Revenge is Best Served After Reborn (James) novel Chapter 1865

The day Mr. Elwood passed away, it was Colby who personally saw him off. The man before him, his hair as white as snow and his eyes dimmed by age, had been a force to reckon with overseas for over thirty years.

During those years, Mr. Elwood had climbed to the very top of the power ladder, only to find that the view from the top was cold and lonely. Being at the summit wasn’t something to celebrate. Instead, he spent every night in fear, dreading the moment when someone would come for his life in the dead of night.

"Rest easy now; I'll be taking the reins of the White family. Consider it a way to make amends for you," Colby said, standing across from Mr. Elwood. Behind Colby stood the forces he had painstakingly built over the years.

"You took out Griffin and sent Odie away, all for this moment, right?" Mr. Elwood leaned back in his chair. He'd begun to suspect Colby when Odie was sent off to Summerfield. That's why he had Colby get rid of Griffin by tossing him into the sea. To his surprise, Colby went through with it.

Through three decades of storms, Mr. Elwood, ruthless as he was, had never turned on his own. Colby, though, was a different story. The more ruthless someone was, the better they could hold their ground in a cutthroat world. Mr. Elwood looked at Colby with a strange sense of relief. Falling at the hands of someone like Colby wasn’t entirely a loss.

Colby pulled out a vial filled with a potent dose of morphine. Once injected, there’d be no saving Mr. Elwood by morning.

"I have one last wish," Mr. Elwood said.

"Go ahead."

"I have only one daughter, Vanessa. Take care of her for me. No matter how high you climb, promise me you'll ensure she survives."

"I promise, but I can only guarantee her life."

"...Alright."

Colby didn't say more. This was what he'd worked for all these years in the White family. As dawn broke, Vanessa, upon hearing of Mr. Elwood’s death, fainted several times from grief. Colby didn’t leave Vanessa high and dry. It was one of those rare times he kept his word. Maybe he hoped that if misfortune ever found him, someone would look out for his family too.

"The old associates of Mr. Elwood are either gone or captured. From now on, overseas, the White family is yours. Boss, why aren’t you happy?" a companion asked, puzzled.

Standing at the pinnacle of power, Colby was now the one who could change fate overseas. Many saw him as a legend. So why wasn’t he happy?

"Maybe... it’s like when a fox mourns for the rabbit," he mused. Maybe, not too far down the road, he’d meet the same end.