Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    *****


    “And you actually expect me to believe that story?” Kyle regarded the girl he was about to adopt with a mixture of curiosity and scepticism.


    They were alone in the orphanage director’s office. The seven-year-old girl had requested a “private chat” with her soon-to-be guardian, which Kyle had found amusing at first.


    He hadn’t taken it too seriously. What could a seven-year-old possibly have to say? He’d assumed she might be curious or anxious about being adopted by a stranger, and he was more than willing to indulge her. After all, she had, in a way, saved his life.


    “Well then, care to explain the jade pendant I gave you?” Scarlet Smith, or Akahime as she had been known in her previous life, asked with a casual air. “I don’t imagine there are many girls who could enchant a jade pendant for protection.”


    Kyle’s brow furrowed as he processed her words, then his eyes widened in surprise, “You knew about the pendant...?”


    “Of course I knew,” Scarlet nodded, her tone matter-of-fact, “I’m the one who enchanted it, after all. Naturally, I knew the protective spell would activate. I set it to trigger in the event of lethal danger...So, a car crash, was it?”


    “No,” Kyle rubbed his chin, clearly intrigued. “It was a gunshot. And since you’ve been so forthcoming about your miraculous abilities, I suppose it’s only fair I share a few details of my own.”


    This revelation caught Scarlet off guard. A gunshot? He wasn’t talking about a run-of-the-mill car accident or a freak accident with a falling object!


    “Mafia business, rather complicated,” Kyle continued, studying the girl’s reaction. “Before I learn about your fascinating previous life, I intended to adopt you, providing you with a comfortable life until you came of age, as a way of repaying the debt for saving my life through the pendant I initially thought you gave me without knowing it’s power. But now, plans have changed. Would you like to discuss it, or would you prefer I leave you to your peaceful existence?”


    Scarlet considered this for a moment. “Let’s discuss it. I need a better platform. I mean, I like the orphanage, the director and staff are lovely, but I’m rather stuck here.”


    Kyle smirked, “Absolutely. It would be my pleasure.”