Marcel's finger pointed at the addition problem in the workbook, and his brow furrowed as though questioning his nephew's intelligence.
"The method is very simple to understand," he said, his voice sharp. "So why can't you understand it?"
Leo scratched his head; his face filled with confusion. "Uncle, it doesn't make any sense. Why do I have to add like that? It's weird."
Marcel exhaled heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't matter if it's weird or not. That's just how it's done."
"Oh… Uncle, may you please show me again?" Leo pleaded, his tone innocent like he truly wasn't doing this on purpose.
Marcel regretted it. He now thought maybe, just maybe, his sister should be the one to teach him. A little scolding might get the calculation into that thick skull. He tapped the page and said, "Add six plus eight."
Leo began counting on his fingers, muttering under his breath. "Seven, eight, nine… seventeen."
Marcel froze, looking at his nephew like he was looking at an idiot. "…Where did you get seventeen from?"
Leo blinked sheepishly as he asked, "It's not correct?"
Marcel dragged his hand down his face aggressively, fighting the urge to lose his temper. He was starting to suspect Leo was doing this on purpose. They had been going at it for forty-five minutes, and the brat still couldn't solve the problems.
While he was calming himself down, a knock suddenly came from the office door. Marcel glanced at Leo and said, "Count again."
Leo pouted, but he started to count, his little fingers wiggling. His small voice filled the room as he counted, "Seven… eight…"
"Come in," Marcel called, looking at the door.
The door opened, and Archie stepped inside, his pink hair damp with sweat. "Boss," he said, but when his eyes landed on Leo, he instantly shut his mouth.
Marcel instantly understood. Whatever Archie had to say wasn't meant for Leo's ears. He got up and grabbed Archie's arm before leading him out of the office. "Keep working on the questions," he said to Leo before closing the door firmly behind him.
Inside the room, Leo sat in silence while glaring at the numbers he didn't understand in the workbook. His pout deepened as he looked around the office. Unable to sit still anymore, he got up and walked across the office to his uncle's desk. Curious, he reached for one of the forbidden drawers his uncle had told him not to touch. Leo hesitated only for a second before opening it.
He pulled the bottom drawers, but they were locked. He turned his attention to the top two drawers, and they opened easily. The first one was filled with papers and snacks. There was a half-empty packet of jerky, some crumbled receipts, and neatly stacked documents.
Leo opened the second drawer, and after rummaging through, he found a picture frame with a cracked glass. The frame must have been dropped by accident. Leo pulled it out quickly and took a look. It was a picture of his much younger uncle in a military uniform. Beside him was a young man with brown hair, kissing his uncle's cheeks. His uncle had on a faint, shy smile.
Leo stared at the picture curiously while chewing on a strip of beef jerky he had taken from the drawer. He knew his uncle had been in the army, but he never told him stories about it.
Meanwhile, outside the office, Marcel asked, "What's going on?"
Archie shifted uneasily before saying, "We got a call from Mr. Ren. He said you had a scuffle with his nephew today… and now he wants a fight tonight."
Marcel sneered, saying, "He wants me to fight his nephew?"
Archie shook his head before saying, "No. He said he would… pick someone to fight in his place."
Marcel's lips curled into a sly smile as he asked, "What are his conditions?"
Archie licked his dry lips nervously and said, "They said they don't want anything. They just want to put you in your place."
Marcel's eyes narrowed. This had happened before, and he wasn't at all surprised. He just had to end the fight quickly and move on. "Fine. Let's see if they will put me in my place then."
He turned, heading back into his office, but Archie grabbed his arm and said worriedly, "Boss, let me fight in your place. You don't have to do this yourself."
Marcel sighed and said, "I caused this, so I will take care of it. Just make sure everyone is vigilant. I don't think that old bastard will play by the rules."
Archie wanted to convince him some more, but he knew it was pointless, so he said, " Sure thing, boss. I will let them know." Marcel patted his shoulder and opened the office door, but his steps froze when he saw what Leo was doing.
Leo was sitting on the couch where he had left him. But he wasn't doing his homework. He was happily eating beef jerky while holding the cracked picture frame.
Marcel's jaw clenched. He had hidden that picture frame for a reason, yet this naughty kid had somehow found it.
Leo held up the cracked picture frame and asked, "Who is this? Your friend?"
Marcel's expression instantly turned cold. He took the picture from Leo and shoved it back into the bottom of the desk drawer. In a warning tone, he said, "I will ban you from my office."
Leo was startled by his uncle's anger. "Uncle, why are you so mad? Did your friend make you angry?" He asked, looking all innocent like he truly didn't understand what he had done wrong.
Marcel ruthlessly said, "Maybe I should tell your mother to help you with your homework."
Leo felt regretful. He shouldn't have looked around his uncle's office when he wasn't there. He hugged Marcel's leg, his small arms wrapped around him.
"Uncle, no! I won't do it again," he said in a pleading tone. Marcel looked at him, unfazed by his pitiful expression.
Leo's voice dropped to a desperate whine, and he said, "Mum is really scary when she teaches me homework. She has crazy eyes and glares at me a lot." Marcel was thinking who wouldn't have crazy eyes if they were teaching someone as hardheaded as Leo.
Marcel arched his brow and said, "I am going to tell her what you said."
Leo's big eyes filled with tears as he begged for mercy, but Marcel didn't fall for his little tricks. He took his phone from his pocket and said, "Do your homework."
Leo pouted as he slumped back onto the couch. He glared at his workbook as though facing a three-headed dragon. Meanwhile, Marcel unlocked his phone and typed a quick message to his sister, Lira.
Cel: Come get your spawn. He is being a menace.
Her reply came almost immediately. She sent a laughing cat sticker followed by a message.
Lira: What did he do now?
Marcel's fingers moved fast as he typed back a response.
Cel: He is causing trouble. Come get him.
Lira sent back an "okay" emoji. She was most definitely on her way. He set his phone down and met Leo's resentful gaze.
"Don't look at me like that," he said. "If you don't do your homework, I will ban you from the gym. I will even put your picture on the notice board with everyone I banned."
Leo wanted to stubbornly defend himself, but he loved coming to the gym after school. The threat was good enough to motivate him to do his homework. He puffed up his cheeks like a pufferfish and lowered his head to do his homework. His fingers moved as he started to count again, saying, " Seven... eight... nine..."
Marcel occasionally leaned closer to see what he was doing and correct his mistakes. An hour later passed like this. When Lira called and told him that she was outside, he came out holding his nephew's small hand. In his other hand, he was carrying Leo's backpack.
Outside, Lira had just parked the car and stepped out when she saw them coming. She walked over and pinched Leo's cheek while asking, " What did you do to make your uncle upset?"
Leo squirmed, trying to get away from those pincers, and said, "Mum, I didn't do anything."
Marcel tossed the backpack into the backseat and said, "Nothing, really?" then pointed inside the car. "Get inside."
"Fine," Leo muttered, climbing into the car with a sulking face. Marcel closed the car door and turned to face his sister.
"Are you not coming home again?" Lira asked, her tone soft but laced with concern.
"I have something to take care of tonight," Marcel replied.
She reached up and fixed his hair like she always did when they were children. "Don't get into trouble."
Marcel smirked and said, "When do I ever get in trouble?"
Lira looked at him as though saying, 'Do I look like I was born yesterday?' She, of all people, knew better than anyone the sacrifices Marcel made to pull out of the grip of the Varcano family. He could take care of himself, but she couldn't help but worry. "Just make sure you get enough sleep," she said. "And don't overwork yourself."
"Yeah, yeah. You worry too much." He pointed at the car window, where Leo's face was plastered against the glass, staring at him with sad, wounded eyes. "His math is shit. He needs help with his homework."
Lira's gaze turned to her son, and that look alone made Leo shudder. He quickly slid away from the window. "I will take care of it," she said, climbing into the car. She waved goodbye to her brother.
"Drive safe," Marcel replied, waving back at her. As the car pulled away, he watched as Leo's eyes looked at him through the car window, looking so sad like he had been wronged. He only looked away when the car had disappeared around the corner. Just then, his senses tensed. He had this feeling of being watched. He looked around.
There was nothing except pedestrians strolling by and cars driving past. There was nothing unusual, but his instincts told a different story. In a place Marcel couldn't see, a man lowered his camera.
He took out his phone and typed a message to an unsaved number: Found him.
The reply came instantly: Good.