Chapter 9: First Time Seeing Him
Caleb’s expression didn’t waver. A sardonic smile tugged at his lips. “How long am I supposed to serve this time?” he asked.
Deborah’s hands fluttered as she hurriedly denied it. “Caleb, you’ve misunderstood. It’s nothing like that. There’s just a minor issue at the construction site in the south of the city. Mr. Vorse values your abilities—he specifically requested you to handle it.”
The construction project there had been plagued with delays for years. His gaze dropped slightly, and he cut straight to the point. “What kind of trouble have you gotten into this time?”
He had spent years being “valued” and “assigned” to various tasks in prison. Now that he was out, there was no reason he should still be in such high demand.
Deborah struggled to explain, her voice laced with hesitation. “Your sister was heartbroken over what you endured in prison and wanted to teach them a lesson. She didn’t expect to provoke the wrong people…and now Mr. Vorse has taken notice.”
It was a weak and unconvincing defense.
Caleb shifted his gaze to Yelena, his eyes filled with mockery. “So tell me, were you actually upset, or was this just your way of easing your own guilt?”
Yelena’s lips parted in anger, but before she could speak, Jesse interjected smoothly, “Caleb, Yelena only did it to stand up for you. She had no way of knowing it would turn into this.”
Buoyed by Jesse’s support, Yelena straightened, her tone turning sharp. “If only you were stronger, you wouldn’t have needed me to step in and reclaim your dignity in prison, would you?”
Her words dripped with self-righteousness, as if her recklessness had been some noble act on his behalf. Caleb felt nothing but nausea.
Caleb took a slow, measured breath, his voice razor-sharp as he retorted, “I’m the one paying the price for your reckless actions, aren’t I? Five years ago, I took the fall for Jesse’s ignorance. Now, I’m cleaning up your mess. You siblings really do think alike—always so terrified that I might get even the slightest foothold in this family. What is it? Do you want me to repay every last cent of debt twenty years here before I’m finally free?”
Yelena’s temper flared instantly. “What do you mean by ‘you siblings’? Why are you always so bitter? Aren’t you a Quixall too? Do you really think changing your last name is enough to erase that? Legally, you’re still part of this family!”
She spoke with unwavering certainty, her voice filled with righteous indignation. Yet, in that moment, they failed to notice the flicker in Deborah’s eyes.
Chapter 9: First Time Seeing Him
Caleb’s name has already been removed from the civil register.
“What?” Yelena’s voice wavered with disbelief.
George’s eyes widened, shock giving way to restrained fury. “When did this happen?” he demanded.
Caleb remained composed, his tone devoid of emotion. “A month after I was imprisoned… What was it you said, Mrs. Quixall? Ah—right. That acknowledging me as your son would be akin to covering for a murderer, which would hinder the Quixall family’s future growth.”
Silence gripped the room. The weight of his words settled over the Quixalls like an iron shroud. Yelena’s expression flickered, uncertainty creeping into her self-righteous stance. Her gaze darted to Caleb.
Breaking the silence himself, he said, “I’ll be heading south of the city tomorrow. If I don’t make it back alive, scatter my ashes in the river. No headstone, no ceremonies—as a family member, anyway. Just think of it as a small favor for a stranger, collecting his remains. If I do make it back, then I hope you’ll finally let me go. Stop forcing me to stay.”
The color drained from the Quixalls’ faces. Yelena furrowed her brows and asked, “And what does that mean?”
Caleb spoke with eerie calm. “When you work for the higher-ups—doing their dirty, exhausting jobs—your life is never truly your own. Success is expected. Failure? Disposed of without a second thought. In the past five years, I’ve done their bidding more times than I can count.”
Slowly, he turned to Yelena, his gaze as still as a stagnant pond. “What did you expect? How else do you think he valued my abilities?”
Even after Caleb’s incarceration, Edgar was far from satisfied. Time and time again, he demanded Caleb’s assistance to “take care of certain inconveniences.”
The first time, Caleb had gritted his teeth and crawled back to prison, dragging a shattered leg behind him. The second, he returned with dislocated arms and broken ribs—injuries layered upon old wounds. Then came the third time. And the fourth.
With each return, he adapted. Grew sharper. Until, one day, he could snap a man’s wrist without hesitation and walk away unscathed.
The Quixalls were stunned, shock and fear tightening around them like a noose. It was as if they were meeting Caleb for the first time again, seeing him in an entirely new light.
Revenge Forged in Prison