Jade knew that she would not like the answer she would get and now she wasn't even sure whether she wanted to hear the answer.
"Three of them got injured protecting you and the other one is fine." After hearing this, she couldn't help but feel guilty for putting them through all of this. They were her besties growing up when she had no one. She wanted to apologize to them for her foolishness as soon as they regained consciousness.
But a sudden realization hit her. He said that three of them were dead and one was fine but she perfectly remembered that there were only three, Sera, Aria and Jaxon. So, how... Four??
She voiced out her thoughts, "Uncle, I perfectly remember that there were only three, then why did you say four? I even remember Cassandra saying four top-notch assassins would die because of me. I thought it was a misunderstanding but now after hearing it from you, I am quite sure that it isn't just a misunderstanding. "
"I knew that you would ask this question. How about you ask it from the fourth one only? "says her uncle.
With that being said, he left and a woman with sharp grey eyes and beautiful jet-black hair, tied in a ponytail, entered. She gave a cold vibe but as soon as her eyes landed on Jade,her eyes softened and concern flickered in her eyes but it soon morphed to anger.
The anger was directed not at Jade but at Cassandra.
"Who are you? " Jade asked, without beating about the bush.
The woman replied, "They call me fierce, ruthless and deadly. A force to be reckoned with. The invincible lady whom even death can't lay its icy hands on. They call me... "
"The Phantom Empress... It's you. " stammered Jade. Her breath caught in her throat, the name ringing a bell in her memory.
The woman just smirked and said, "You remember me. Just like my father protected your father, I was given the job of protecting you with everything in me but I am a shadow guard of yours. I don't protect you openly but am always working in the shadows. "
Jade remembered her six-year-old self being introduced to a nine-year-old girl. Her father told her that she would protect her just like her father had always protected him. At that time she didn't understand all of this but now she does. The reason she grew up under protection from the outside world was not because she was the daughter of a business typhoon, rather it was because she was the heiress of the powerful Collins empire.
She finally started to realise how complicated her life was. Her world had turned upside down. Everything she had ever known about her family was a beautiful lie intricately woven to make it look real but now the web they had woven was finally tearing apart.
"Leave... " ordered Jade.
"You can call me Storm. Take care. "With that being said, she left.
Jade was again left all alone in the hospital room to wallow in self-pity. So much had happened in her life in such a short period - her waking up in the hostel room with blood on her hands, her father's death, finding out that she was now the mafia boss, her abduction, the injury of her besties and meeting Storm.
She hoped that all this would just be a nightmare; she would wake up and everything would be fine but she knew it wasn't, this was her reality and there was no escape.
Her father would never return, and neither her besties would. As if this wasn't enough, she didn't know how she had blood stains on her face when she woke up in her hostel room, she felt another headache coming.
She had questions and she needed answers but there was no one to answer her. After all, which sane person would believe that she had blood staining her face after she woke up and she doesn't know how?
"I need answers. Please, God! " cried Jade and with that, she succumbed to the desire to sleep.
Tristen was watching everything happening, he saw Jade's pained expression and heard her last words loud and clear before she went to sleep. He pondered on her words, 'Does she think that God would come and answer her if she just kept bawling her eyes out like a crybaby and sleeping like a log? Is this how she is going to take over as the head of her family? She has a long way ahead of her and if she remains this weak, I am afraid she won't survive in this world tainted by violence and deceit. Though she is really something to have survived that blast.' Only if Jade knew his thoughts, she would kill him again. How dare he say that she sleeps like a log? How dare he call her a crybaby? Only if she knew... Sigh!
Meanwhile, Jade woke from her slumber after an hour. After finding the room empty, she got up from the bed and decided to find her uncle to ask him about her discharge formalities. She had just opened the door slightly when she heard her uncle speaking, "Jade must not find this report, since she is still injured and has not fully recovered yet. Give it to Storm to keep it safe and also check for any clues in the room. Seal it so that no one can enter it and the investigation on it can be done unhindered. "
The men nodded at his order and left. Jade quickly closed the door and ran back to her bed to lie down. Her uncle entered the room as soon as her back hit the bed. He came to stand beside her, patted her head softly and spoke, "Your discharge papers are almost ready, we will leave after a few hours so you can take a nap till then. You must be tired. "
Jade smiled weakly in return and spoke, "I already took a nap and now I am bored, so could you please send Storm inside? ". He, for once, did not doubt anything and sent Storm inside. Jade was relieved at that. She had heard the conversation and now she wanted to know what he was hiding from her. Which room was he talking about? And whose report is he hiding?
Storm entered the room and immediately sensed that Jade wanted her to do something. She was more than happy to carry out any order given to her by Jade especially this one since this was the first time Jade was ordering her.
"Let's not beat around the bush. You have a task for me, don't you? "said Storm.
"I do. My uncle would have handed over a report to you, l want it. "Jade replied.
She was so shocked that she almost lost her balance. She thought her ears were playing a trick on her but as she saw Jade's unyielding gaze, she knew she heard it right. The only problem was that Jade was not supposed to know about that report and the fact that it was handed over to her but she knew it. This was bad.
Nevertheless, Storm still thought of pretending like she didn't know what Jade was talking about.
"I don't know which report you are talking about. I think that you are mistaken," said Storm with a stone-cold face.
Jade arched her brows and gave Storm a pointed look. "Storm, hand over the report to me. It's an order! " Storm hesitated to hand over the report to her. She wasn't sure she was ready for this but she had no other choice. If she was the boss now, she had to act like it. Jade finally said, "You take orders from me, Storm, not my uncle. I am the boss, not him. So, it's obvious that my orders outrule his. You know what I mean. Don't make me repeat myself. "
Storm took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice, "I'll bring the report if you want it but... Brace yourself for the impact because that report was hidden from you for a reason. "
Storm went out and Jade carefully thought about Storm's words. What did she mean by 'brace yourself for the impact'? After hearing this, she wasn't even sure whether she wanted to see the report or not. Storm came back moments later with a report in her hand and handed it over to Jade. "I'll stand outside, call me when you're done with it. "with that she left.
When she opened the report she was so shocked that she almost fell from the bed.Why was her uncle hiding this from her?! She just couldn't make sense out of it.
Her fingers trembled as her eyes scanned the first few lines. It was... Her father's 'Post Mortem Report' and something in it didn't make sense. Something…terrifying.