The soft chime of a GlassChannel alert buzzed quietly on Tyler’s phone as sunlight streamed through the half-closed curtains.
His eyes opened, still a little heavy from the night before. He rolled over, checked the time — 8:12 AM — then tapped into the notification.
{I’ve contacted everyone on the list but I’m yet to receive any reply from them.}
{Silvanus has reached out and requested another meeting. Time and location are being coordinated. David has been informed and will proceed. I will keep you updated.}
Tyler read through both reports with a blank expression. Nothing unexpected.
If anything, the lack of response from the operatives was the exact thing he anticipated.
People like Kimberly Ren, Logan Vance, and Amos Price didn’t jump at random digital signals. They scrutinized, they waited, they observed.
He knew they were probably doing everything they could to uncover who or what Freya was. But they wouldn’t find anything. Not unless Freya wanted them to.
After replying with a short "Let me know the second one of them responds," Tyler sat up and stretched, brushing a hand through his bed-tossed hair.
"Freya," he said aloud, still groggy.
{Yes, Master?}
"Give David the green light for that meeting. And send him the basic talking points again, just in case Silvanus tries to pull something."
{Already done. David acknowledged the message five minutes ago.}
Tyler nodded. He didn’t even have to get out of bed for this. Still, there was no time to waste.
He stood, walked over to the bathroom, and began his routine.
...
After his shower and the usual quick workout set, he went downstairs.
The aroma of breakfast hit him the second he stepped off the stairs.
"Eggs and toast?" he asked with a grin as he entered the kitchen.
"Eggs, toast, and tea," Helena called out from the kitchen.
Tyler walked in and saw her plating up the food with her usual grace.
He joined her at the table just as she sat down. She gave him one of those long maternal looks—a mix of suspicion, pride, and gentle warmth—before handing him a plate.
Helena smiled, as she watched him eat his meal. She had already had breakfast with Devin, as Tyler woke up quite late and they didn’t want to wake him up.
...
Just as they were finishing up, Devin stormed into the dining area, already dressed and visibly energized.
"There you are!" he said, pointing dramatically at Tyler.
"Good morning to you too," Tyler said, raising an eyebrow.
"You said we were spending today together."
"I did."
"Well, let’s go!"
Tyler laughed, standing and gathering the plates.
"Let me finish cleaning up."
"No time! Today is Devin Day."
Helena chuckled from the sink.
"You created a monster, you know."
"I know."
Devin dragged him to the living room and turned on the console.
"Two matches," Devin said. "Then we do something outside."
"Deal," Tyler agreed and picked up the controller.
The first match ended in Tyler’s favor. The second, Devin barely scraped a win—mostly because Tyler let him score in the last minute.
But the laughter that followed was what Tyler enjoyed. He love seeing his family happy smiles and laughter, and that would never change. Nothing would ever change that.
"Okay," Devin said as he dropped the controller and jumped to his feet.
"You promised outside time."
"I did."
Devin turned and grabbed a basketball from behind the couch.
"Let’s hit the court."
They made their to the mansion’s court. Tyler followed Devin onto the concrete, stretching his arms and bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.
Devin tossed him the ball. "Let’s go. First to ten."
"First to ten? You sure about that?"
"Definitely."
"You say that like I’ve aged twenty years."
Devin made the first move—fast, light on his feet. He juked left and cut right, tossing a layup that bounced off the rim.
"Rusty," Tyler said, grabbing the rebound.
"No warmup!" Devin argued.
The game went back and forth for fifteen minutes. Tyler wasn’t playing at full capacity which was a already more than obvious, but he kept things just competitive enough to push Devin.
In the end, it was 10-8. Devin actually scored the final point on a jump shot that landed clean through the net.
Tyler clapped. "Nice shot."
Devin was breathing hard but smiling wide. "Told you I’ve been practicing."
"You have. You’ve gotten better."
...
After the game, they sat under the shade of the court’s small shelter, sipping bottled water.
"So... are you staying longer this time?" Devin asked suddenly.
Tyler looked at him.
"I don’t know. Maybe. But I’m not leaving soon, if that’s what you’re asking."
"Good," Devin nodded. "Because when you left last time... Mom was very worried. She tried to hide it, but I heard her."
Tyler didn’t respond right away. He just stared down at his hands.
"I didn’t want to go but I had to," he said softly.
"I know. I know that you’re doing everything for us. Mom and I know that, and we appreciate it. It’s because of you that we have a mansion that has basketball court and swimming pool inside.
Because of you, mom doesn’t have to overwork herself anymore. And because of you, my school life will be crazy from now on, because I’m definitely sure that everyone would want to know more about you after you came to pick me up in your car," Devin said, and a bright smile bloomed on his face when he said the last line.
Tyler smiled when he heard what Devin said. It filled him with pride that they appreciate what he was doing for them. It made him feel that everything he was doing was worthwhile.
"Hey, about your school. If anyone troubles you, let me know, okay?" He said.
"I will. But I doubt they will. You looked especially cool and scary," Devin laughed.
Tyler couldn’t help but laugh too.
...
Later that afternoon, the two of them took a walk to a nearby diner for lunch.
Tyler paid with a wave of his phone using the VaultPay app.
Yes, an app and it was built by Freya.
They spent the next hour eating, talking about anime, and arguing about which superhero could beat who.
It felt like life before everything changed. Before the system. Before the money. Before Freya and Gumua and all the weight he now carried.
And Tyler held onto that feeling.
...
Back home, the sun had started to dip. Tyler’s phone buzzed.
It was Freya.
{David is at the meeting location. Silvanus is en route. I will notify you when the meeting begins.}
"Okay. Let me know the outcome of it," Tyler replied.
He glanced at Devin, now stretched out on the couch, flipping through TV channels with the remote half-asleep in his hand.
He looked to his mom, who was busy in the kitchen and smiled.
They were the reason why he was doing everything.
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