"Why are you still keeping quiet? Come on. Is there anything you two are hiding from me?"
Mr. Adranis asked for the second time.
Left with no other option, Casper decided to answer him.
Letting out a wry smile, Casper blinked severally.
"Yes, there is."
Suddenly, tense silence settled in the room.
At this point, Jean was almost exploding with rage. He didn't know what Casper was about to tell Mr. Adranis, but he suspected that it might be one of the things they had agreed on not to reveal to the guy.
Just at that moment, Evelyn came out of the kitchen and started clearing the table.
Lingering for a moment, Casper spoke
"I would like to have a private discussion with you."
"It is fine, but I was just about to hold a discussion with Jean."
Mr. Adranis intervened.
"It is fine. But this is urgent and it is the reason we are here."
Casper stated in a serious voice.
Suddenly, Mr. Adranis nodded gently.
"Okay, fine. Then let's get out."
"But before we do that, my friend here has a request."
Casper said in a friendly tone while holding back Mr. Adranis, preventing him to leave the premises.
A little bit confused, Mr. Adranis stopped in his tracks and immediately turned back to face Jean before gazing at Casper.
"Which request?"
"He would like to borrow your cellphone. He needs to contact his family so that he can arrange for his departure. "
With that, there was silence, as the three parties threw curious glances at each other.
"But I thought that you already had a cellphone. Why can't he use yours to contact his family?"
Mr. Adranis inquired.
"Firstly, the cellphone is dead, secondly, it doesn't have bundles for international calls."
Suddenly, Mr. Adranis was dazed.
"International! So, he isn't from this country?"
Mr. Adranis asked out of confusion.
Just as Casper was about to answer, Jean chimed in to salvage the situation.
"Actually, I was born in this country and I am a citizen in this country, too. It is only that I would like to check on some of my family members who visited a different country during the time that I was on my way to see my friend here. It only that they kept the name of the country private. They wanted to surprise me when the get there. But unfortunately, when they arrived, my cellphone was already dead, so, I didn't communicate with them."
Jean lied through his teeth.
At this point, he didn't have an option but to lie to the guy if he had to avoid questions of how he came to Ferro.
"So, the cellphone is yours?"
Mr. Adranis inquired.
With a gentle nod, Jean responded.
"Yes."
Licking his lips, Mr. Adranis lingered.
"And how is knowing their current location aid your departure?"
Mr. Adranis asked.
Although Jean didn't spot this gap in his answer, he was still able to quickly come up with an appropriate response.
"I can only return home if they are back. So, I would like to ask them how long it might take them to come back. This way, I can know the best time to leave. "
With a nod, Mr. Adranis responded.
"That makes sense."
During the time of this conversation, Casper was holding himself back from ruining the conversation since he knew very well that Jean was lying to the old man. It was at this point that he came to understand the kind of person that he had been harbouring all this while.
He even started suspecting that Jean must have lied to him already.
He could have ruined this moment, but since he understood that the boy was doing this for the sake of his own safety, he let the matter slide.
'Even so, I couldn't have thought of such a perfect answer. This boy is smart and intelligent. Now I am starting to understand why he was kidnapped in the first place. If he could be wielding some powers, he could have made a good sparing partner. He has some brain muscles, something that most of these powerful individuals luck.'
Casper contemplated on the matter as he gazed at Jean with admiration.
At this point, he had started feeling lucky to have crossed paths with Jean. Although it was just an inner feeling, he still found it real.
'Having such a quick witted guy as a friend is a plus for me. Now I see why he was able to outsmart his adversaries. I am quiet sure that he didn't need to flex a muscle to free himself. The internal injuries could have resulted from the torture he received while still in their hands.'
When Mr. Adranis was satisfied with Jean's response, he instructed the boy to wait for him as he went to his room.
As the two were left together, Casper wanted to ask the blonde haired something before they heard Mr. Adranis entering the living room.
"Jean, come have the cellphone. And you block head, step out for our private discussion."
Mr. Adranis shouted instructions while standing in the living room.
The two then got to their feet simultaneously before leaving the dining area.
Jean walked straight to Mr. Adranis as Casper waddled out of the house.
"You can use it as much as you want. After all, my friend's friend is also my friend."
Mr. Adranis said as he handed over the cellphone to Jean.
"Thank you so much, sir."
"My pleasure."
With that, Mr. Adranis walked out of the house.
When the two had left, Jean threw a quick glance at Evelyn who was now cleaning the table and let out a frustrated sigh.
He needed privacy and the presence of Evelyn in the house, couldn't give him the freedom to carryout his private mission.
***
Outside of the house at the back of the small house present in the compound, there stood two female workers facing each other.
The first one was in her early twenties whereas the second one was in her early thirties.
"Did you see the handsome boy that Casper came with?"
The first worker said.
"Of course I did. What about him?"
The second responded.
"He is our boss's son."
"Who told you?"
"His looks told me. Can't you see how he resembles Mr. Adranis?"
With a muffled chuckle, the second worker responded.
"You need some goggles to boost your eyesight. Which resemblance are you talking about. If it is their gender I a gree."
The first worker glowered.
"Okay, but just know that he is his son."
"If he is indeed his son, where has he been all this while since I have been working for Mr. Adranis for a period of eleven years. And never for once did I ever set my eyes on him or even heard of him."
The second worker added.
"Stop being jealous."
Just at that moment, Wedge happened to be passing by and eavesdropped the conversation.
"What are you two talking about?"
Wedge said as he approached the two.
Dropping their heads in embarrassment, the two went mute for a moment.
A couple of seconds later, the first worker broke the silence.
"It..it's nothing. We were just taking a short rest before we commence our duties."
"Yes... yes, Wedge."
The second worker added.
"I know your true character, you two. So, don't waste your precious energy trying to lie to me. I already know what your discussion was all about. It was about our visitors. But let me shine you some lights. The boy you are talking about has no relationship with our boss. If there is someone who knows our boss well then it is me. I know all of his family members. So, scoot before I change my mind."
As soon as Wedge was done with his statement, the two flee in opposite directions as if running from a burning house.
***
When Jean analysed the condition of his surroundings, he immediately saw it important to step out of the house and look for a private spot to make his call. He was wary that someone could eavesdrop his conversation and Jeopardise his efforts of returning to his home.
Without further hesitations, Jean walked out of the house and scanned the surroundings. When he didn't notice anyone in the compound, he turned to his right and headed in the direction of the gate.
When he got at the edge of the wall of the house, he turned around and checked to see if anyone had noticed him. When he didn't see anyone he ducked and hid at the corner of the wall.
This was the moment he dialled his mum's contact and put through the call.
After ringing for a couple minutes, the phone on the other end was received. Suddenly, Jean's heart skipped a beat, as he struggled to compose himself and talk his mind.
He recounted how he wasted the previous chance of talking to his mum. This time around, he wasn't going to repeat the same mistake. He wanted to make this chance count by going straight to the point.
＼(^-^)／