511: A family issue

A family issue

[MONTHS AGO]1

A pin-drop silence filled the air in one of the meeting rooms in the old residence. Lionel sat in his wheelchair while his wife, Ria, was on the long couch beside him. Grandma Zhu perched in the one-seater armchair while Heaven and Dominic sat right beside each other on the other long couch across from his parents.

None of them dared break the silence, absorbing what Dominic said just now.

"Silas..." After another five long minutes, Lionel's cracky voice pierced the stifling silence. "Dom, these are some serious allegations. Silas might cause trouble every once in a while, but I don't think he is capable of killing his family."

"I hate to compare him to his father, but Leon Zhu planned to kill me in the past." Dominic's plain and cold countenance didn't change, eyes fixed on his parents. "He was a caring uncle and not a troublemaker. But behind that mask lies a monster who could put a child in a tank and pour cement into it so he could sink him into the ocean. I will never forget that face even now; that face while he was planning my death is vivid."

Another wave of silence descended on their shoulders. Lionel pressed his lips into a thin line, lowering his eyes upon hearing Dominic's remarks. 

"Dad, Mom..." Dominic let out a sigh and then glanced at Grandma Zhu. "You did your best so he wouldn't be like his father. Don't blame yourselves. The decisions Silas made were all his responsibility. How you raised him got nothing to do with it."

Ria and Lionel slowly lifted their pain-stricken eyes to their eldest. Despite hearing those words of comfort, they didn't feel any better. Because at the end of the day, they saw Silas as their own as well. No matter how they twist the truth, as parents, they couldn't help but blame themselves for how Silas turned out. 

Maybe they loved him less? Or that they didn't give Silas enough attention? They should've fought Grandma Zhu more fiercely years ago, so Silas wouldn't live abroad. Everything Lionel and Ria did in the past to support Silas behind Grandma Zhu's back was something they automatically overlooked, as they believed they could've done better. They could have done more. 

"No." Heaven broke her silence after assessing her in-laws carefully. "Even if you drain yourselves, your 'more' will never be enough."

Huh?

Deep lines appeared between Ria and Lionel's brows. They gazed at their daughter-in-law, confused. How did she know what they were thinking right now? Little did they know, they didn't have to say it to the others to guess what was going on in their heads. It was already written on their faces. 

"Mom, Dad, as a parent as well, we understand you didn't want to hear this truth," Heaven continued with a sigh. "However, things already happened. Dad is still in a wheelchair. While Mom is doing better, you almost lost your life as well. Basti and Riley and all of us were nearly buried alive in that building. We can't deny the reality anymore."

"We thought long and hard about it." Dominic reached for his wife's hand that was on her lap. "We waited until Miracle was born and we think since she can't hear this anymore, it's best if we talk about what happened. The truth."

All this time, they hadn't addressed the issue properly. Not that they were running away from it, but rather, their priorities were everyone's recovery. On top of that, Heaven was with a child. Therefore, Heaven and Dominic decided to discuss this with them once everyone was emotionally available and stable. Dominic, especially, knew how it was to be slapped by the truth without any preparations. 

It would only result in confusion and denial. He didn't want that.

"Silas took part in the accident that almost killed you two, my son, and my son's friend," Dominic stressed, leaning forward as he slid the folders on the coffee table separating him and his parents. "He wasn't the main culprit, but he was one of the perpetrators."

Lionel and Ria gazed at the folder with hesitation. With shaking hands, Ria picked it up and handed it to Lionel. The latter had his lips drawn into a thin line, reluctant to open the folder that contained the truth. However, Dominic was right. This was the best time to face the truth, and the truth was right inside this folder. 

When Lionel opened the folder, Ria leaned to his side to take a look. Their faces turned darker and darker as they skimmed through the pages and photos attached to them. Yet, sadness still lingered in their eyes. Even though Silas looked almost like Dominic, as parents, they could tell in one glance the difference. 

This was no doubt Silas. 

"Silas didn't save up the allowances you secretly sent him while he was abroad. He used them for gambling. Also, he didn't graduate just as he claimed, but forged his documents." Dominic only allowed a minute of silence before he summarized the important things to save his parents the trouble. "He was drowned in debt due to his addiction, but how did he clear all of them?"

Dominic waited for his parents to raise their heads to look back at him. "To pay that sum of debt, he had to take part in illegal dealing. To be precise, he traded drugs and then smuggled goods. He traded everything. Everything. From smuggled arms to humans."

The more Ria and Lionel listened to their son, the more they could feel their heart clench. Even human trafficking? Smuggling and dealing drugs was already horrible, but even humans? Just how worse would this list go on?

"With all that information laid on the table, I'm hoping you can have an idea of what he is capable of," Dominic continued. "I'm sure he returned to ruin this family, but there's another reason."

"What else is that brat doing?"

"He's the biggest distributor of this new drug in the black market, the supplier of all the gangs and distributors in the country." This time, Grandma Zhu chimed in. Ria and Lionel turned their heads in her direction with surprise, while Dominic and Heaven didn't react much as they were already aware of Grandma Zhu's investigation. 

However, neither Heaven nor Dominic mentioned that Grandma Zhu requested Silas's head, only to retrieve the request after the couple talked her out of it.

"Mother…" Lionel trailed off as Grandma Zhu spoke again.

"You two should focus on your recovery and let these two handle him." Grandma Zhu huffed as she pounded her cane against the floor. "They are telling you this out of respect. If it was me, I would've gotten rid of this brat. I brought Leon into this world, and I should've been the one to deal with him. But I hesitated back then, and look what happened."

Grandma Zhu slowly shifted her eyes to her grandson and granddaughter-in-law. "I still love Leon and Silas, but not at the cost of my entire family and my years of hard work to give this family a good life. Silas already made a choice and harmed this family, just like how his father made a decision. Therefore, I have to decide as well."

"I want him dead," she ended her remarks with a firm tone, looking at everyone in silence.

That was right, though not morally correct. Silas touched the children and played dirty. Since they already had a vague idea that Silas was working with a powerful man, they couldn't easily trust the corrupted system.

This was a fight within the family — a family issue, and thus, they had to settle it as a family. 

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