Under the Veil of Night

Shiro's Clinic

Kreeet!

"Excuse me, is there a doctor around?"

Shiro glanced at the door and saw a man walking over with a young girl following after him. He quickly headed over to the person making the inquiry. "Is there anything I can help with, Mr.?"

"I'm Rod Malady, and this my daughter, Lyna Malady," the man replied.

Malady?

Shiro's movement paused for a split second as he recalled his teammate's surname: Tommy Malady. It was exactly the same as that of the man before him. Silently, he toggled on Fiore Group's communication device.

"What happened to this little angel?" Shiro tried to push the matter to the back of his mind as he looked over to the young girl before him. She didn't resemble Tommy at all, but the man did have some similarities.

"She and her brother, Lucas, got into a fight not long ago," Rod scratched his head in embarrassment. "I think she accidentally hit her head, but she refuses to go to hospital, so I can only think of bringing her here."

Shiro raised his eyebrows. What kind of parent would bring his child into Black Street without thinking of the danger in this area? He tried not to think too much as he checked the little lady.

"Your daughter is really young."

"Ah, people say that a lot, but she's really my daughter. I just remarried at an older age, so my children are still young," Rod replied.

"I see. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere, Lyna?"

"I'm okay," the little girl replied cheerfully. It didn't look like she was enduring any pain as she gave a white toothy smile.

Shiro took out a thermometer. "Let's check your temperature, ok?"

"Yes!"

"She's very cooperative."

Rod nodded. "I already coaxed her that it'll just be a regular checkup. Also, doctor, have you been here for a long time?"

"A few years," Shiro didn't go into detail.

"Then, do you remember the case of the sudden deaths of many women in Black Street?"

Case of sudden deaths?

He didn't know there was something like that. It was so common for people to die every single day in Black Street that he has gotten numb to any such news. The only thing he could recall about a sudden death was the incident involving Tommy's mother a few months ago.

"Are you talking about how some women died from some drugs?"

"Ah, yes, that one," Rod took out a picture from his inner coat breast pocket. He showed it to Shiro. "Have you seen this woman?"

The woman in the picture was a perfectly healthy woman, holding a small baby tenderly. Even though it was an old picture, Shiro could see the similarities between the baby and Tommy right now. It seemed that he was correct.

This man was Tommy's father.

It also meant that the woman in the picture should be Tommy's mother. To be honest, she was completely different from what he imagined. She looked normal and totally unlike the one that Tommy showed him. In fact, she was glowing with happiness in this picture.

"Yes, I've seen her."

"Is she…"

"She has died a long time ago," Shiro replied flatly. He noticed that the man looked a little down. "Is she your sister?"

"No, she was my wife. My first wife to be exact," Rod admitted. "I just thought of visiting her and my son again after not seeing them for a long time."

Recalling how Tommy reacted when Shiro mentioned his father, Shiro didn't think that it would be a great idea for that brat to meet with this man. He was truly an irresponsible man who left his wife and young kid alone to fend for themselves.

"Pardon me for saying this, but I don't think that you should see them anymore. You already left them for your own good, and you have a happy life now. It'll be better if you just leave them to their own devices since you can't return back to them."

Tin! Tin! Tin!

The thermometer rang and Shiro checked it. "Her temperature is normal. I don't think your daughter is sick."

"Ah, that's good."

Lyna looked at her father and pointed to his face. "Daddy should get checked too."

"Eh, Daddy is fine."

"But Mommy and Daddy fought yesterday!" Lyna puffed her cheek in displeasure.

Shiro chuckled. "I don't think there's any harm to check you too. Here's the thermometer."

"Alright, alright, I understand."

"I presume that the situation with your second wife is not that good?" Shiro tried to inquire further.

Rod nodded. "I married her for money and she married me to escape her family's control. We don't really have any feelings for each other, but we usually get along well in front of the children."

"Lyna."

"Yes, Doctor?"

"There's a box of toys over there, you can play with them."

Lyna's eyes lit up when she heard the word 'toys.' Without waiting for her father's permission, she ran over and crouched in front of the box. Her hands happily grabbed the dolls that Shiro kept there to entertain children who came to his clinic.

"Thanks," Rod scratched the back of his head.

"She seems like a pure girl without much knowledge about the world, so I don't think you'll want her to hear more of your problems with your wife."

"Yeah. She's a bit slow at times because of a complication during my wife's pregnancy," Rod replied. "I came here to check on my first son."

"Pardon, your first son?"

"Yeah. I met him once after I remarried, but he didn't want to talk to me. He just stared at me while I was playing with his little half-brother before he left. His gaze kind of bothered me, but I couldn't meet with him face to face at that time because I had promised my wife that I wouldn't visit them anymore," Rod answered.

Shiro nodded. He didn't think that it was weird for Tommy to react that way. Who would be happy to see their father living happily with another brother of his?

"I have to say I'm not surprised by his reaction. Why did you only come now?"

"My wife divorced me yesterday, so I just thought that I should check up on him before I leave the city," Rod replied.

"Is that so? Did you come here for a checkup for your daughter or to search for your son?"

"Both."

Shiro sighed. "I think it'll be better if you wait a while."

"Excuse me?"

Bam!

At that moment, the door suddenly flew open.