momentarily escape her scrutiny and consult his advisors.

Unfortunately, Gianna, fully committed to the issue with John Wick, left no room for Santino to maneuver. Hearing that Santino didn't have the marker on him, she immediately declared that they would accompany him to his room to retrieve it, sternly asserting that she would turn against her brother if she didn't get her hands on John's blood oath marker today.

Thus, a tearful Santino, subdued under the fierce will of his sister, led the way to his room. It was clear Gianna wouldn't relent until the marker was surrendered. Any thoughts or plans Santino harbored would have to wait until after today's issues were resolved.

Santino knew well that by handing over the blood oath marker, he was effectively acknowledging Gianna's leadership, marking his definitive exit from the family's power struggle.

If he had managed to have John Wick act against Gianna as per his original plan, there might still be hope. But now, with John at Gianna's side and even protecting her, even if Santino found an assassin bold enough to strike at Gianna, whether they could surpass John was another critical question.

Walking towards his room, Santino was filled with reluctance and helplessness. Standing in front of his room door, he dared not delay any longer. With a heavy sigh, he opened the door, went to a hidden safe, and took out the blood oath marker he had treasured—the symbol representing John Wick's life.

Turning around, with great reluctance and his body trembling with anger but facing a situation stronger than himself, Santino realized he couldn't leave the castle today unless he complied. Once again, with a heavy heart, he looked at the blood oath marker in his hand and resentfully handed it over to Gianna, who was blocking his doorway.

Gianna's mood was the polar opposite of Santino's. Laughing heartily, she took the marker from her brother's hand and even flirted with John, who stood by her side expressionless, before she solemnly told Santino, "You've shown good sense, Santino. So, I won't overlook our sibling relationship. You'll no longer have a chance at the family head position, but I assure you, as long as you obey, John and I will always be your support..."

Watching his sister

 declare victory in front of him and helplessly seeing the last safeguard of his position as family head disappear, Santino was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. Wanting to express his loyalty but unable to accept his defeat, he mumbled and finally said, "Just go, I'm tired, I need to rest!!"

Understanding Santino's feelings of loss, Gianna didn't provoke him further. Joyously, she returned the blood oath marker to its rightful owner, her lover John Wick, then, arm in arm with John, she turned and left.

Leaving Santino, who had lost everything, standing at his room door, sorrowfully shedding tears alone.

Meanwhile, back in New York, as Castle, driving Abraham's car with Henry and his son, rushed towards New Jersey to find Abigail's body, he suddenly received a system notification.

"Ding... Due to John Wick retrieving his blood oath marker from Santino D'Antonio, the plot of 'John Wick 2' has been completely altered. This outcome is the result of relentless efforts by the host, and the plot has been changed by one hundred percent (the plot had no chance to begin). Therefore, a targeted reward is awarded to the host.

Congratulations to the host, you've received the 'Underwater Breathing' skill.

Skill description: 'Underwater Breathing' allows the host to extract oxygen directly from water, enabling breathing underwater without time constraints!"

"Wow, did John get his blood oath marker back from Santino? Gianna must have helped, huh? Man, John's so lucky to have a girlfriend like Gianna who's utterly devoted to him.

Eh, underwater breathing? Does that mean I'm practically a merman now? Um... a merman, damn, that's not a pretty picture!

So, like a less impressive Aquaman? Haha, I won't need to carry around an oxygen tank when I dive anymore!"

Foolishly shortsighted, Castle failed to appreciate the formidable potential of unlimited underwater breathing, focusing only on the convenience it provided for diving—an utter waste of such a magnificent gift!

Still basking in self-satisfaction in the driver's seat and caught up in his excitement, Castle suddenly remembered that now was not the time to be joyful, with two anxious father and son in the backseat. Snapping back to reality, Castle quickly subdued his excitement, driving with utmost seriousness. He applied his driving skills, learned from 'Vanessa Lopez,' to the fullest, turning Abraham's gray BMW into a streak of lightning.

"I'm helping Abraham find his mother, huh... he probably won't mind a speeding ticket, right?"

With this in mind, Castle, showing off his almost divine driving skills to Henry and his son in the backseat, couldn't help but think cheekily!

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