My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 135: Aftermath : Justice For Destiny

Dennis, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne appeared around Daisy, who was cradling Destiny. Seeing their faces and their clothes, she was surprised.

"Wow... you all still look so neat. So, what happened? Why do you have those looks on your faces?" Daisy asked.

"I’ll tell you later. How are Rika and Bella doing?" Dennis asked.

"Rika said she’s going to stay at the hospital to keep Bella company. She mentioned Akira already gave her permission, but Akira also asked me to stay with Rika, just in case, because she already knows the story about Chris coming to the hospital. Rika told him everything," Daisy answered.

"Hmm... I see. Alright, I’ll take them home with Destiny, and after that, I’ll come back here," Dennis said.

"I already said I wanted to drop Destiny off at home for a bit, because a nurse came in earlier and scolded me for bringing a baby into the emergency room," Daisy said.

"In that case, let’s all head home together first. Everyone, get in," Dennis replied.

"Alright," replied Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne.

Then they all got into the car and drove away from the hospital. Along the way, Dennis and the others told Daisy everything. Naturally, Daisy was shocked to hear it and immediately turned around to hold the hands of all her sisters in the back, one of whom was holding Destiny. After that, Daisy sat back and looked forward.

"So, because of Destiny, we ended up destroying a human trafficking and crawler syndicate in the south, huh?" Daisy asked.

"That’s pretty much it," Dennis answered.

"Then what about Chris?" Daisy asked.

"The police will handle him. Now that his leader is gone, there’s no one left to protect him. It’s certain he and the other men will be deported to Aquamarine City one day for their crimes, so just let it be," Dennis answered.

"Good. Now there won’t be anyone else messing around, using dating sites to trap girls and get them pregnant just to turn their babies into crawlers," Daisy said.

"Yeah, you’re right," Dennis replied briefly, his eyes fixed on the road as he drove.

"So, what happens with Destiny now?" Daphne asked.

"Exactly. She’s a newborn, isn’t she? She doesn’t even have a birth certificate. I could generate one and register her directly into the database, though," Donna added.

"True, we can’t possibly abandon her," Dahlia chimed in.

"I don’t trust child protective services. I definitely don’t want to hand her over to them," said Deborah, who was cradling Destiny.

"Since it’s already clear, I won’t complain anymore... but I’m still anti-baby. Don’t hand her to me until she’s at least a year old," Dulcia added, leaning back casually.

"So, what do you think, honey? Should we adopt her?" Daisy asked, turning to look at Dennis.

Dennis glanced at Daisy’s hopeful face and then looked in the rearview mirror, where the faces of the other six appeared, blocking his view of the back; naturally, all of them looked hopeful. Deborah even lifted Destiny up, showing off her cute, sweet face. Dennis sighed, then returned his gaze to the road. Dennis realized that Destiny’s fate was more or less the same as his own, and he could certainly feel that connection. Besides, he was starting to love the cute baby too. Finally,

"Alright, let’s learn how to adopt a child officially... remember... officially... official and legal. Starting today, Destiny is our child," Dennis said with a smile.

"Hooray!" everyone shouted in unison.

"Did you hear that, Destiny? You have seven moms and one dad now. We’ve become a family," Deborah said happily, hugging Destiny, who let out a giggle and seemed to smile.

The atmosphere turned cheerful once again; even Dulcia, who was usually scowling, managed a smile this time, though she remained silent and didn’t say a word. They all looked happy as they took turns hugging Destiny, who seemed just as delighted. Watching them, Dennis wore a broad grin even as he continued driving the car. Once they reached the apartment, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne got out with Destiny.

After they all waved goodbye—with Dahlia also waving Destiny’s little hand—Dennis and Daisy drove back toward the hospital. After returning to the hospital, Dennis waited outside the emergency room, looking relaxed, while Daisy explained to Bella that she didn’t need to worry anymore—without actually explaining what Dennis and the others had really been doing down south.

***

The next day, Dennis and Daisy skipped school. They went home and started looking into how to officially adopt Destiny, ignoring Donna’s suggestion to just handle it through the back door. The massacre and the exposure of the southern syndicate—which had remained hidden from everyone until now—became breaking news broadcasted by every media outlet across the city.

All the crimes the syndicate had committed in secret left the entire population in horror; everyone cursed Jeff Erkin, who turned out to be a member of parliament in the city government and held a high-ranking position, as the mastermind behind it all.

Then, several hunters suspected of being his accomplices were now being interrogated, thanks to the files handed over to the police last night. The Hunter Guild conducted a thorough investigation of every hunter registered with the guild without exception.

Bella and Rika, still in the hospital emergency room, watched the news together on their smartphones. Bella shed tears of relief as she saw Chris’s face displayed in the report, listed as one of the wealthy hunters involved with the syndicate and now a fugitive in the city. Rika turned to look at her friend, who was weeping.

"I can’t believe I actually dated someone like this," Bella said, wiping away her tears.

"Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for you, Bel. You were already set to marry Brad, but then you cheated with his older cousin, and then you threw yourself at Chris... that’s enough. Fix yourself first before you go looking for another partner. You’re only 18; it’s not too late," Rika said, scolding Bella.

"You’re really being tough on me. I’m sad and broken, and here you are yelling at me... but you’re right. I have to fix what’s wrong with myself," Bella said with a faint smile.

"Yeah, you still have money. Use it for therapy or to become independent—I don’t care. The point is, you have to get your act together starting now," Rika replied.

"I know. I understand now," Bella replied, looking down.

"And one more thing: next time you want to run, you go to the police, not to Dennis, your childhood friend. After you get out of here, I want you to apologize to him and say thank you, then report it to the police because of how Chris abusive toward you, do you understand?" Rika asked.

Bella fell silent and hung her head. She felt sick to her stomach that Dennis was still helping her, especially after realizing how she had treated him ever since they were kids. A mix of shame, regret, and sadness over losing a childhood friend she could never get back—and the realization that she had burned so many bridges until they were nothing but ash with no way to return—made Bella cover her face with both hands, even though one of her arms was broken.

Bella sobbed uncontrollably behind her hands until her entire body trembled and shook. Seeing this, Rika immediately stood up and pulled Bella’s head into a hug without saying another word. After that, throughout the day, Rika—who was also skipping school—stayed by Bella’s side, supporting her friend who spent almost the entire day crying and talking about her childhood with Dennis.

Then, the news broadcast on their smartphones reported that the syndicate had been massacred by a gang, possibly seeking revenge, and that the gang was likely connected to hunters given the crawler carcasses found at the scene; this statement was provided by eyewitnesses—the bunny girls—who were at the location during the incident. The police are still investigating which gang carried out the massacre, and it has become a hot topic of debate as to which group could possibly possess the strength to wipe out an entire syndicate in just one night.

***

Meanwhile, in the apartment, "achoo... achoo," Dennis, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor leaning against the sofa while holding Destiny, suddenly sneezed repeatedly.

"Hey... dear, here, let me hold Destiny. You’re sneezing all over the place; what if Destiny gets sick," Daphne said, immediately pulling Destiny from Dennis’s arms.

"Yeah... sorry," Dennis said, rubbing his nose after Destiny was lifted away.

"What’s wrong, my husband? Are you sick?" Diana asked, releasing her bite from Dennis’s arm and stopping her blood-sucking.

"No... I don’t know why I keep sneezing," Dennis answered.

"Rest," said Dahlia, who was lying back casually on the sofa behind Dennis’s head while stroking his hair.

"You’ve been staring at your smartphone too much trying to learn how to adopt Destiny. I told you to just leave it to me, but you wouldn’t listen, hmph," Donna said, pouting.

"She’s right; there’s an easy way, but you choose the hard way," Deborah added while shaking a baby bottle.

"I don’t want any part of this. I’m anti-baby until she’s a year old," Dulcia chimed in.

"No way, I want to handle this myself. You don’t need to help me," Dennis insisted.

"Enough, come on, just go sleep in the bedroom. You’ve been short on sleep since last night, right?" Daisy asked while helping Dennis up.

"Fine then, I’m going to sleep," Dennis replied, walking toward the bedroom with Daisy. "Someone must be talking about me, whatever," Dennis muttered in his heart as he walked to his room with Daisy.