Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 576: A returned mother’s plea.

The scuffle attracted the attention of the gamblers in the casino. Some people were worried that the arrest was related to the activities in the casino. Nobody dared to move a chip with Hades’ vicinity for fear that they would be grabbed next.

Sheldon looked genuinely puzzled. He sighed, picked his cigar back up, and looked at Hades. His attitude was unbothered, which likely pointed to his innocence. "Alright, I’ll bite. What has my stupid nephew done this time? Is it the taxes? I told him to clear those last week, so we are all squared away. If that idiot has messed with my money, I am going to need you to give him a few minutes alone with my men."

"Smuggling," Hades replied. "Your idiot nephew has been touching all the wrong things and bribing all the wrong people."

Sheldon massaged his chin. "Can I give you something to look the other way? He is a fool, but he is my sister’s only kid."

"Are you bribing me Sheldon!?" Hades asked.

Jon pinched Sheldon on the back of his neck. What was the idiot thinking? "Are you trying to go down as an accomplice? You are skating on thin ice here. Have you forgotten that you have just survived the Emily saga?"

Sheldon winced. "Ah. Hell no! Carry on then." He turned back to his cards as if Howard didn’t even exist. "My sister is still young enough to have another kid anyway."

The words seemed heartless, but when it came to Sheldon, not much surprised people anymore.

"Let’s move," Hades ordered, turning toward the exit. He wanted to be out of the casino but as he pushed through the heavy doors, he froze. His heart, which usually felt like a cold stone, gave a painful thump.

Standing right in his path was Amber. She was the last person in the world he wanted to see today or any other day for the rest of his life.

The room went even more silent. The high-stakes gamblers, the dancers on their silver poles, even the bartenders_ everyone stopped to watch.

It was better than any movie.

Hades, the man of stone, was standing face-to-face with his ex-wife. This was the next installment in the drama Zulu had narrated on the day Amber came to the base.

Hades looked at the ceiling. He looked at his boots. He looked at the exit sign. He looked everywhere except at her.

"Carson, let’s go," Hades muttered, his voice tight. "We’re done here."

But Amber wasn’t moving. She stepped directly into his path; her eyes locked on his. "We need to talk, Hades." Her voice was low, meant only for him, but in the quiet casino, it felt like a shout.

Hades felt a surge of heat behind his eyes. It took every bit of his strength not to just shove past her. "I’m busy, Amber and I really don’t want to be seen with you. Why don’t you go back to drinking? That’s what you’re actually good at." He tried to sidestep her, but she was like a shadow, blocking him again.

Hades finally snapped. He grabbed a nearby cocktail table and shoved it aside with a loud screech across the floor, creating a path. He marched toward the door, but Amber was hot on his heels.

"I’ve been sober for years now!" she yelled at his back. "I have changed."

Hades didn’t even turn around. "And I do not give a rat’s ass!"

A woman in a sequined heat suit at a card table, let out a nasty laugh, wet laugh. "Ooh, look at that! Hades Quinn is back to rolling in the hay with his ex-wife. I wonder how that purple-haired nanny he married will feel about this?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Hades paused.

He didn’t look at the woman. He just gave Carson a tiny, sharp nod. Carson understood perfectly. He walked to the woman with ease, despite carrying a passed-out Howard on his shoulder. To everyone’s shock, he slapped the woman across the cheek. "Call the big boss a nanny one more time and you will become a nanny for a mutated beast in Silverdale. From now on, we will be monitoring you and your family closely. One step out of line and you will suffer."

The room was buzzing now. People were whispering, phones were coming out, and theories were flying. Amber grabbed Hades’ hand, her grip desperate. "I’m not interested in you, Hades! I want to talk about my kids."

Hades ripped his hand back as if she were a poisonous snake. To him, she was a pest that just wouldn’t go away. "You have no kids with me, Amber."

"You cannot keep me from them!" she screamed, her voice cracking. Now everyone was listening and that amped her. "They went into the forest alone to fight! No one was watching them! What if they had died? What kind of woman did you choose to mother my children? I will_"

Hades spun around so fast that the people nearby jumped back. His finger was shaking as he pointed it inches from her nose. His face was a deep, angry red. "Do not dare speak about my wife!" he roared. "You have no right over those children. You left them. You ran off to God knows where! How Sunshine chooses to mother them is none of your business because she was there for them when you were not."

He turned to leave again, but Amber didn’t flinch. "I just want to be in their lives. They are acting out because they miss me."

Hades stopped.

He let out a short, sarcastic laugh that had no joy in it.

Around them, the room was emptying. Jon, was moving fast, signaling bouncers to kick the gawkers out the back door and making people delete their videos. "This cannot go out there, pay whoever you need to." Jon told the head of security.

"Laugh all you want," Amber said, her voice trembling. "But Castiel does miss me, he told me himself."

Hades narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Castiel? Did you meet my son without my permission?"

"My children go to school, Hades. I happened to see him there."

Hades scoffed, crossing his arms. "My children go to school on the mountain not Westbrook town. There is no way you met any of them. And your husband, we know all about his abilities, so he has not been next to them at all. Go lie to someone else."

Amber suddenly punched her own chest, right over her heart. "I regret it all! I beg you, Hades. Forget my outbursts. I just want another chance. I promise to do better. Just let me see them... even if you’re standing right there watching me."

Hades looked at her. For a second, the anger faded into something else_ exhaustion. She looked genuine, but he had been burned by her genuine looks before. Something still felt wrong. "I don’t make the rules anymore," Hades said quietly. "Only their mother can make that decision. Not me."

Amber nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "Your wife... she’s been mean to me. She hates me. But I will plead with her. I’ll get on my knees if that’s what it takes."

Suddenly, a slow, rhythmic clapping broke the silence.

Sheldon had been pushed forward in his velvet and he looked delighted. "Well! That was a wonderful performance! You did not tell us that you dipped your toe in the bad actress pool Hades."

"Shut it, Shelly." Jon ordered.

Hades let out a low, animal growl. He didn’t say another word. He turned on his heel and walked out into the cool night air.