As Carl and Olivia walked down the stairs towards the storeroom, Carl glanced back at Kalvin, who was walking behind them in a dreamlike state.

"What do we do now?" Carl asked, his voice low and tinged with concern.

Olivia sighed heavily. "We're going to have to talk to the council again," she said, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Would that help? I meant Kalvin will get a pardon as he's Bell's son," Carl said in a low voice.

But Olivia interrupted him. "It's not that simple, Carl. Even a council member's family can hardly escape punishment. They are not treating Kalvin especially."

Olivia's response seemed to agitate Carl. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, Liv. But the council has never pardoned anyone for murder. They even sentence people to death for stealing."

Olivia's expression darkened. "This case is special! They are not pardoned just because they are related to Bell! They were treated cruelly because of the council's fault, which made Kalvin do the murder!"

Olivia's outburst took both Carl and Kalvin by surprise. Kalvin's attention was drawn to the exchange, his eyes narrowing.

"So there's more to this? And you know it?" Carl asked suspiciously.

Olivia stared at Carl, caught off guard. "Yes," she eventually whispered.

"What and how are you involved in this?" Carl asked, his curiosity piqued.

Kalvin stepped forward, his voice cautious. "Olivia!".Olivia realized he was about to spill out the truth of the Asian case. Olivia's shoulders slumped as she realized there was no turning back.

"I... I've been working with the council, trying to uncover the truth behind what happened to Kalvin. I knew there was more to the story, and I wanted to help Melvin clear her name."

Carl's eyes widened in surprise. "You've been working with the council? Olivia, what have you been doing?"

Kalvin remained silent, his gaze fixed on Olivia with caution signs, waiting for her to continue.

Olivia took a deep breath, steeling herself for the revelations she was about to share. "The council... they've been covering up a lot of their own wrongdoings. And they're afraid of what the truth might mean for them."

Carl stared at her for a moment.

Olivia took a deep breath before continuing. "And this is connected to Kalvin's family history, which made them hide their identity. Colin found out the truth, which put their lives at risk."

Carl stared at her with a mix of frustration and surprise in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Carl. I can't tell you anything more. It'll put yours, mine, Kalvin's, and Melvin's lives in danger if I tell you more. Jupiter will kill us all."

Olivia could see the frustration building in Carl's expression. "Jupiter can't come here, can he?" he complained.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything that will put your life at risk," Olivia said, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"So you know it too?" Carl asked, turning his gaze to Kalvin.

"Yes," Kalvin whispered softly.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Carl let out a heavy sigh. "You better not know any of it, Carl. It cost your life. It's cost me a lot of pain and put a label on me that I can't undo, 'murder.'" Kalvin's voice was laced with rare emotion.

Carl wiped his face nervously. "Let's get this done, then," he said, opening the door to the storeroom.

They all were nervous. Eriens was still chained up, his gaze defiant. Kalvin steeled himself, knowing that he was about to face the man who tried to kill him and his sister. He wasn't so pleased to see Norman Erien.

"Eriens," Carl said, his voice firm. "We need to talk."

Eriens' eyes narrowed as he glanced between the three of them.

Eriens' eyes narrowed as he looked at the trio. "I see you've kept your word," he said to Carl, his tone laced with humiliation.

Carl turned to Kalvin. "There's something you should know about your brother," he said to Erien.

Eriens' eyes shifted to Kalvin, a smirk spreading across his face. "What is the scapegoat you've found this time? Bell's little pet?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kalvin clenched his fist but still managed to speak with a polite, yet slightly aggressive tone. "I killed your brother for my defence and to protect my sister. Your brother did put his nose in my family history and wanted my family dead. He left me no choice," Kalvin explained.

Eriens let out a humiliating laugh. "Nice story. I see being a criminal's son no longer matters to you. Did Bell remove your names from the highly wanted criminals list?" he said.

Kalvin's jaw tightened, and he could feel the anger bubbling inside him. "What are you getting at, Eriens?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Eriens leaned back, a twisted smile on his face. "Oh, it's simple, really. They protect their own people at the cost of anything, yet sentence poor people to death for silly mistakes. Yeah, Carl here is a victim of it, isn't he? They sentenced his mom to death for trying to escape that hell called Octagon Verendausing drugs," Eriens said.

Carl closed his eyes, his emotions evident on his face. Olivia stared at him with eyes full of sorrow. No matter how much they loved each other, Olivia's mother being a privileged citizen sometimes damaged their relationship.

Kalvin spoke up, trying to ease the situation. "Death is more merciful than living outside. I lived outside for 14 years, it was a hundred times worse hell than inside. Insiders know nothing of the dark life out there – starving, diseases with no medicines, and ruthlessness."

Eriens scoffed, "Really? Now you decide it's a merciful death? Oh, you really do add up to be Bell's son," he said, humiliating Kalvin.

Kalvin was wordless, as was Olivia. But Carl raised his voice, "Enough with the games, Eriens. Tell us what you know."

Eriens smirked. "Oh, you, Mr. Sherlock. Fine, this is it. I saw him shooting my brother. It wasn't self-defense. He could've still saved him, but he pushed him into the sea instead when Collin begged for help," Eriens said aggressively.

Olivia looked back at Kalvin and saw how he closed his eyes, hearing the bitter truth.

"Do you deny it, Kalvin? As I know Bell never lies, no matter what. Prove you're his son," Eriens said, his voice laced with aggression.

The room fell silent."Kalvin?" Carl said, looking at Kalvin intently.

Kalvin bit his tongue for a moment before answering. "I was just 16. I didn't mean to shoot. I took the gun out to scare him, not to kill him. But Collin tried to take the gun away from my hand, and it fired," Kalvin barely whispered.

"And then you pushed him?" Eriens asked, his voice laced with accusation.

Kalvin stayed silent for a moment. "Yes," he barely whispered.

Olivia let out another sigh, her expression heavy with sorrow.

"But I had no choice," Kalvin whispered.

"Of course you did! You murdered him!" Eriens shouted.

Kalvin looked back at Eriens, his eyes glistening with anger. "So what? You're better than me? You tried to kill both me and my sister?"

"After you killed my brother!" Eriens shot back.

"If you cared that much for your brother, you could've stopped me instead of watching like a coward!" Kalvin shouted. Carl glanced at Olivia, his expression conveying his concern about the direction this conversation was heading.

"Stop! Both of you!" Olivia said in a commanding voice. Kalvin looked at her with a burning look, then turned around angrily towards the wall.

After a moment of tense silence, Olivia spoke again. "Well, we're going to have to inform the council. I see no other option."

Kalvin turned around, his eyes full of doubt. "And what do you expect them to do, give me justice? I don't have a council member dad, though," Erien said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We'll make sure you get a pardon, but you won't be punishment-free," Olivia said, walking towards the door.

Kalvin and Carl followed her, leaving Erien behind.

"You're leaving me here? Hey!" Erien shouted, struggling to break free from his chains.

Olivia turned to him, her expression stern. "What did you expect? That we'd set you free after all you've done?"

With that, Olivia slammed the door, leaving Erien alone in the room.

Kalvin and Carl exchanged a glance of surprise, unsure of what to make of Olivia's unexpected action.