Chapter 24: CH24: Get out of here!
Sterling was holding a vial that had some inscription around it. He was checking the composition of the vial. Sterling recognised some of it from the research he did. After learning about his family's background on Hunter's side, Sterling was concerned about the inbreeding. So, he did some research to understand. There were stories about a mysterious liquid. "Sterling, what is that thing? Do you know about your grandfather's medication?"
"Lisa, is this the only stuff you found in here?"
"There were a bunch of other stuff but I didn't want to touch any of it!"
Sterling didn't want to get Lisa involved in any of his issues with Hunter. But her curiosity will eventually get to the bottom of it. "Let's go eat breakfast and then we can go for a walk!" Sterling changed the subject because they were likely being watched by whoever was helping Hunter. Sterling had the time to snoop around the house but Hunter's room was out of his range. Now, his absence was the right opportunity for him but he couldn't alert the household.
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An hour later, Sterling was walking outside the house with Lisa who was holding his arm. Sterling was thinking about the discovery from Hunter's room. Lisa was making sure to savour every moment she got with him but she wanted to know more about her uneasiness in Hunter's room. "Sterling, now that we're alone, tell me what's that thing I found in your grandfather's room!"
"His side of the family had a weird history. You see, none of my family members know about it. My grandfather had a child outside of his marriage. The kid was an inbred."
"What! As in..."
"Yes, he had a sexual relationship with one of his blood-related family members. The vial had an advanced drug inside it. It has components that can correct the consequences of inbreeding. And all this is a hypothesis, I came up with after doing the research on his side of the family."
"So, Ophelia's brother is an inbred."
"To be honest, I don't want to fill your head with too much information. Maybe we can talk about it some other time."
"Are you sure about it? You just told me a taboo subject and you don't want to explain further."
"It's not that. I don't want to get into it without solid proof. I sent the details to a friend. He'll get back to me."
While they were walking by the sidewalk, they came across a familiar face. "If it isn't my handsome nephew!"
"Aliza, are you going to our place?"
"Yes, I wanted to see this young lady but here we are. Why don't you two come to my place? It's nearby!"
"What do you say, Lisa?"
"Well, I do want to get to know your family so why not!" The three of them went to Aliza's place.
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In Catherine's room, Catherine, Amber and Ophelia were having a serious discussion about what transpired. "So, Amber! What the hell!!!"
"I'm sorry about that Ophelia. I didn't know what came over me. You gave me so much confidence, I just thought if I didn't take the chance, I would just die a virgin."
"Oh, Amber! I wanted you to be honest with your feelings. You just had to express how you felt through words. Not in action!"
"Sometimes, actions have more effect than words! That's how you get to lose your V card, Amber!" Catherine joined the conversation.
"Wait...you are not a virgin, anymore!" Amber was surprised by the revelation. She exchanged looks between her and Ophelia.
"Don't look at me! I'm finding out about it with you!" Ophelia frowned.
"Oh please, I had Sydney Sweeney in my room. What did you think I'd do with her?"
"Well, I thought your extreme affection for Jesus would prevent it. Wait, didn't Sterling stay that night here?"
"No, he was being a good big brother and did what I asked him to do!" Catherine laughed to herself.
Amber was let down by this revelation. "Oh great, my best friend lost her virginity and I still didn't get to first base!"
"Why did you think I was setting you up with my brother?"
"Catherine, you were playing Cupid too!"
"Mom, you know how much I love Amber. If she becomes my sister-in-law, she will literally be my family. And you know how much I love my family!"
"But you know about his relationship, right?"
"Oh, please! You prefer Eva over Amber! Just think about it, don't you want cute quarter Asian grandkids who look like this beauty!" Catherine moved closer to Amber rubbing her face. Amber had mixed feelings about the way Catherine touched her because of the recent revelation of her being bi.
"Ophelia, I'm really sorry for jumping on your son like that. And I appreciate you for trying to help me but I don't think I can ever see him after making a fool of myself."
"You see, Mom! Eva wouldn't say such deep words. This girl is a keeper," said Catherine.
"Catherine, I appreciate the fact that you're defending your friend but this is not a rivalry between Amber and Eva. Even though, I'd prefer to have Amber date my son over Eva. Sterling was clearly showing interest in you so it's better if you clear things with him instead of thinking about what happened at the gym shower. You are a pretty attractive girl. You're smart and lively. If my boy doesn't see it, I will take him to my eye specialist." Ophelia placed her hand on Amber's shoulder and gave her some hope for the future. Before she was about to leave, she warned Catherine. "And you, do not interfere in your brother's love life!"
"How come you get to do it and I don't?"
"Because I'm his mother and you're not!"
Catherine pouted which put a smile on Amber. Catherine started giggling with her as Ophelia closed the door behind her.
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A couple of minutes later, at Aliza's place, Lisa and Aliza were talking. Sterling went to sit on the couch next to Kevin, Aliza's roommate who was watching something on his laptop. The moment he sat next to him, Kevin closed his laptop like he was trying to hide something. "What was that about?"
"Nothing!"
"O...kay! What were you doing?"
"I was looking for something to eat!"
"Well, I was wondering, what do you do for a living?"
"Not impregnating cute blonde girls! Seriously, man! How did you do it? How did you feel when your sperm entered get vagina?"
"Dude, who starts a conversation like that? You're being weird."
"Is your mother doing alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine. See, that's some proper conversation topic."
"How close are you with her? I mean you did spend some time away from her but you seem to be making more progress in your relationship."
"I don't know why you're interested in my relationship with my mother." Kevin seemed to be frustrated about something. He was biting his nails and then he went to his room taking his laptop with him.
'Hmmmm...Kevin, Aliza's roommate seemed to be hostile towards me. It was clear that he was interested in her but didn't have the balls to make a move. Then again, Mom hates him and...wait...he was interested in my relationship with Mom. Could it be..!' Sterling got a call. Be went outside because it was from Detective Wilson. "Hey, did you see the label I sent you?"
[Your intuition was correct. Hunter's family was using this drug to prevent the irregularities of inbreeding but from what I've learned, your family had adapted to this drug and you have already inherited these effects by birth.]
"I don't understand."
[I'm at the hospital lab with your doctor. She's testing the blood samples of you and your family women. She has tested the blood sample we got from Hunter. The components were already present in his blood vessels.]
"Which is understandable because of his past with his mother and their inbred son!"
[I thought the same. But what's surprising is that your sisters and you have the same results. Here, I'll let the doctor explain it to you.]
Lola started talking. [Sterling, you have a handsome friend here!]
"Please don't fuck him! Just tell me what's that thing!"
[Could you deliver the original drug to me so that I can check it?]
"I'll have it delivered to you. But is it true that me and my family members share the effects of the drug."
[My theory is that your family was using this drug for generations until it became part of your system. And I can confirm it only with the subject in hand.]
"What about my dad? Did you test his blood?"
[I was going to but your detective friend is making me feel things I shouldn't feel behind my husband's back.]
"Lola, be serious!"
[I'm messing with you. See you soon, Sterling!] Detective Wilson continued the conversation following from Lola. [I'll come pick up the vial. If I stay any longer, she will remove my pants and we will both lose our jobs.]
"Your job too!"
[I'm pretending to be a nurse again. To keep an eye on Hunter!]
"Thanks, Wilson, I appreciate your help!"
[Help? Kid, you're paying me to do this.]
"Still, it means a lot!"
After Sterling hung up, he heard a noise by the window. He went closer to see what that was. It was an opened window of Kevin's room. He was talking to someone from a burner phone. The voice was modified to hide his true self. "Listen if I don't get a video of you fucking your son by tonight, I'll leak the footage of you jerking him off!"
Sterling had his suspicions but now it was getting clear. Kevin was probably talking to his mother. But he could be wrong. He didn't want to make any rash decisions. 'Mom said the person who was threatening goes by Evil Kniev L. It's obvious that he was using an anagram with his first name but I need more clues to see if he has connections to Hunter.' Sterling left to join the girls to get some more clues and clearance.
But before he could leave, he dialled someone else. "Hey, you old shit! I'm leaving you a voicemail. That's right, if you don't honor our pact I'm going rogue. Get back to this message, Hunter! Otherwise, I'll tell Aliza what you asked me to do. I don't care if you reveal my stuff. If I go down, I'll take you with me!"
That was enough convincing for Sterling to enter the room. Kevin was taken out of his chair by the sound Sterling made by hopping in through the window. "What? What are you doing inside my room? Fuck, I left my window open."
"Answer my question!" Sterling stretched his fist and approached him slowly. "Are you Evil Kniev L?"
"Sterling, wait a minute we can talk about this!"
"I'm more in a state where I need explanation otherwise my fist will go through your fat!"
"Listen your grandfather told me to threaten your mother. He said I'll get a chance to fuck her."
"So, he's involved. You don't mind confessing about his involvement, right?"
Kevin was backing down a little. He was reluctant to answer. "You did mention taking him down with you, right? So, I assumed you don't care if he goes down."
"..."
"So, violence, it is!"
"Listen, Sterling, I've done things that I can't share. If I tell you about it, Hunter will release my secrets."
"Hunter isn't going to do shit. He's hospitalised."
"You don't understand, Sterling! He has connections. There are people working for him. They will..."
"Fuck it! You're not worth the effort!" Sterling turned around and swung his leg to roundhouse kick the shit out of Kevin through the door. He went crashing into the door with the pain aching his back. "You piece of shit!"
"Sterling, what going on?" Aliza came running. Sterling grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the living area.
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By the time, Ophelia got to Aliza's house, Sterling was still holding onto his grudge. "Okay, as much as I love to see Kevin beaten up, why do I have a feeling that Sterling has something to do with it?" Ophelia asked. Aliza guided her to sit down on the couch. In front of them, Kevin was on his knees and Sterling was keeping his eyes on him.
"Start talking!" He ordered by slamming his hand beside him. Kevin gulped and started talking.
"When I was a kid..."
"No one gives a shit about your backstory! We won't feel sympathy for you after what you did."
"...I had a crush on Ophelia. I tried to seduce her even though she was married. So, I became friends with Aliza to get close to Ophelia. Then Aliza started losing weight catching my interest." Sterling tapped his fingers a little faster. "So, I tried to use my charm on her instead of Ophelia but it didn't work either. So, I used my knowledge of hacking to hack David's laptop to gain some materials that I could use to get Ophelia to my bed. That's when I found out..."
"Get to the point! Are you the only one who is in on this?" Sterling stopped him.
"....yes! I hacked David's laptop. Found some intimate pictures of Ophelia and threatened her to perform sexual activities with..!"
"And..?"
"I planted cameras around the house. I was selling Aliza's showering and masturbation videos on the dark net with her face hidden to earn my life." Sterling got up and kneed him across his face. Lisa pulled him back before he could do more damage and guided him back to his seat.
"Calm down, Sterling! You're making it worse!"
"Okay enough! Aliza, I told you this guy was no good. You saw a friend in him but he was after something else." Ophelia was furious. "You're not getting away with this!"
"Actually, he is!" Sterling got up from his seat. "I beat the shit out of him. If we get to the cops, I'll be in trouble too. I'm thinking of kicking him out of this house and letting him find himself on his own."
"You can't do that. This is my house too!"
"When was the last time you paid the bills for this house?" Kevin looked away after Ophelia stating the fact that Kevin was freeloading. "I'm okay with Sterling's plan."
"We're all leaving, Kevin! I will come back tonight! If I see anything that belongs to you or any hidden cameras in this house, I won't hesitate to finish what I started."
Sterling left the house with the women leaving Kevin struggling to get up after being beaten up. He slowly picked up his stuff and started packing it. Outside the house, Sterling was walking furiously in front. Aliza was walking as she was resting her head on her sister's shoulder after realising her intimate moments were leaked. Lisa was trying to calm Sterling down. "Sterling, take a deep breath and start thinking!"
"I know you didn't approve of the way I handled the situation. But that guy used my loved ones. When our child gets into this world, I'll give them a safe environment. Which means getting rid of people like him. He used his condition to gain sympathy from my aunt and hurt her feelings by betraying their friendship to get some thrill. That's something I won't tolerate."
"I understand but you can't behave like that again! Just think about the consequences. You want to be a chemist, right? Is that how you do your projects? Use your brain! Make a detailed plan then execute it! That's the man I fell in love with!"
They all arrived at the Johnson household. The girls went inside whereas Sterling stayed at the door. He looked at the house one more time and started digging his thoughts. 'She's right! I want to give my girls a Hunter-free environment. But he has power and background. I need to use my resources too. Instead of acting out blindly, I need to use my brain. I have allies inside and outside the house. I have to think of what I'm about to do. Just like Lisa said, a detailed plan. That's what I have to do."