Chapter 9: Taking A Walk With The Twins

After I was done with the brutal round of push-ups and planks on the cold floorboards, my muscles felt stiff, aching with a dull, burning soreness that reminded me just how fragile this vessel was—but it was a small price to pay for progress. Pain was just feedback.

I decided to head down after washing up; probably breakfast would be ready.

But just as I was stepping down, I paused on the creaking wooden steps, my hands resting lightly against the wall.

I held my breath, blending into the shadows as low, hushed tones echoed from below.

"The loan sharks called again this morning," my father’s voice trembled, raw with a quiet desperation he couldn’t swallow down. "If we don’t make the next payment... I don’t know what they’ll take from us next."

"What about Brianna’s tuition?" Valerie’s voice cracked. "If she goes back after the suspension... the bullying, the fees... how are we supposed to protect her when we can’t even keep a roof over our heads?"

A suffocating silence settled over the room below.

Jayden and Jordan didn’t speak. From where I stood, I could picture them—arms crossed, jaws clenched, staring at the floor. True outcasts in their own pack. They wanted to assure their sister that everything would be fine, but they possessed zero power to back up their promises.

So much for asking them for starting capital, I thought, leaning back against the wall. I had hoped to borrow a small sum, even just ten dollars, to stake at a gambling table once I found one, but this family didn’t have a single copper to spare. They were drowning.

I adjusted the outfit I’d pulled from Brianna’s closet—a faded skirt and a thin, worn shirt that hung loosely on my frame. It made me look utterly destitute, but I possessed a poor vessel in a poor household. There was no hiding it.

I took the final steps down, my footsteps intentionally light.

Jayden caught sight of me first. His eyes widened slightly, and he used his foot to nudge Jordan’s leg. Jordan looked up instantly, clearing his throat to break the heavy air.

"Brianna. You’re awake."

At the sound of my name, my father and mother raised their heads fast. They hurriedly wiped at their tear-stained, wrinkled faces, forcing frail, trembling smiles onto their lips as if they hadn’t just been weeping over their ruined lives a second ago.

It was painful to watch. But it was painfully human. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

I looked around the small kitchen. There was no food on the counter. A quick pull from Brianna’s memories confirmed why—breakfast wasn’t a standard meal in this house. At most, there was hot water and cheap tea leaves to trick an empty stomach until dinner.

"I’m heading out for a minute," I said, my voice flat as I looked toward the front door. "To clear my head."

Jayden and Jordan exchanged a quick look, pushing off the wall in unison.

"All right," Jayden said, grabbing a light jacket from the hook. "We’re coming with you."

"Yeah, let’s go," Jordan agreed, stepping up beside his brother.

I didn’t object. While I had Brianna’s memories, navigating the maze of rundown alleyways in the Grey Moon territory was still blurry.

Having two guides who knew every backstreet and shortcut would save me time—and keep me from walking blindly into an ambush.

The morning air in the Grey Moon territory was stale, smelling faintly of damp earth and rust.

I kept my chin up, my eyes sweeping our surroundings as we walked down the narrow, cobblestone street. Low-rise, decaying buildings crowded the road, their faded walls covered in peeling paint and old pack notices.

The place was practically run down.

Jayden matched my pace, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets. He threw a quick, side-eye glance in my direction and said, "Why are you walking so stiff? You feel like a completely different person all of a sudden."

"Just tired," I lied smoothly, keeping my tone clipped.

Jordan caught up on my left, unzipping his coat and fishing around in his inner pocket. He pulled out a small, velvet-lined box, worn thin at the edges.

"Here," Jordan said, pressing it into my palm. "Last time we walked past that shop in the market district, you wouldn’t stop staring at it. I’ve been saving up to get it for you."

I looked at the box and then up at him. Then, I opened the box, curious as to what was inside. Inside was a thin silver chain with a simple, polished stone pendant.

My mind immediately dug through Brianna’s memory banks to locate the moment. A month ago, walking past a display window. She’d paused for barely three seconds to stare—not because she expected to ever own it, but because it looked bright in a world that was mostly gray.

It looked expensive. And yet, here it was, in my hands, bought by a family that couldn’t even afford breakfast.

Why waste money on something so useless when you’re drowning in debt? My assassin instincts sneered at the inefficiency. Are these people just utterly stupid? Or do they genuinely not know how to prioritize?

Then I looked at Jordan’s hopeful face, waiting for a reaction, and realized: this was just how they survived. Looking out for each other through small, irrational acts of affection. Something I had never experienced.

"Thank you," I said with a small voice, closing the box. "You really didn’t have to buy this. We needed the money."

Specifically, fifty dollars, I added silently, staring at the box. I could have taken that fifty dollars straight to a table and turned it into five hundred by nightfall.

"Don’t worry about the money," Jordan dismissed, waving a hand. "I’m going to send a little bit of pocket money to your phone later anyway. You’ve been working hard at school."

Ah, can’t say no to that. Come here, pocket money.

"Yeah, me too," Jayden chimed in, kicking a stray pebble with his shoe. "My boss at the casino said he’s giving me a bonus soon because I’ve been picking up extra shifts. We’ll cover the household expenses, don’t worry about it."

My footsteps ground to a halt and I turned to Jayden, my eyes narrowing sharply. "A casino?"

"Yeah. A low-tier one down near the docks. Why?"

A spark ignited in my mind. Eureka! If I can get him to take me to his workplace, I won’t even need to search for an underground den. I can just walk right in.

"Bring me with you," I said directly, my voice laced with a little bit of intent. "Take me to your workplace."