Psychic Overlord

Keith removed his glasses and put them on the table slowly. He gently rapped his knuckles against his chin as he pondered how to put his thoughts into a proper string of sentences and not overreact.

Charlene was mutedly in a daze and held her arms as she shuddered, thinking about how close her darling son had come to death, and by the looks of it, would continue to enter the crosshairs of dangerous people.

Katherine was actually the first to speak, looking so excited, like someone who had been finally vindicated of a heinous crime after years of being maligned for it.

"I knew it! I knew Drake didn't abandon me!" She almost squealed with joy and rekindled hope.

Keith, Charlene, and Rina were stunned by this, for this name was a taboo in their house. Katherine always talked fondly of Rina's father, but as Rina grew up, she began to detest the very idea of his existence, believing that he had duped her starstruck mother.

Usually, just mentioning his name would make Rina furious and enter into an argument with her mother, causing Katherine endless sadness that her daughter hated her father so much. Now though, with Kaizer coming out with this, there was the unintended consequence of highlighting Rina's own origins.

Rina felt her throat go dry, as like Charlene, she had been shocked to hear that her beloved brother had almost left the world twice in just this past week alone. Still, when her father's name was mentioned, she almost chided her mother out of frustration when the words got stuck in her throat.

She resented her father because the story of "someone appeared in the hospital room and carried him off in the flash of an eye" sounded like the biggest lie her mother could make up to cover for her father, but with the new information she had now, it was more than likely since someone literally just did that to Kaizer not even half a day ago.

Seeing her mother feeling so joyous and vindicated, Rina once again felt a dull ache in her chest. She thought of all the times she had shut down her mother's attempts to talk about her father to her after she became a teenager and how much pain it must have caused Katherine.

There was nothing more agonizing than being misunderstood for something or being accused of something you didn't do, but no one believed you when you literally stated the truth. It was one thing for Katherine's former model colleagues to look at her like a piece of trash because she was a single mother of a bastard whose father was nowhere to be found, but it was another thing for her own daughter to not take her side.

To that end, Rina stood up and hugged her mother with tears in her eyes. "Mom, I'm sorry for not trusting and believing you."

Katherine was surprised by the sudden hug. She didn't think Rina was wrong because sometimes, Katherine even doubted herself and her memories. She always took Rina's dissatisfaction as bitterness from her child at not being able to have her father around, so it only really slightly bothered Katherine, but not nearly as much as Rina thought.

Rina still didn't understand the depths of Katherine's love for her. If a few more years passed and Rina insisted on it, Katherine might even decide that what she saw was a mistake and firmly take her daughter's side, because nothing was more important than her daughter to her.

Katherine hugged Rina back and gently stroked her back. "Darling, don't worry about it. Mom understands."

Charlene was deeply moved by this scene while Kaizer and Keith shared a look. While the ladies were caught in the emotions of the moment, they had gone further to realize the implications of the whole matter.

Rina's father, this Drake fellow, was likely an Esper. He was also an Esper with enemies, and the strength of his enemies was not known, nor was their identity since Katherine only saw a fraction of the scene at the time.

Did this Drake fellow's enemies know about his child and should-have-been wife Katherine? They should, right, since they ambushed him at his weakest moment, when his woman had just given birth to his child.

Then why hadn't they plucked out the roots yet to prevent revenge? Was it because none of the family showed signs of being espers?

So were they being monitored at this very moment by powers they were unaware of? If so, how to counter such methods of monitoring? And if so, did they already hear everything just now and were on their way to slaughter the family?

The minds of Kaizer and Keith raced while Katherine continually comforted Rina, and Charlene gently patted her son on the back with a look of lingering worry, still hung up on the story of his attack.

Keith tapped his forehead, his mind working rapidly.

"About your powers, you and Rina..." He began, looking at everyone slowly as they turned to regard him for the next steps.

Keith leaned back into his seat. "We cannot keep them secret. We must secure a connection to the world of Espers hidden amongst society and find a faction that has goals that align with ours to secure our children within. This will enable them to obtain resources for growth, protection, and most importantly, information."

Kaizer frowned. "Dad..."

Keith raised a hand. "I know, son. There is danger in doing so, but there is even more danger in trying to hide your abilities and hoping no one notices, because someone has. The faction you fought, this organization, we don't know their full scale and power, nor what action they will take to deal with you. We cannot be reactive at this time, or our whole family will disappear easily."

Rina did not seem convinced. "But Uncle, we are the Lunin family. Your name resounds in today's society, so if something happens to you, there will be a great uproar."

Keith nodded. "Yes, that's true, but..."

With a sigh, Keith rubbed his eyes. "After becoming rich, I realized that my perception of the world was limited. I have met people and received certain powers that I never would have thought the average man could possess prior to being where I am today, and all of this is a result of my value and my wealth."

Keith calmly glanced at the two. "This is a crucial lesson from me to you two: never think you have fully understood the world and have seen through human nature. When you were kids, I thought I was extremely perceptive because of my savvy until I became rich and had my horizons broadened."

"Then nearly a decade later, on this day, I have heard that there exists a world of people with comic-book-like superpowers that I used to dream of as a child who have completely hidden their existence from the world. Even my previous wealth and value that can allow me to do things that are more demonic than criminal without any repercussions still did not qualify me to get to know about this world."

Keith's expression was deep and solemn. "If Kaizer never told us, I would have lived and died without ever knowing. There is always more than meets the eye; never become complacent."