CHAPTER SIX: BAHD HUGGIES FINDS HIS REAL SON

CHAPTER SIX: BAHD HUGGIES FINDS WHO HIS REAL SON IS

It was quieter than usual in the Huggies Clubhouse. The majority of the staff had left for their homes, the dancers had gone to their rooms, and the music had been turned down. Upstairs in the VIP lounge, an odd silence descended, as though the walls themselves were holding their breath.

Justin watched the deserted club floor below from the large tinted window. His fists clenched behind his back, his heart hammering beneath the black bodyguard shirt. It wasn't just another shift tonight. He could feel it in his bones that tonight would be different.

The heavy double doors creaked open behind him.

The deep voice of Bahd Huggies called out, "Justin."

Slowly, Justin turned. He was now only a few feet away from the man he had spent the previous month admiring from a distance. Even in a plain grey suit, he radiated authority. His dark eyes scanned Justin as if attempting to read a long-forgotten language, and the light brushed across the silver strands in his beard.

"Come with me," Bahd said, gesturing to his personal room. Justin followed after him down the corridor.

His throat was dry, and his legs were unsteady. This was the first time Bahd had called him in this manner. He was unsure whether this was a test or the start of the end for his deception. He was done hiding, anyway.

The office was dark, with a subtle scent of aged whisky and cigar smoke. Bahd Huggies motioned for Justin to take a seat after closing the door behind them. Under him, the leather chair felt strange.

After making himself a drink at the bar, Bahd leaned on the edge of the table. He did not sit. He just gazed.

"You've been with me for three weeks now, right?" "What?" he enquired.

With a firm voice in spite of the dread in his chest, Justin answered, "Almost a month."

Bahd answered slowly, "I've never had any reason to doubt your sincerity." However, something about you... I am not sure. You remind me of a person I used to know.

Justin swallowed forcefully. "Sir—"

"Who exactly are you?" He was interrupted by Bahd. I mean your entire name. Where are you from?

Justin was hesitant. That was it. Then he inhaled. Next, another. Then, in a low voice, he introduced himself as Justin.

Justin Maloney. Huggies Bahd froze.

"Maloney," he echoed, voice nearly a whisper. "Your mother's name?"

Justin nodded. "She was… Paulie Maloney. She worked in California years ago."

It made Bahd's face tense. Justin added, "Ice cream shop." It was there that I worked until she passed away.

Justin's vision became unclear. He was no longer concerned. He had been burdened by the secret for too long.

His voice cracked as he said, "She told me before she died." "You are my father," she said.

Bahd was motionless as he gazed at him.

"I was at a loss for what to do," Justin added. "At first, I didn't believe it. But then I discovered old letters, pictures. She claimed she didn't want me to grow up in this world, which is why she left. The clubs. The risk. The power. She wished for my safety.

He didn't turn away even though tears were now streaming down his face.

He declared, "I didn't come here for money." "I simply... I was hoping to see you. The man who gave me life was someone I wanted to know. I needed to know, even if you didn't like me.

Bahd Huggies sat down after taking a slow walk around the desk. At first, he remained silent.

He simply looked at Justin. Looked at him the way a man looks at a photo he once burned but never forgot.

"I looked for you," Bahd finally said in a rough, low voice. After she departed, I looked for you two. Like smoke, she disappeared.

Justin dabbed at his eyes. "She kept all of this from me." Bahd muttered, "You have her eyes." "But your fire—that belongs to me."

Then, much to Justin's surprise, Bahd took out a tiny picture from the drawer, faded and wrinkled with age. A woman with a baby in her arms.

Justin let out a gasp. "That's,....that's us." "Ever since you disappeared I've carried it with me every day."

Justin put his hand over his mouth. Feelings rushed too quickly to control.

Bahd got up and approached. He touched Justin's shoulder for the first time. With a hint of brokenness, he declared, "You are my son." "You have been right here in front of me the entire time, protecting me as if your life depended on it."

"I was at a loss for words," Justin muttered. Bahd drew him into a close hug. He remarked, "You just did." "You did it like a man, too."

Father and son, finally bound together by time and truth, stood silently. Bahd put two items on the table after reaching into his drawer when they were able to sit down again: a black ring with a lion's head crest as well as a leather key holder bearing the Huggies logo.

He declared, "I made this world for power." "I started the Huggies Clubhouse from scratch. But something was always lacking. Perhaps Brandon was the solution, I thought.

Justin tensed.

"When he had no one, I took him in," Bahd remarked. I brought him up just like my own. He lacks the heart, though. His loyalty is lacking. Yes, he is ambitious. However, no honour.

Justin said nothing. "I am aware that you have witnessed his behaviour," Bahd added. "He's currently observing you. And he's not content. "I can manage him,"

Justin remarked in a composed tone. "I have no doubts about that." Bahd shoved the keys and ring at him. However, you don't have to deal with him by yourself. I'm yours. For however long I have left, anyway. The ring caught Justin's attention. The emblem of authority. The club. The heritage.

"Why now?" he whispered. "Why give this to me?"

"Because I'm tired," Bahd stated. "And because I am aware that I am staring at the man who ought to lead this empire."

Justin accepted the ring. It weighed more than he thought. "I'm not flawless," he admitted.

"All right," Bahd said. "I'm not either. You're real, though. And that is what counts.

They sat silently for a while longer, drinking whisky.

It wasn't a perfect reunion. But it was honest.

And through an opening in the door, someone watched in the darkness outside the office, his eyes burning with betrayal, his jaw clenched.

Brandon.