Going towards the orphanage, Arthur took out his cell phone and called Augusto.
"Hi, man. This is Felipe talking!" His voice came out as naturally as possible. It doesn't even look like he just extorted someone for all his money.
"Ah, hello Felipe. Before I can say anything, is that money in my account really real?" Excitement shone with every word. It is not something you earn every day to just accept.
"First of all, I will explain two things to you. First: It is not YOUR account anymore, but mine. Second: Yes, it is for real. You will only be able to withdraw anything from this money if I say or authorize it." His cold reply shuddered Augusto's back.
"Okay, okay. I didn't really do much to win this. But how did you get it all?" A hint of disappointment was noticeable, but it hasn't yet shaken the happiness of the new six digits.
"These are past waters. The most important thing is that you and your family will not be leaving the house for the next three days. Don't step out. Tell your bosses that you are sick, or your mother has gotten worse. Any excuse , but don't leave. Got it? " No concern came from his voice. The only reason he said that was that Augusto was a passive person in the operation, and should not be caught because of his greed.
"Okay, man. You're in charge!" In the meantime, he was thinking, 'With that R$ 20.000, even if I lose my other jobs, there shouldn't be too much turmoil.'
"Great. One last thing. Call a motorcycle taxi and leave your card at the address I'm sending. Immediately. I need it to buy some things."
"That's right, I'll send it now!"
Arthur stopped at the point where he said to send the card and waited.
A few minutes later, a driver left the card and left. Augusto paid for the race.
'He must be very happy now that he is more or less rich.' Arthur let out a light laugh.
Then he started walking back to the orphanage.
***
8:30 am
As soon as he reached the doors of the orphanage, Edna was already waiting for him. She was forced to stay here waiting for her arrival.
"Finally the poor little baby showed up !!. Do you think this is a nightclub to get in and out whenever you want!?!? You're really in trouble if you think that ..." Before she could finish her sentence, Arthur stared at her.
"Did I give you permission to speak?" His cold eyes penetrated Edna's soul. He saw nothing more than a person who called only for his own gain. Whether they are moral or financial.
That look prickled up to the last hair that Edna had. Soon after that, he continued.
"Great, better now." And entered the orphanage.
Edna was still paralyzed by fear in front of the gate for about 2 minutes.
***
Before going to his room, he went to the orphanage director's office. As soon as he entered, he saw the director talking on the phone. She was a fat and ugly woman, her face was scary. Then he took R$ 2000 that he had previously taken from one of the cashiers in the Centro Residencial and threw it on top of his table.
"Look, honey, it was a pleasure talking to you, but an emergency came up here. I'm going to hang up, bye." Even before the answer came from the other side, she had already hung up. "What will this money be used for?"
"Freedom." Arthur already knew that his director took bribes for some purposes. When he was just 8, he saw a man handing her a bag of money in exchange for spending a few days with a girl from the orphanage.
"And what do you think this is all going to do for me?" An unattractive smile appeared on his ugly face.
He then closed the door and took out the gun. "I'm just being nice." His cold eyes once again did their job. He had nothing to say about her, as he already knew her true nature
"Okay. What do you want?" Her expression contained a little fear, but it still emitted an unshakable pride.
"Only three conditions. First: I, along with Thomas, want complete freedom to leave whenever I want and return whenever I want. Second: What's inside that room is under my jurisdiction. If I want to tear down the walls and put a car inside, it will be my own problem. Third: If someone does something with Thomas and I don't know for you, but for him, your life will be nothing but hell. "
Before she could say anything, Arthur was already gone.
"It looks like a new demon has emerged." She was relieved that he was gone, but not much for his words.
***
When he got to his room, he opened the door and went inside. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a small boy on his bed, wrapped in the thin sheet.
Entering very slowly, he walked towards him and spoke.
"Tom? Are you awake?" His voice was low, but audible.
After receiving no response, he sighed with relief and turned to his bed. The moment he removed the bag from his back, a sharp pain appeared in his spine.
"You idiot !!! How dare you leave me waiting until dawn for you and one of these hours comes as if nothing had happened!?!?!?!?!?" Each word came with a kick or a punch towards Arthur.
He let himself get those punches and kicks, because he really thought he deserved it. But after a while, it started to hurt.
"Hey hey, calm down, man. I'm fine, and I'm sorry if I didn't come last night. Something unexpected happened, and I had to sleep outside." Arthur spoke while holding Thomas's small arms.
Even being held, Thomas still did not feel relieved, and began to try to get rid of it. But after a minute of fighting, he gave up and started to cry.
"But why didn't you call the orphanage saying you were going to be late!?!? I stayed until 4:00 am waiting for you. You could have died and left me here alone !!" Her small eyes shed more and more tears.
Arthur then hugged him and comforted him.
"Now you don't have to worry anymore. I'm alive and right by your side. Worrying like that at this age will only make you grow older faster." The two laughed a little, and eased the tension in the room.
After they parted, Arthur took the bag and pulled out the PSP.
"Here's your New Year's gift!" A happy expression appeared on Arthur's face.
Even though it was an old video game, it was still very much out of their condition.
A surprised and happy look appeared on Thomas's face.
"How awesome !! Where did you get that ???"
"Let's say I won some things this New Year." Arthur laughed happily as he lay on the bed.
"But don't think I still forgave you for today." A sullen face soon appeared on Thomas's face.
"Okay, okay. Now, go change clothes. We're going to do some shopping."