Chapter 3: The source of all

"Ah! Ah!"

"Woof! Woof!"

"Ah! Ah! The zombies came out," for a whole few minutes, the greatly shaken family and their dog have been shouting and barfing their throats sore were interrupted by a rapid husky voice. "Hon, children, it is me, your dad. Hurry! No time to explain. Pack up your bags. We will move out."

With the sticky substance called mud still on the hands of Luke, he grabbed his pale-looking wife with beating heart and shivering hands and dragged her swiftly to their bedroom while reminding their children for the second time to hurry along and stop dilly-dallying.

Theresa, the children, and the dog gave out confused looks and furrowed brows.

'What exactly is happening?' Martin thought as he tilted his head. He led his sibling up to their bedrooms to pack as such a question confounded him.

With his maturity in handling pieces of stuff in the house and the intelligence he inherited from his parents, Martin knew something was wrong. Like an abstract painting, he can see the canvas but the focus of the painting itself is very blurry to understand. He couldn't help but analyze the situation as he quickly grabbed essential things they might need.

His father is a respected man in their city, though low-key. Luke helped almost half of the people of the City O. From the elderly of the home for the aged, the orphans of the massive fire of 2018, and even stray dogs. He helped them all without dark reasons.

He does not judge people nor condemn others without evidence. It is his vision in life and principles are that Martin admired. He likes to be neat, presentable, and always mannered in his clothing. That is why his present looks are doubtful of him. This is not his usual father—his revered father.

'What is wrong with dad?' he muttered to himself. 'He looks anxious... and threatened?'

After packing up a small bag and with a sober mind, he followed his panting father and ash-looking mother to their room across the hall.

Through the crevice of the unclosed door, he heard the worried and shaken voice of his father. The man he knew who was forever a man of principle and dignity.

"Hon, we have to go. Someone is after me and wanted me dead. He talked to me this afternoon and threatened me. We should leave; hide." Luke persuaded Theresa.

"Where are we going, Hon? We have nowhere near to go, and we can call the attention of the police and get their help. You are friends with Deputy Carlos. If you call him, he will help you for sure." Theresa does not want to leave their house, which they built with their years of work, and this home is full of their memories as a family. No one wants to forsake their own home unless there is no other choice to choose.

From the words he heard so far, Martin could not still understand the situation. He leaned slightly forward the agape door to listen for more clues. This time, it was her mother talking.

"Besides, my business needs me, and your job in the city office is your priority. I know how you love it. How about you tell me what happened." Theresa was a skilled entrepreneur. With her years of expertise, she knew that every decision had to be made logically and calmly, so she wanted more information to weigh the pros and cons of the situation.

Her startled but trained mind slowly became a clear one. Motioning his husband to sit on the chair, she held his hands for comfort.

And about the threats to his husband, she has a great trust in the police officers her husband helped throughout the years of his work. She knows their credibility as countless occasions and birthdays passed, and their presence has always been a part of their family.

Luke looked at her wife. He knew that he must tell her everything so that they could think of a plan. Quickly, he sat down and gathered his mind to tell his wife the situation.

Her wife is a brilliant business entrepreneur. She does not want to be away for a long time and miss their children because she could have built her business empire if she had been single. That is how great she is.

"This all started when..."

As a part of the city council, he has the say and means to govern the city. While checking for the financial liquidity of some projects of the town, he noticed an anomaly.

He found out that there was something wrong with the project of Councilor Bing, the most powerful woman in the council with prestige, money, and connection.

He found out that some funds went into someone's account who is not part of the project. His name is Raul Gutierez.

But there is more to it. Through experience and instinct, he can feel that there is more than meets the eye. He was considering the years of service of the female Councilor.

Luke tried to gather as many projects of Councilor Bing as he could for the past eight years of her term.

He is doing that in the city council office for the 'conferences' he told his family he was supposed to do for the past few weeks.

At the start, Luke only found a bit of irregularity in the earlier projects of Councilor Bing during her starting terms. Then, he found a project he knew a lot about.

"That's weird. This person, I do not know him. But according to this, he is the supplier. I know that Mr. Tsing supplied the raw materials, but who is this?" He is sure of it as he is friends with that Chinese supplier.

As he read along with the plans of the succeeding years and verified where the money went, he scrutinized that a significant amount of the project's funds went to a man, Raul's account over and over, amounting from twenty thousand to two-hundred thousand for each project.

And there are even ghost projects. If Luke did not research well, he could not even find these ghost projects that are so many and well-hidden and at the same time are at the premium side of the government's fund.

There are signatures of other counselors on it as was his'. But he could not remember approving such works. The curiosity turned into suspicions.

And this Raul name keeps popping up in every project and works of Councilor Bing. As a moral man, he does not want to charge other people without evidence, and he values the years of working together. So he tried to verify first and find this guy to know the truth. With his connection to the city office, he tracked the man.

When he got to know the address last week, he went to his house.

"You went to his house? How could you do that? Any sane man knows that is dangerous. Did I marry an idiot?" Theresa was aghast to know that her husband went to a stranger's house despite knowing that this stranger has a bogus relationship with Counselor Bing.

Even though she wanted to scold her husband, knowing that there was more to it, she let him continue.

Luke knocked, and a man opened the door. It was a middle-aged man, maybe a few years older than him and about six feet tall. He has a well-built body and muscles akin to small snakes slithering throughout his body.

He has a cold-looking face and is accentuated by his crooked eagle-like nose and a scar from his left eyebrow down to his right cheek. He has a typical mafia look.

"Good morning. I hate to disturb your great day, sir, but I am looking for Raul. Do you perhaps know him?" Despite having the great instinct that the man before him was the one he was looking for, Luke still asked pleasantly and showed decorum.

'Yep. So many years working as a public servant made him an idiot,' Theresa muttered.

"Yes, you are speaking to him." Albeit greatly puzzled, Raul smiled stiffly, and when he smiled, his central incisor teeth inlaid with gold were shining with light refracting through it.

Suddenly, Luke cannot help but feel cold down his spine. He knew that everything was under his control, yet he felt his life was being threatened. He does not know why, though.

"Oh! Please come in." Raul invited him in warmly with his stiff smile. Nobody in the city does know the name of Councilor Luke.

Luke was skeptical. But he wants to know the truth. And so, he entered with hesitation. As he was thinking so many things, he forgot to bring along his assistant. He should've brought another person in case things went south.

"Hello. I am Luke from the city council. I have a few questions to ask. I hope you can indulge me for a few minutes of your time," Luke said while walking inside Raul's bungalow house. This councilor wanted to veer the momentum to his side, so he initiated the conversation. For some reason, the room was already tense, plus it was Raul's home ground. Luke wanted to direct the motion of the discussion in his favor.

After sitting, with a slight nod coming from Raul, Luke asked his question softly, hoping to diffuse the tension further, "How are you associated with Councilor Bing?" But his intention backfired.

This question thoroughly washed away the stiff smile of Raul. His stiff demeanor became cold, and his eyes constricted with a slight hint of viciousness.

Instantly, the whole room transformed into a frost land of coldness.

Luke was sweating a lot despite the mood, not knowing the reason. The feeling of the glare of a predator lurking is a sensation he is more than familiar with due to the nature of his job. Those eyes are slurping for a good meal, those muscles ready to give the last death stroke. He is more than familiar with it. He eats death threats for breakfast.

However, this one is a whole lot different. He was like a stone on his seat in the next minute—a rock facing the wrath of a blizzard storm from above and the raging flames from underneath. 

While Luke was thinking of dashing through the door, at that moment, Raul opened his mouth. His presence was already like a beast ready to devour his innocent prey.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Please leave." Raul emotionlessly guided Luke to the door with his fierce eyes and closed it before Luke could even say a word. In the corner of his eyes, Luke knew he saw a menacing glint. One more second inside and his head would have been on the ground if he was not a counselor. 

Speechless and afraid, Luke quickly left the house, still, have his unanswered questions.

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Without Luke knowing, in front of a window of the house he had just entered, Raul dialed a number, and when the call connected, he said, "Mistress, someone knew of our dealings. What am I going to do with... Luke Alma?"

He was answered promptly by a sharp domineering voice, "Threaten him. Do everything you can." And the call ended.