The urgency of the situation had wiped the butler's existence out of the equation. At the most crucial moment, the face of their most treasured servant popped up on Tadashi's phone screen. There he was, blood and sweat covering his face, arms behind his back, a block of ice under his foot, and a noose around his neck. Suddenly a countdown clock showed up on the screen.
* Tick * Tock *
"Time's running out. You have to choose what's more important," an auto-tuned voice announced.
"It's a live recording!" Tadashi cried out.
"We don't have time for that! We have a task to finish," his uncle barked.
"He's family too! Send me the address of the warehouse."
"There's no way I'm letting you go there alone; we can't afford to lose manpower. I'll send my man to check on it if it'll make you stop whining."
"Fine."
"We should probably hide our Haoris in a bush somewhere," he looked around.
We collected our coats and decided to smuggle them under a rose bush near the hospital cafeteria. I was responsible for the task as the family tried to reach Kenichi as soon as possible. Tadashi lent his phone to me and told me to watch over the situation. During my stroll inside the hospital, I spotted a man in a black jacket inquiring about my friend's father.
'So, she's not gonna do it herself,' I thought.
I went to the toilet to freshen up and made sure I would blend in with the crowd. There was a minute change in Makoto's fate. His only current savior was the block of ice supporting him from getting asphyxiated. It had been melting at a slow but steady pace. I tried not to glance at it too much as I knew my overreaction would bring no benefit to the situation.
Once the company was handed down to their uncle, we could start on doing the paperwork and securing the firm from their mom. The company couldn't go down straight to Kenji as he lacked the years of formal business management experience; meaning the time he spent after turning 18. It was one of the rules that Shao Tanaka had set for the heir or heiress of the company.
But there was a huge loophole, he didn't mention a specific field of experience the successor needed to possess. This allowed both Roberto and Kelly to qualify as the next head of the law firm as they were both a Tanaka. That was another rule, the heir could be of no blood relation but they must bore the clan name through birth right or marriage.
It could be true that Kelly wouldn't be allowed to provide direct and complete control of the firm to her side of the family. But the rule never stated the prohibition of a change to the original rule. She would be legally allowed to erase those rules and take over her husband's clan the way he did hers.
I took a seat next to a vending machine as I waited for them to revise the will. I felt the phone buzzed under my palm and faced it towards me. I could hear a mumbling sound of someone approaching the camera.
"Boss? It's a decoy! It's just a green screen. No one is here," Roberto's crew informed.
'A decoy?' I repeated under my breathe.
If Makoto wasn't there now, could they have been gone way longer than Roberto had been led to believe? Did they even drop by the warehouse? Where would they be now? Who can we trust? I looked around as my eyes searched wildly; anticipating the appearance of a familiar face somehow. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do but I felt the need to immediately report this founding to my employers.
Something gave me a boost of confidence and energy to drive me into action. I ran up to the fifth floor and crept around the ICU. I crawled beneath the reception desk and proceeded to search for Kenichi's private room. The room was quiet and tranquil with his heart monitor as the only source of noise around me. That distinct hospital disinfectant smell clang onto my nostrils as a rush of cold air ambushed me.
I closed the door behind me to avoid suspicion from any passing doctors or nurses. My gut feeling told me that something was terribly off about the setting. The Tanakas should be here by now. And if they were done with the task, wouldn't someone be guarding the doors or even stayed back as an act of compassion. Furthermore, I hadn't received any new messages or commands from them since I got rid of our clothes.
Before I could take a step closer to see Kenichi's face, I felt a sharp pang on the back of my neck. As my eyes flickered, the lightheadedness took over. My hands reached out in front of me to catch myself. The last thing I saw before my vision cut to black was pair of wooden slippers walking towards me. Its slowed down clacking was still ringing in my ears as I felt my consciousness slipped away.
*****
The pain at the nape of my neck was still prevalent. It was one of those throbbing pain that radiated from the source of the problem. I tried to open my eyes and look around, but it only made my head spin. I could hear shuffling noises coming from the opposite end of the room. And there it was again, the clapping sound of a wooden slipper against the vinyl tiles.
A finger lifted my chin up; I could feel its long nail digging into my skin. I forced my eyes open as the overwhelming amount of bright light flooded in my pupil.
"Ack," I winced.
"Shh… wouldn't wanna wake the old man up, now would we?" Kelly's raspy voice sauntered.
My eyes widened at how close she was to my face once I gained my sight back. It appeared that my friend and the rest of my family had been watching me with their backs against the wall. Hiro's face spoke to me without actually saying a word.
'I'm sorry, we'll think of something,' the curve of his tense eyebrows carried a message.
"Uncle, who would inherit the company if both of our parents were to die?" Tadashi broke the silence in the room.
"Do I have to remind you to shut your mouth again? I'll break pretty little fingers next," Kelly threatened as she caressed my hand.
His face flipped upside down at the reply. I couldn't read his expression that well and somehow made me feel more concerned. Not for my safety, but theirs. He was planning to take action and if I was right about my intuition, then our lives and reputations might end in a matter of minutes.