C389 One Last Gathering

Soon, the meeting began to come to an end. Chairs scraped softly against the floor as everyone slowly stood up. The atmosphere was still complicated. Some parents had agreed, others had refused, and nobody seemed completely satisfied with the decisions that had been made. Amanda's parents were the first to leave. Amanda watched them walk toward the entrance with a nervous expression. She couldn't tell from their faces whether they had agreed to let her go or whether they had changed their minds.

The moment they stepped outside, Amanda's mother called her. "Amanda." She froze. "Mom?" She walked closer to her. We couldn't hear what her mother was saying, but Amanda's expression changed as she followed behind her.. Sarah leaned closer to Samantha. "What do you think they decided?" Samantha shook her head. "I have no idea." Faith was equally nervous. Then her parents came out as well. Her father looked at her. "Aren't you leaving?" She looked at her mother. Then finally she followed behind them. The rest of us exchanged glances. It felt strange. Then Bright came outside. He looked toward Laura. "Laura..." Laura immediately shook her head. "No. I am not leaving. "

Bright looked confused. "What do you mean?" Laura crossed her arms. "I want to know what happened." Bright sighed. "I only came to call everyone." Laura looked at the others. "Then let's go back inside." Everyone returned to the table. Once we were seated again, Peter looked around. His eyes finally settled on Kelvin and his family. "Kelvin, in all these conversations, you and your family haven't said much." Kelvin smiled bitterly. "What do you want me to say?" Peter waited. Kelvin glanced at Samantha and Sarah. "Can I stop them?" Sarah immediately looked at her father. Kelvin continued. "From what I've seen, it seems like this entire thing was already decided before we were even invited." Everyone became quiet.

Kelvin looked around the room. "And honestly, the venue tells me everything." He pointed around the club. "This is Ben's club. It has only just opened, and there aren't many customers yet." Kelvin continued. "My guess is that either Sarah or Samantha suggested this place." Sarah immediately choked. "Dad, why are you so smart?" Everyone burst into laughter. Even Kelvin couldn't help smiling. I eventually took a deep breath. "So what was the final decision?" Georgia looked around the table. "Well..." She paused. "I can't say everything went perfectly." Chris leaned forward.

Georgia continued. "The Chambers family agreed." Chris immediately burst out laughing. "I knew my parents wouldn't let me down!" Everyone turned toward him. Chris suddenly realised how loud he had been. He covered his mouth. Sarah shook her head. "Chris." Chris smiled. "What?" "Nothing." Georgia continued. "The Gomez family also agreed." Laura immediately stood up. "Dad!" She rushed toward Prince and hugged him. Prince smiled warmly and placed an arm around his daughter-in-law. "I'm glad you're happy." Laura pulled away. "Thank you." Bright remained seated with a troubled expression. Prince looked at Laura. "It's alright. Now sit down and let Mrs. Mooney finish." Laura went back to her seat.

Georgia continued. "I take it as Wood family also agrees." She looked toward Kelvin and Tracy before looking at Sarah and Samantha. "So I suppose they already knew what was coming." Samantha immediately looked at Sarah. Sarah looked back. Kelvin asked, "So which one of you came up with the brilliant idea of inviting elders like us to a club filled with young people drinking?" Samantha didn't hesitate. "Sarah suggested it." Sarah's eyes widened. "You betrayed me!" Samantha smiled. Sarah looked at her father. "That's because she decided something more important than this." Tracy frowned. "Decide what?"

Samantha looked at her father. "Well, Dad..." She paused. "Since we're leaving, we already told everyone at the company meeting that you will take over the company while we're away." Kelvin blinked. "What?" Samantha smiled. "You'll be the Director of Wood IT Company again." Kelvin leaned back. "Who said I would accept?" Samantha laughed. "We're informing you, Dad. We're not asking for permission." Sarah nodded. "It was decided few hours ago." Kelvin stared at them for several seconds. Then he laughed. "You two have really become difficult." Samantha turned toward Tracy. "And as for the Vice Director's position..." "No." Tracy interrupted immediately. Everyone laughed.

Tracy shook her head. "I'll be staying here with Monica and Tristan. Absolutely not." Valeria, who had been sitting quietly, finally spoke. "And my husband and I just completed the purchase of the villa next to the Wood residence." Chris immediately looked at her. "Really, Mom?" Valeria nodded. "Yes." Chris smiled. "Then that means we'll have even more people around." Valeria laughed. Samantha smiled. "Then that means Dad will be running the company alone." Kelvin pretended to think about it. He looked toward the ceiling. "Hmm..." Everyone waited. Finally, he shrugged. "Well, I'll manage." Sarah laughed. "That's the spirit."

Mark suddenly looked toward me. "And what about Lucia Goods?" I nodded. "For Lucia Goods, we've decided to reappoint Leon and Adam as interim directors." Mark nodded. "That makes sense." I continued. "There shouldn't be any major challenges. Everyone is eager to continue working and training." Peter suddenly looked surprised. "Wait." He looked toward Alicia. "The training is still happening?" Alicia nodded. "Yes." Peter frowned. "Even after everything that happened?" Alicia answered calmly. "Especially because of everything that happened." She looked around the table. "We can't allow fear to stop us." Mary nodded slowly. "It is understandable."

Georgia then added, "The Stokes family agreed as well, although they want written confirmation that Amanda's family will receive the promised benefits." Chris immediately laughed. "Chipmunk, what did I tell you?" Sarah immediately looked away. Kelvin's expression changed. "Wait." He looked at Chris. "Chipmunk?" Chris froze. Sarah froze. Samantha looked at both of them. Kelvin narrowed his eyes. "It is the second time you said that word. Who exactly is Chipmunk?" Chris and Sarah exchanged glances. Then, almost at the same time, they turned toward me. I frowned. "Why are you looking at me?" Alicia also looked at me.

I cleared my throat. "Well..." Everyone waited. "It's Sarah's codename." Kelvin stared. "Her codename?" I nodded. "You weren't supposed to hear it. My brother is just a little too talkative." Everyone laughed. Chris shook his head. "I don't know why everyone keeps blaming me." Sarah smiled. "Because you keep giving them reasons." The laughter continued. Kelvin was still confused. "What kind of name is Chipmunk? How can it be my beautifuk daughter." Laughter rang again. But then Mary brought the conversation back to the serious matter. "As for the Capsey family..." She paused. "They refused." Samantha's smile disappeared.

Mary continued. "They said they only have one daughter and don't want her to become involved in our personal problems." Samantha lowered her eyes. Sarah noticed. So did Alicia. Peter nodded slowly. "So Faith won't be going." Quinton smiled faintly. "Now you can tell that scary coach to proceed with the rest." Mark nodded. "Yes. And tell them to inform me of their plans in advance." He looked toward Alicia. "I need enough information to coordinate with my team." Alicia nodded. "I will." She reached for her phone. But before she could send anything, Prince suddenly stopped her. "Hold on."

Alicia looked at him. Prince smiled. "Now that the decision has been made, I have another question." Laura immediately looked nervous. "Dad..." Prince laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not changing my mind." He looked toward Alicia. "We already know that Sarah is Chipmunk." Then he looked at Laura. "What is my daughter's codename?" Laura immediately shook her head. "Dad, you don't need to know." Godness joined in. "Of course we need to know." Laura's cheeks turned red. "Mom..." Godness smiled. "Tell us." Laura sighed. "Pixel." For a moment, everyone stared at her. Then the entire table erupted in laughter. Laura covered her face. "I knew I shouldn't have said it."

Alicia laughed as she picked up her phone. She sent a message to Hammer. Everyone agreed. Proceed with the plan. The reply came almost immediately. No problem, Madam. We are on it. Alicia locked her phone. The elders slowly began preparing to leave. One by one, they said their goodbyes. Before leaving kelvin looked at Mark. "Mr Mooney next time when we meet I want to know how you can pull the strings to make my investors withdraw their their shares whenever your daughter is bullied." Mark laughed "Well I will tell you next time." The elders finally left. But we decided to stay behind. Nobody wanted to leave just yet.

This was probably the last night we would all be together as ourselves. We ordered a few bottles of wine and sat around the table again. The music in the club remained low. The lights were dim. Nobody was discussing business. Nobody was discussing families. Nobody was discussing enemies. We were simply together. I raised my glass. "Guys..." Everyone looked at me. "This could be our last day as ourselves." The laughter disappeared. I smiled faintly. "So let's enjoy it." Everyone raised their glasses. We drank. For a few moments, there was silence. Then I looked around. "We've already been training for several weeks." I leaned back. "So let's talk about our strengths."

Samantha immediately smiled. "Boxing." We all looked at her. "I've become confident enough to say that I can fight in a battlefield now." She looked down at her hands. "But I still want to improve my blade training." She smiled. "If I can combine boxing and blade training, I think I can become a good Survivor." We nodded. Samantha had improved significantly since the training started. She wasn't the same person who had first walked into the training facility. She was becoming stronger. Laura looked slightly embarrassed. "I don't think I have the strength to fight people who are much bigger than me." Chris immediately laughed.

Laura pointed at him. "Don't." Chris raised his hands. "I didn't say anything." Laura continued. "But I've started getting used to holding a gun." She looked toward Alicia. "I think if I have enough time, I could learn sniper training." She paused. "Maybe I could become like Lewis." Alicia smiled. Laura continued more quietly. "I think I'd rather fight from a distance." She looked down. "I don't think I could kill someone while looking directly at them." Chris leaned back. "Killing is killing." Laura looked at him. "Chris!" He shrugged. "It doesn't matter where you are. You're still taking someone's life." Laura frowned. "You should be encouraging me!"

Chris laughed. "I'm just telling you the truth." Laura rolled her eyes. Alicia smiled. "Alright, enough." She looked at everyone. "As for me..." She reached toward the table. "I have my dagger training." She looked at me. "So for now, I think I'll focus on that." Then she smiled. "What about you, husband?" I leaned back. Everyone turned toward me. I smiled. "Every team needs someone working from behind the scenes, right?" The table became quiet. Everyone stared at me. Chris raised an eyebrow. Sarah looked curious. Samantha tilted her head. Laura frowned. Alicia simply smiled. "What exactly do you mean by that?" she asked.