My Cuckhold System

Chapter 267: You Had No Right

West stared at the screen silently because for the last few days, he had avoided him.

Because every time he thought about the truth regarding his sister, the anger resurfaced again.

But this time, it wasn’t just directed toward Debra... it was directed toward Mark too.

Eventually, West answered.

"...Yeah."

There was brief silence on the other end before Mark’s voice rang out softly.

"Finally."

West leaned back quietly. "You kept calling."

"I was worried."

West laughed lightly. "Funny you should say that."

"Uhm... you good son? Did something happen?" Mark questioned with a tone of worry from the other end.

"I wonder, Mark. Did it?" West responded with a dark tone.

Mark immediately understood the tone. "...Debra told you," he voiced in realization.

West’s voice lowered. "Tell me it’s not true."

"Tell me everything she said was a lie."

~Silence~

West’s voice hardened. "Tell me I never had a sister."

Mark finally exhaled quietly from the other side. "...I’m sorry."

That answer alone confirmed everything again.

West shut his eyes tightly. For some reason hearing it directly from his father hurt worse.

"You lied to me my entire life."

"West—"

"No."

West sat upright now. "You don’t get to do that. I gave you a second chance. You had every opportunity to tell me."

Mark’s voice became heavier. "She was falling apart."

"And that gave you the right to erase someone from existence?!"

"She wasn’t erased."

"Then why didn’t I know?!"

The shout echoed across the apartment sharply and even the summons went silent.

Mark remained quiet briefly before finally speaking again.

"...Because your mother was dying inside."

"She stopped sleeping."

Mark’s voice sounded tired now.

"Stopped eating properly. Started hallucinating. Crying randomly. Calling out your sister’s name in the middle of the night."

West stayed silent as Mark continued.

"I thought I was going to lose her too."

"She made me promise never to tell you because every reminder destroyed her. And breaking that promise was just something I never could bring myself to do even after so many years had gone by."

"There is no excuse... nothing excuses this sort of thing. I went my whole life never knowing," West’s voice lowered dangerously.

West stood from the couch and walked toward the massive window overlooking the city. "You had no right."

Mark sighed heavily. "...Maybe you’re right."

"I failed somewhere as a husband," he paused slightly before adding. "And maybe as a father too."

"But at the time..." Mark’s voice weakened faintly, "...I genuinely thought protecting her was the only thing I could do."

West stared out across the glowing skyline quietly.

There was a growing anger threatening to erupt deep inside of him but he didn’t know who to be angry at anymore.

He needed somewhere to direct all this anger at and he could only think of one solution...

•••

•••

The rain poured heavily across Misty High City.

Neon lights reflected across wet roads while distant sirens echoed somewhere in the lower districts.

A man with a grey left eye, walked slowly through the downpour with blood dripping from his knuckles.

The men kneeling before him were trembling badly.

One had both legs shattered already while another was missing teeth.

The third kept coughing blood while trying to crawl backward through puddles.

Darius calmly rolled up his sleeves. "You borrowed money from Eagles Print."

His deep voice carried no emotion whatsoever.

"And then disappeared."

The bleeding man cried immediately. "Please! Please! I just needed more time!"

Darius sighed softly. "You said that three weeks ago."

CRACK~

His boot stomped down onto the man’s wrist.

The scream that followed echoed across the alley and the Nearby Eagles Print members laughed while smoking.

One of them shook his head. "Boss Darius is in a bad mood today."

The other snorted. "He’s ALWAYS in a bad mood."

Darius ignored them completely and crouched calmly before the crying debtor.

"You know what the problem with regular people is?"

The man shook violently. "You all think gangs are banks."

Darius grabbed the man’s jaw firmly. "We are not banks."

He slammed the man face-first into the concrete causing blood to splatter across the wet ground.

"Collect the money from his shop," Darius said calmly while standing again.

"And break one more leg before you leave."

The gang members grinned. "Yes boss."

Darius lit a cigarette afterward and stepped back into the rain.

Darius Bentley was a forty-three years old tier 2 Awakened and a high-ranking enforcer of Eagles Print.

Eagles Print just happened to be one of the five strongest gangs in the entire city.

What had happened here was just a regular Tuesday to him... Debt collection, territory disputes, violence, threats and sometimes executions.

Eagles Print ruled several major commercial districts in Misty High City and Darius helped keep it that way.

People feared him... the heavy scar across his throat, his ability and the fact that he once crushed another awakened’s skull barehanded during a territorial war...

That fear made life easier.

•••

Elsewhere later that night, a ruin had opened near the industrial district.

Eagles Print vehicles flooded the streets and armed awakened members surrounded the perimeter aggressively.

Darius stepped out from one armored truck while cracking his neck slowly.

The atmosphere around the ruins already felt dangerous and several smaller gangs stood nearby arguing loudly.

One stepped forward angrily. "We arrived first!"

Darius glanced at him once and the smaller gang leader immediately swallowed his remaining words.

Darius spoke calmly. "You can leave now."

The man clenched his fists. "...And if we don’t?"

BOOOOOOM!

The ground beneath Darius exploded instantly as dark metallic spikes erupted upward around him while black steam-like energy leaked from his body.

His Tier 2 pressure flooded the surroundings brutally and some lower awakened nearby nearly collapsed immediately.

Darius stared at the smaller gang leader coldly.

"Then I’ll bury you here."

A few seconds later, the smaller gang retreated immediately.

Darius deactivated his ability afterward and lit another cigarette casually.

One of his subordinates laughed. "They folded fast."

Darius exhaled smoke calmly. "Bullying smaller gangs is usually fun some times. I enjoy doing this sometimes even though it is unnecessary."

The ruin raid began and hours later, the creatures inside the ruins had been ripped apart violently.

The others recounted the tale of how Darius fought like an entirely different being within the ruins.

"A massive monster charged toward him from the darkness, only for metallic black spikes to erupt through its body from beneath the ground instantly..."

SCHKKKKK~

"There was blood everywhere."

One Eagles Print rookie stared in awe.

"...That’s why he’s one of the strongest captains."

Another nodded quickly.

"Don’t ever piss him off."

But strangely, despite the violence... the blood... and the terrifying reputation...

There existed another side to Darius Bentley that almost nobody in Eagles Print ever saw.

The next morning, the same terrifying man who crushed awakened skulls for a living now stood in a kitchen wearing an apron, making pancakes.

"Dad! Mia stole my juice!"

A small girl with braided hair pointed angrily toward her older brother.

The older boy immediately protested.

"She wasn’t drinking it!"

"She was!"

"She wasn’t!"

Darius sighed tiredly while flipping pancakes expertly.

"Both of you sit down before I start charging rent."

The children laughed immediately and then his wife, Yelena, entered the kitchen afterward while tying her hair loosely.

"You’re threatening children before 8am?"

Darius kissed her forehead naturally. "Builds character."

She rolled her eyes. "You say that every time."

Despite the scar on his throat and his terrifying appearance... the way he looked at his family softened him completely, especially around his children.

At home, Darius wasn’t a gang enforcer or a Tier 2 awakened from Eagles Print, he was just, a dad.

After breakfast, he helped his daughter pack her school bag carefully, fixed his son’s tie and then drove both children personally to school.

Several parents stiffened slightly when they saw him arrive because everybody knew who Darius Bentley was.

Eagles Print wasn’t exactly subtle... still, Darius simply waved politely while holding his daughter’s hand.

"Dad," his son muttered awkwardly, "you don’t have to walk us all the way inside."

"Yes I do."

"...I’m thirteen."

"And still stupid."

"Dad."

"You heard me."

His daughter giggled loudly beside them.

Darius suddenly turned towards a pillar on the side with a look of curiosity. "Uh..."

"What are you looking at dad?" His son questioned.

"I thought I saw someone there..."

"There’s no one there old man. Already developing sight issues at your old age?"

His son teased him as they stepped past the pillar while he stared at it again with a look of confoundment.

•••

•••

~ Three Days Later ~

The massive holographic billboard floating above one of Misty High City’s busiest intersections flickered brightly before transitioning into a live news segment.

A female reporter appeared instantly and behind her was the crumbling entrance of a freshly collapsed ruin.

Emergency response vehicles surrounded the area while awakened gangs moved around carrying loot and monster remains.

But most importantly, standing directly at the center of the attention was West.

Dressed in the black and crimson Shadow Reapers jacket with his hands casually tucked into his pockets, he looked more like some arrogant celebrity than a gang leader.

The camera zoomed slightly. "Once again," the reporter spoke excitedly, "the rapidly rising newly awakened gang known as Shadow Reapers has successfully cleared another ruin."