The dark water settled, and Kain released a breath.

Behind him, the others stood ramrod stiff. Kain’s eyes found Amelia. She stood with the group, two hands gripping her shoulder, forcing her to stay in place.

Kain met the butler’s eyes. His violet orbs darkened as he saw how tightly Amelia was being held, but he said nothing. He knelt so he was eye level with the three of them. He paid no mind to the others in the room.

His intention was never to get on their good side. The system told him to nurture the children, and that’s what he’s doing. His trust in these people is nonexistent. If not for being Amelia’s family and having some equipment he wanted, he wouldn’t have thought of helping them.

"How are you feeling?" he asked the children. "You three are smart, I’m sure you can understand what’s happening right now."

"A tsunami," replied Dominic.

"You know what a tsunami is, good. So tell me what we need to do next."

Dominic pursed his lips. Knowing what something is and knowing how to deal with it are different. He learned a lot, but he had no idea what to do with the information he collected.

"It’s fine if you don’t know," Kain replied. "Normally, getting to higher ground is the first thing. But we are already high above the waters. Do you see those containers over there?"

The three children looked over and nodded.

"That will be our food for a while. After all the food is gone, we might starve to death. Do you know why I let you watch the waters?" He looked deep into their eyes, giving them time to process. They don’t need to understand it all; they only need to understand enough.

"You didn’t have parents before. I don’t know how much you suffered. But you have them now. I didn’t say it before, but my job is to protect you. I don’t want you becoming soft." He pointed to the waters outside. "Most people outside are dead. Inside, you can have food. But if anything happens to any of the adults here, you won’t have food to eat.

I’m not trying to scare you. I only want you to know that I will protect you. But I will also teach you to survive. You might have to do things that make you uncomfortable. But as long as you can stay alive, it doesn’t matter. Do you understand?"

"I know," Avery said in a sweet voice. "Any number under 5 goes to sleep because of big brother Ashton."

Kain wasn’t aware of Dominic’s ability, so he opened his mouth to ask what she meant. Before he could, a crass voice bellowed.

"Is that something you say to a kid?"

Kain side-eyed the person. He had no intention of answering. Only told the three children to go play by themselves. Next, he turned his attention to the adults.

His eyes swept over everyone. Stopping briefly on three people. As if receiving a signal, they walked over to him. This immediately split the group into two. The Hartwells had a total of eight people. The bodyguard who left had not returned.

The three people by his side were Jake, Veronica, and Amelia. This was his expectation. Though now wasn’t the time to create friction. It was best to let them know where he stood.

The Hartwell’s understood the meaning. Seeing Amelia and Veronica standing on Kain’s side, a feeling of betrayal surged in Mr and Mrs Hartwell’s hearts. Their reactions varied. A series of constipated looks passed through them, knowing that two of the people who ’should be on their side’ weren’t.

Two people didn’t share the same look of betrayal: Nicola and Danielle. The twinkle in Nicola’s eyes made Kain somewhat wary of him. He knew the man wasn’t simple. He hadn’t spent enough time with him to understand him.

He was certain of one thing. Someone like Nicola shouldn’t have died as early as he did in the past life.

The two sides were in a face-off. Neither wanted to show their weakness. The one who broke the stalemate was Danielle. She doesn’t speak much. At least Kain never heard much from her.

"Brother-in-law, we don’t need to be hostile to each other, do we? Aim is my sister. We have enough food, we don’t need to leave the mansion. The waters will recede soon."

Soon. It wasn’t soon. If they intended to wait for the water to go down to leave the mansion, they would never leave. He already said it was the apocalypse, but it was obvious she didn’t believe it.

Most likely, no one believed him. He had no intention of retorting. They would learn sooner or later.

"Danielle is right. Mr Nightfall. You and my daughter already have children together," Mr Hartwell spoke up. He looked at the children, a bit of unease creeping onto his face. "Your notion of the world ending had already saved our Hartwell family hundreds of millions, even billions. When the waters recede, we will definitely pay you handsomely.

But honestly, a tsunami isn’t the end of the world. No matter how large the way, there will be a time when the waters go back to their original direction."

Kain understood. In Mr Hartwell’s eyes, Kain was nothing. He had a business, but it was nowhere near as big as the Hartwell’s. He was lucky enough to gain his daughter’s affection, but that’s all her would ever get. He wanted to compensate Kain for his help, but that was all.

Kain listened, not refuting their claim. If they think the water will recede, let them. He only needed to secure the means for his own people to survive.

Kain took in what they had to say, then he turned to the three people. "Do you believe the waters will go down, too? Don’t lie to me."

He did not allow any emotion to cross his features. Any inflection in speech was kept to a minimum. He might want to build his own faction, but that didn’t mean he needed to have these people.

He could repay Amelia by staying close; there was no need for them to be together. The trust he had in Jake came from the previous life. They hadn’t gone through much now, so he had every right to refuse him. As for Veronica, he had no expectations.

The ball was in their court. They could decide whether they wanted to stay with him or the Hartwell’s.

"You don’t think you could get rid of me that easily, do you?" Amelia chuckled low. She pinched his forcing him to look directly at her. "Everything about you belongs to me. Don’t think you can run away."

The intensity of her stare caused Kain to shiver. If he didn’t know better, he would think she wanted to devour him. The heat in her gaze made him swallow.

"Boss," Jake’s voice sounded, breaking the tension. Amelia glared at him. Jake grinned, scratching the back of his head.

Looking at his clueless expression, Kain wanted to smack him. He was nothing like the man hardened by the collapse. But he was someone who risked his life for him. He needs some training, was the first thought Kain had.

"Boss," he repeated, seeing that Kain wasn’t responding.

"Mhm."

"I’m always on your side," he replied, giving a thumbs-up.

Veronica didn’t wait. She looked placidly at Kain. "They’re here and so am I."

He smirked. At least for now, they were on his side. He would see what happened later.

"I hope that answers any doubts you all have. We won’t touch any food that your family has prepared. If we need to, then we can definitely work together. Unfortunately, I will not be working under Mr Hartwell’s thumb as he expected."

He had said the last part aloud because he wanted everyone to know that this was not a negotiation. He knew what the Hartwell’s wanted. He was willing to play along for a while, but not forever.

As they turned away from the Hartwell’s, Kain could feel their eyes on him. Searching gazes attempting to confirm whether he was serious or acting tough.