LITTLE BOY

Howard Finn

47 years old. Blood type: AB

Yago started reading the detailed information about Howard Finn. Son of a single mother fish vendor, Howard Finn grew up without a father in a downtown area of Pian country. He joined a local gang when he was thirteen and became the leader of said gang at the age of eighteen. He met Jane Chen a month after he graduated from collage. They dated for two years until one day,Howard Finn suddenly vanished.

Yago checked the time of Howard's disappearance. It coincides with the time Jane found out she was pregnant. It is very likely that Jane turned to Carl because the real father ghosted on her and she didn't want to give birth to a fatherless child. Too cruel though, because by doing so, she destroyed a lot of lives. He couldn't help but curse at Carl for being too stupid at that time to runaway with a girl carrying someone's child and abandoning his own in the process. That's the main reason he couldn't force himself to call him dad.

After a year, Howard Finn re-emerged as part of the Phantom Eagle gang. A notorious mafia dominating several countries. He tried to get Jane and his child back, but Jane being used to luxury refused Finn several times. He then entered Carl Reid's company as an assistant and little by little made his way back to Jane's life.

Yago's team found evidence of Howard Finn and Jane Chen having an affair back then. Hotel records and footages were dug out and he wouldn't be surprised if someone tells him they were colluding to get rid of Carl and swallow his company whole. But too bad for them, Jane's life was cut short.

Yago checked the details of Dianna's poisoning next. There wasn't any evidence pointing to Howard Finn about that incident but the first time Dianna fainted, and the onset of her sickness happened while Howard was in the Reid's residence. She drank a lot of liquor containing a large amount of methanol and was quickly rushed to the hospital. Was it just a coincidence? Everything that followed after, how much of those was his doing?

***

Friday.... it's now Friday...

Arianna with her eyes closed, sprawled on the bed looking lifeless. It's been a few days since she asked Jenny to help her meet Mr. Dylan but there wasn't any news yet. Did he not want to talk to her? But she's just so bored now! Not only was she blind, she has also been staying entrapped within the four walls of this room! If she could, she would have jumped down the window and escaped this place! How is this even called living a life? She's clearly being imprisoned!

"I'm not a bird! I want my freedom back!", Arianna exclaimed.

"Birds shouldn't be caged too!", a small voice replied.

Arianna was startled. She shot up and turned to the direction where the voice came from. It was odd but she didn't realize someone entered her room. And he sounded like a young boy. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Matt...I live here. How are you doing?" the boy asked.

Arianna smiled. The boy came at the right time. She really needs someone to talk to or she'll go nuts! "How old are you? Can you tell me how you look like? You see.... I'm blind so.... "

"I'm ten years old. 130cm. 60 lbs. I'm handsome, fair and smart. A lot of girls like me. They always say I'm cute."

The boy's words sent Arianna laughing. "For someone so thin and small, you sure knows how to brag about your features." she teased.

"I'm not small! I'm still growing up! I'll get bigger after a couple of years! And I'll become more handsome by then!",he argued. His voice displayed his annoyance.

Arianna climbed down the bed and sat on the armchair beside her bed instead. She then gestured for the couch across her. "Please sit down."

"Jenny was right. You don't look like a normal blind person at all." he commented, amused at how casual she acts. "I thought you'll start sobbing when they told you you're blind now. That you'll sulk in a corner and curse the world. You're a really strange woman."

"Well.... I'll take that as a compliment." she replied. It surprised her that even a little boy was checking upon her condition. "You see, when I was almost eight years old, a group of men kidnapped me. A young boy like you tried to help me get out of the place while everyone was drunk but because I'm very much afraid of the dark, I cried and didn't want to go out in the dark woods in the middle of the night. I became a burden. He wasn't able to leave that night because he didn't want to leave me alone with those thugs. And I endangered my self by staying another day. I regret not facing my fear that night. If I was braver, things could have turned out different." she said with a sad face. "So I decided to conquer my fear. I'm not afraid of the dark anymore. And I can't afford to be scared."

"That boy you were talking about... Was it Yago Evans?" he asked.

Arianna furrowed her brows. "How did you know him? Who are you?" A little boy knew Yago? It goes without saying that he knows her identity too! Is he a member of Rojo? Had she still fallen to the tiger's den in the end? Did she try to escape, only to end up as a blind prisoner?

"I told you, I'm Matt... Matthew Dylan."

he replied.

Arianna thought for a while. "How are you related to Master Dylan?"

The little boy began laughing. "What are you talking about? There's only one Master Dylan in this mansion."

That is to say the master Dylan who saved her was this little boy? Hearing that piece of information, Arianna's mind started running wild. She zoned out for a while weighing every detail of what happened, but she couldn't come up with a solid conclusion.

"You can just ask me about anything. No need to rack your brain this much. I'm an honest person!"

Arianna was stunned. This little guy is not simple either. He doesn't talk or think like his age. It's like he's talking to a teenager or someone older.

"Alright. How did you know about my identity? Why did you help me? What do you plan to do about me? How long are you planning to keep me here?" she fired one question after another. The little boy hopelessly shook his head with a sigh.

"I'm not detaining you! You're here because you're injured. I'm helping you get better. As to how I found out who you are.... it's easy. Marcus Knox is my father."

Marcus Knox? Arianna was dumbfounded. Marcus Knox is a young business magnate, and also a great software developer. If she's not wrong, the bracelet she was wearing and the watch she gifted Yago was designed by Marcus Knox himself!

"You know him too, right?" the boy continued. "If I want to know something, there's very little that I can't learn about. Aside from his connections, I'm very capable my self. I can easily hack through any database. Even those under the protection of my father. I always do that just to pass time or piss him off."

Arianna can't find anything good to say, so she just shut her mouth and listened to the little boy's ranting. She has always wanted to meet Mr. Knox. She didn't think she'll meet the son instead. "That old man is quite famous. What they don't know is that he's a very cruel person. He just banished me to this island for some unknown reason! I was seven when I first came here, and he only visits me once in a while!", he complained.

Arianna raised her brows. Old man? Marcus Knox is only thirty one though! But being abandoned at such a young age, it somehow reminded her of Yago.

"How about your mother? Where is she?", she asked out of curiosity.

The boy sighed. "She died when I was still young. I bet my dad was blaming me for her death, that's why he sent me away."

That was sad. Had he stayed here since then and never left the island? He was a prince in this land, living in luxury, but still not happy.

"Do you wish to get out of here too?", she said with a smile.

Dylan fell silent for a while before he chuckled. "I'm not a stupid boy. Don't think you can trick me into letting you go so easily. You can't leave this place yet. Not in that condition! We have to find a way to cure your eyes first."

Arianna's heart skipped a beat. Is it true? This young boy is set to help her regain her eyesight? Is he serious?