Chapter 291: End of the Year, End of an Era

31st of December...

Scott was still trapped at the Trevors Estate.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying.

He’d packed his bags at least three times, but the Trevors family had other plans.

Anytime he so much as muttered the words "going home" Geraldine would instantly break down like a heartbroken teenager. She’d wail that Scott was trying to abandon them because they weren’t good enough... other times she’d start to talk about how her father left her when she was only just a little girl.

As if Geraldine wasn’t enough, there’s also Morgan.

The usually immaculate butler would frown at Scott like a goblin if he saw him packing. With the way he looked at Scott you’d think he’d committed some heinous crime.

Realizing these people were absolutely not going to let him leave anytime soon, Scott ultimately gave up. He threw his hands in the air and decided to just get used to life in a luxurious estate.

To be fair, they welcomed him with open arms. But in doing so, they also gave him a rare glimpse into their bizarre upper-class lifestyle.

For the past few days, Scott was dragged along to all sorts of boring high-society events.

Fundraisers, new contract projects, charity galas...

You name it.

At every single event, he found himself mindlessly repeating the word "congratulations" ten to twenty times just to keep the conversation moving.

The chairman even pulled him aside at one point to give him some advice.

"Listen, Scott. The best way to avoid long talks about taxes and politics with these snobs is simple. Just place a hand firmly on your chest, shake your head, and say, ’My word!’ Works every single time."

It really did.

As for entertainment around the mansion?

It was completely unstimulating.

Aside from visits to the country club, the only daily activities available were chess and macrame classes. Scott was convinced these slow, tedious hobbies were actually designed to calm down recovering drug addicts and the criminally insane.

It was unbearable, but the chairman wanted Scott to stay no matter what.

Even Ian, Bella’s little brother, completely hopped on the bandwagon. The kid was now running around the mansion calling Scott "big bro." At first, Scott thought the boy was just being genuinely sweet. But it didn’t take long for him to realize the truth... this little devil was actually one of the main agents tasked with keeping him there using pure love and affection!

『Scoundrels, all of them!』

Then there was that one afternoon in the living room.

Scott was finally relaxing on the sofa, trying to enjoy himself and catch up on some Galactic Legends on his phone. Out of nowhere, Chairman Trevors walked into the room, took one look at him, and suddenly wrapped him in a bear hug.

"Ahhh... I finally have a son..."

Scott blinked owlishly.

"Uh... yeah, that’s Ian, sir."

The chairman pulled back.

"Ehh, but he’s just a kid."

Right then, it hit Scott. This man was always buried under mountains of corporate work. On the rare occasions he actually had free time to watch sports or just lounge around, the women in the house would hijack the television to watch their reality TV shows.

With Scott around, the chairman didn’t have to worry about being outnumbered.

The chairman smiled warmly, patting Scott’s shoulder.

"It’s just nice to have some bro time, yunno?"

"Right..." Scott nodded awkwardly.

"By the way, have you saved my number yet?"

The chairman pulled out his phone.

"Uh, no, not yet."

"Hmph!"

An impatient Chairman Trevors snatched Scott’s phone right out of his hand, tapped the screen a few times, and handed it back.

Scott looked down at the contact screen.

The man saved his own number as [Bronard].

Bro plus Bernard makes Bronard!

Scott fought hard to swallow his laughter.

The chairman winked "coolly" at him. He turned toward the grand staircase and shouted up toward the second floor at the top of his lungs.

"BELLA! IF YOU START DATING MY BRO AND BREAK HIS HEART, I’LL FUCK YOU UP!"

The man hurried back over to Scott right after.

"I got your back, bro."

Scott’s chest was practically aching from holding his laughter back even more now. If he opened his mouth now to speak he’d absolutely lose it and laugh.

So he settled for a thumbs up instead.

...

Now, the evening on the 31st of December.

Scott and Bella were currently attending a massive end-of-the-year gala in New York City. The venue had the usual suspects like billionaires, corporate moguls, and even a few notable superheroes dressed in formal attire.

An elegantly dressed Scott and Bella were standing near a towering champagne fountain.

Classical music was playing.

Scott reached out and playfully poked Bella’s waist.

"You know, you look really nice in that dress."

Bella didn’t even look at him.

She just gave a small nod of her head.

"Of course I do."

Scott raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Wow. Aren’t you going to compliment me back?"

Bella scoffed softly with her champagne in hand.

"Please. You don’t look THAT good for me to go entirely out of my way to praise you. Your fit looks decent, but that’s about it."

She focused back on her champagne.

Hmm... Scott gave her a sharp side-eye.

"Wait a minute... you’re just mad that I didn’t wear that black silk shirt you suggested, aren’t you?"

"Of course I am!"

Bella suddenly shouted as she aggressively poked his chest several times with her finger.

"We’re technically dating now! So if I say something looks good on you, you should listen and do exactly as I say! I didn’t win multiple fashion pageants just to be turned down when I give you my literal expertise!"

Scott simply chuckled.

"Whatever you say, princess..."

He tried to scan the crowd to see if he could spot the chairman or Geraldine.

No sign of them.

Honestly, the main reason Scott had even agreed to come to this event was because the chairman had practically begged him to. He wanted Scott to be one of the very first people to hear about some new, revolutionary thing that was meant to change the world for the better.

Scott sipped his champagne and asked Bella.

"Have you seen your dad around at all?"

Bella smacked her lips in annoyance.

"He’s probably locked away in a private lounge catching up with old friends. He only gets to see them once or twice a year because some of them are foreigners and others are just way too busy."

That’s when Scott realized there really was an unusually large amount of foreigners present. And based on their rigid postures and tech badges, a good portion of them seemed to be high-ranking military officials or massive names in the tech industry.

Scott leaned in closer to Bella.

"Maybe the big surprise is a new way to solve global warming?"

The two of them burst out laughing.

They stumbled back, resting heavily against each other’s shoulders just so they wouldn’t lose their balance and fall flat on their asses.

"Global warming? Haha, nice one!"

Bella laughed so hard she cleaned a tear.

And Scott was no different.

They spent the rest of the night drinking and talking together near the fountain. At some point, they’d drank so much champagne that neither of them could even tell their left from their right. They were totally drunk.

Bella staggered slightly.

"Th... there’s no way you’re actually good at cold reading people like you claim. No way."

Scott grinned loops as he crossed his arms.

"I am."

"Are not."

"I am."

"Are not!"

It was like watching stubborn children fight.

"Fine, fine!"

Scott gestured to the whole crowd.

"Pick anyone here for me to cold read. If I do it perfectly, you have to let me squeeze your boobs."

He grinned dizzily at her accentuated cleavage.

Bella let out a loud, unhinged laugh.

"Squeeze my boobs? Honey, I’ll even let you suck champagne right off them if you can actually cold read anyone in this room!"

They both shook hands with weak, sloppy grips.

"BET!"

For the next ten minutes...

Bella giggled uncontrollably as she pointed her finger at different random people across the function. Each time, Scott would take a sip of his drink, squint his eyes, and cold read them in fine detail.

"The bald one."

"He’s a gambling addict going through divorce..."

"The brunette?"

"She’s having an affair with a younger guy. It’s obvious from the way she packs her hair in a much trendy style and she barely looks at her husband."

"Ooo, nice catch..."

Bella took another gulp of champagne.

"Dude... you’re so friggin’ cool, ughaha..."

She laughed and almost puked right between her giggles from how dizzy she was.

But Scott didn’t laugh.

His eyes suddenly locked onto a couple standing just a few meters away.

It was Curtis Knox and Martha in an elegant gown.

Bella noticed his sudden stiff posture and blinked blearily as she followed his gaze.

"Huh? Do you know them?"

"That’s my mom... and, uh, her boyfriend."

Bella awkwardly winced.

"Oof. Poor dad."

"He was abusive."

"Oh! Yay mom then?"

"She was also abusive."

Bella’s mouth snapped shut.

"I’m just gonna shut up now."

"..."

Scott felt total discomfort.

Now all that alcohol was pointless because the sight before him was enough to clear his mind.

He watched as Curtis and Martha turned around and started walking directly toward their direction.

Scott grabbed Bella’s arm tightly.

"They’re coming here for drinks. We need to leave right now before she spots me."

Bella looked at his pale face. "Are you sure?"

She’s never seen him like this before.

"Yeah... please..."

But just as he turned around to pull her away, Bella did something reckless. She lifted her champagne flute and poured a generous splash of the sparkling alcohol straight down her own deep cleavage.

Before Scott could react, she grabbed the back of his neck and shoved his face straight down into her chest until he was buried in the puddle of liquor.

Mmph!

Scott’s eyes bulged out. He wanted to scream out of shock but his mouth was fully blocked by her soft skin. He frantically tried to pull his head back, but Bella tightly wrapped both of her arms around his head to hold him in place with surprising strength.

"You won the bet, right?"

Bella lovingly whispered into his ear.

"So drink up!"

Scott was still actively struggling to break free as his hands gripped her shoulders to push her away.

"Shh! You don’t want to get seen by your mom and her boyfriend, right? Then you better keep your face buried down there and get busy with your tongue, hm?"

Hearing that, Scott’s body went completely still.

Realizing she was actually offering him a flawless hiding spot, he reluctantly nodded against her skin. He relaxed his neck and actively started to slurp the champagne puddle pooling in her warm cleavage.

But then—

"Scott??"

It doesn’t matter if it’s dark or his face was completely buried in a woman’s chest...

Martha can easily spot her son from a mile away.

Scott lifted his head out of Bella’s breasts. He cleared his throat, wiping a stray drop of champagne from his lip as he looked at the older woman.

"Uh... hey, uh... Martha. Nice seeing you here."

Bella quickly smoothed down her dress and properly tucked her breasts back into place before offering Martha a polite smile full of awkwardness.

Martha looked between the two of them.

"Is... this your girlfriend... Scott?"

"Uh... Martha, we’ve gotta go, so, uhhhhh..."

Martha’s smile softened into a mild sadness.

"Scott... you can call me mo—"

"I’ll pass."

Scott didn’t want to hear it. Not one bit.

Standing right beside her, Curtis Knox flashed a smile as he nodded toward Scott.

"Hello there, Scott."

Scott stared at the man with flat, dead eyes.

"Hey, Curt..."

They just quietly stared at each other until it got so awkward that Martha couldn’t take it anymore. She quickly stepped right between them to break the eye contact as she clapped her hands together.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!"

Martha beamed radiantly at her son.

"Since you’re here, I have a surprise for you tonight!"

Scott tilted his head. "Huh?"

The loudspeakers boomed before she could explain.

It was the event host speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention please! It’s been one hell of year and we hope to be able to survive and thrive through many more. Now, to kick off our evening, the very first thing on our agenda tonight is a massive announcement!"

The ballroom went dark and an intense spotlight beamed down on Curtis and Martha.

"Please welcome the founder and chairman of Priority Solutions, Mr. Curtis Knox, and his partner, Ms. Martha Dimitrova!"

The entire crowd applauded.

Scott just looked around like a lost puppy.

"What the hell is going on?"

Martha turned around and briefly hugged her son.

"Don’t worry, my sweet boy. Tonight, I’m going to finally repay you for all the pain and suffering I’ve brought into your life with my announcement."

"Huh?"

This was too cryptic for him.

Martha gave his cheek a quick, gentle peck and hurried off into the spotlight, taking Curtis’s hand as they walked up the steps to the main stage.

Martha was soon handed the microphone.

Big industry figures, military giants, dozens of flashing cameras from the media journalists...

Everything she needed was here.

"Good evening, everyone..."

Martha took a deep breath.

"My name is Martha Dimitrova. I am thirty-seven years old. Now, some of the younger faces in this room may not remember me, but I entered the modeling industry when I was only sixteen years old. Back then, I was a top talent with a bright future ahead of me."

Her sadness hid behind a sorrowful smile.

"However, three years into my career, I was charmed and manipulated by one of the world’s top heroes that you all know as Megaman. It didn’t take long before he impregnated me. And the moment he found out, he tried to force me to get an abortion. I refused to destroy my child and he made my life absolute hell."

That drained all the smiles in the ballroom.

"For years, I was severely abused, tormented, and beaten by Megaman. This is the exact same man that society routinely praises as a flawless hero. This is the man your children look up to."

Flash! Flash! Flash!

The happy journalists in the front row didn’t hesitate to abuse their cameras.

Martha took another deep breath as she let a tear slip down her cheek.

"We cannot keep living in a world that blindly worships incapable heroes. We cannot tolerate a society that actively protects abusers like Megaman. Because when I finally gathered the courage to report his horrific actions to the Hero Agency... they didn’t waste a second to bury it under the carpet to protect their brand!"

The whole crowd gasped.

Curtis remained standing to the side with a supportive smile on his bearded face.

"I stand here today to say one thing..."

Martha stamped her heel.

"Make heroes great again!"

The entire crowd supported her with cheers and kisses as she cried off the podium.

Now it’s Mr. Knox’s turn.

The screens behind him displayed a series of complex data charts, graphs, and percentages.

"Thank you, Martha, for your immense bravery."

He let out a sad sigh.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the truth is staring us right in the face. If you look at these official statistics, death rates across the nation have steadily increased over the recent year even with the addition of more pro heroes."

He pulled up particular city map on the screen.

"Take a look at Meteor City. It is crime-ridden, utterly neglected, and it barely has a functioning, licensed superhero stationed there. The only semblance of order they have comes from Nightwatch who isn’t even a registered hero with the Agency! Isn’t that ridiculous? The system is broken. The statistics don’t lie. Our current heroes are failing us."

Curtis looked out over the crowd.

"I could stand up here and go on forever about these failures, but that’s not why I’m here tonight. Any random civilian can stand on a soapbox and point out the blatant incompetence of the Hero Agency. But I’m the only one who can actually bring you solutions." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Everyone was invested by now.

"I have recently spent twenty billion dollars of my own money to officially purchase the full rights to licensing superheroes. And very soon, every single one of you will witness the historic rise of Sage... an elite organization of new-age heroes that will strictly employ only the best of the best as our protectors!"

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Journalists took pictures and the crowd applauded.

Now, the men before him were no longer just fancy guests at this gala... they were potential investors!

The only person who wasn’t celebrating was Scott.

"Ah shit..."