"Now, you two problem solvers, remember you’re in charge. Dad is waiting for your answer. How did Uncle Matthew die?"

Ashton pouted before going back to inspect. Kain put Dominic on the bed, telling Ashton to give him the body bead.

Kain went to sit down and let the two little ones do their thing.

Seeing his father waiting for them to solve the mystery, Dominic put his father’s numbers issue behind him.

His father said his power would grow as he got older. Maybe one day he will be old enough to understand what the number means.

"Brother, come here," Ashton shouted.

Ashton had been examining Matthew’s body. Besides the bead in his finger, he also noticed blood was seeping from both ears. It hadn’t quite stopped yet and was leaking onto the pillows.

Dominic moved closer, watching the blood. The bead in his hand warmed up as he got closer.

"It’s getting warm."

He put his hand close to the blood, then by Mathew’s ear. He felt a tug on his hand, but he didn’t let go. At the same time, Matthew’s body twitched.

Dominic clamped both hands over the bead and refused to let go.

"Dad," he called out anxiously.

In one stride, Kain stepped close to the bed. He saw the twitching body and Dominic holding his hands near Matthew’s ear.

In one swift motion, he pulled them into his arms.

The body stopped shaking.

"Can I keep him?!" Ashton shouted excitedly.

"Shhh, don’t let the people outside hear," Kain whispered.

"His number, it changed. It wasn’t zero anymore, it was one."

Dominic dropped the bomb, and everyone in the room froze.

Outside, people wondered what was happening in the room. They heard the excited squeal. When someone was about to check, Amelia’s voice cut through everything.

"Leave it. Give the dead some respect."

No more than five minutes after Amelia spoke, the door opened. No one knows what happened inside.

Kain walked out of the room unruffled. "Prepare a funeral for him. Today, ration limits do not exist. Everyone eats as much as they can. Claire, you come with us. Jake, deal with the logistics. Vincent and Jon wrap him up. Let’s give him a proper send-off. Tell us when things are ready."

With that, the family of five, Claire, Jake, and Veronica, headed to the fifth floor.

The door hadn’t closed properly when Kain turned to Claire.

"You killed him, didn’t you?" It was framed as a question, but Kain’s steady eyes gave her no option to refuse.

Claire lifted her head. She no longer looked like the grieving woman. Her smile was radiant. Her eyes were bright and cheerful.

She didn’t deny it. "I did it. And I would do it again."

The system chimed in Kain’s mind. He knew he had completed the task.

He hummed, and everyone walked to the living room. Jake followed behind, a hint of eagerness in his gaze.

Kain saw him and said flatly, "Don’t you have work to do?"

"Boss...," he pouted.

"I’ll let you know. Go do your work," Veronica patted him on the back.

Claire’s ear twitched. She heard everything but ignored it. Finding a comfortable spot, everyone waited for her to give her reasoning.

With all the eyes on her, Claire couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. She had expected them to find out, but telling the story now, she felt nervous.

"I’m sure Matthew told you all the story; he loved telling the story. About a girl who watched her parents die. The killer who turned himself in and the mental patient she became.

But I’m sure he never told anyone that the murderer was his father. And the reason he killed my parents was entirely because of his son. Ever since we were young, he has wanted to marry me."

She ran a hand through her hair. "He and his father were both the obsessive type. His mother was well loved by his mother, but the love was suffocating. We could all see it. But no one ever said it.

When he turned his sights on me, my parents were hesitant. But my naive brain thought it was fine. I couldn’t see suffocating love. I thought his mother was being cherished, and I wanted the same thing.

My parents didn’t agree. So he got rid of my parents. He was there. He thought he was hiding, but I saw him. He smiled when they died."

"So what? Have you been waiting for revenge all these years?" Amelia asked.

Claire laughed and shook her head. "The funny thing about all of it is that I truly loved him. After everything, he was there. When I locked myself away, he fed me, clothed me, and talked to me. He was my everything.

Even when I was trapped in my body, and he did...that."

Her eyes flickered to the children, not wanting to mention anything sexual.

’Because mentioning murder in front of children is definitely okay.’ Kain thought.

"I willed myself to move. I allowed it, even when I couldn’t respond. I gave him everything. I wasn’t unhappy. But something changed inside him. He didn’t hit me, but he didn’t love me. I don’t know what changed.

Then, everything that happened afterwards, coming here, his constant need to be in control, I decided enough was enough.

I found a way to siphon his Source Energy when we were together."

She didn’t go into further detail, but everyone could understand.

"So what are you hoping to achieve?" Kain asked.

"I want to leave Floor One. I don’t have to go to Floor Three. I want to work. I want to do something other than be a ’wooden soldier’," her eyes flicked to Kain momentarily.

"And why should we believe you?" The question hung in the air.

Claire pursed her lips; she didn’t know what to say to get them to believe her. She only knew that she wanted her life to be more than it currently is.

"I don’t have a way to convince you. I can only work hard. I’m willing to listen without complaint. I’ll work however you want me to."

"Wouldn’t that make you a wooden soldier again?" Kain asked.

Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "For Nightfall, I am willing."