Blackstone Code

It was another long day of work.

The reserved smile on Bennett's face disappeared the moment he got into his car, replaced by deep exhaustion, both physical and mental.

His wife had called his office today, essentially complaining that he hadn't visited her father in a while, which led her to believe that they were being unjustly neglected and mistreated.

My god, everyone knew who was really the dominant one in the relationship, but Bennett could only silently endure it.

They had a fight—mostly his wife ranting while Bennett listened, apologized, and endured.

Advancing within the bank came with strict requirements. It wasn't as simple as being appreciated and competent, especially in critical departments like the credit department.

In such a position, one could afford to have minor flaws or lack great ability, but they had to meet two criteria that some might find laughable, yet were tacitly accepted as societal rules.

First, caution; second, fulfilling complete social responsibilities.

The first criterion was straightforward: avoid taking on excessively risky ventures. However, this wasn't a complete criterion in itself. Banks had dedicated risk assessment departments that would inform higher-ups about the foreseeable and unforeseeable consequences of their various decisions.

Federal sociologists and crime research institutions, after studying various cases over the years, had concluded that adults with stable family relationships were significantly less likely to commit crimes than those without such relationships—people without marriage, without children, and with little social interaction.

Marriage and family were forms of social responsibility. To put it mildly, it was an individual's duty. Once people had responsibilities, they would restrain themselves.

In reality, this was a kind of shackle imposed on individuals during the evolution of society—a shackle best suited for modern civilization. It ensnared a person in an invisible web from which there was no escape, eventually making them part of it.

Bennett didn't plan to have too many conflicts with his wife for the time being. Moving to Sabin was, in his eyes, a turning point in his life. Once he replaced Joegleman, he would consider divorcing her.

After all, he didn't have much in terms of assets, so it wouldn't matter even if he gave them all to her. From that point on, he could start a new life.

The thought of this lifted his spirits slightly.

As his car pulled out of the underground parking lot, a few pigeons perched on a trash can flapped their wings and flew into the sky.

There were fewer and fewer birds in the city. It was becoming harder for them to find people willing to feed them, and they had to search for unlikely food sources in the harsh winter.

This winter had brought cold not only to people but also to animals, leaving them to suffer.

Bennett parked his car in the lot across from the strip club. He wore a high-collared trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his face. No one paid him any attention, and certainly no one cared about a man entering a strip bar.

He'd had a fascinating experience here the day before, and as he reminisced about it afterward, he realized something sad.

He couldn't remember what his first love looked like. Under the relentless assault of time, that once vivid face that had appeared in his dreams every night had faded and blurred.

The face that had once been unforgettable, etched into his bones, was now so hazy that it pained him to realize how much he had forgotten.

He once thought that this love would never fade, but clearly, he was wrong.

Until... the image of that girl started replacing that old face. He wasn't sure whether he was finally recalling something or whether the two girls simply looked very alike.

With all the conflicts at home and office politics at work, he shouldn't have been returning here so frequently. But instinctively, he wanted to see the girl again.

After presenting his VIP card, he requested the same girl again in the VIP section. She was dressed differently today—wearing a pink dress with little yellow flowers.

Seeing the girl made Bennett feel a bit dazed. His mind drifted back to a fragment of a memory from long ago. It was a sunny day, in late spring or early summer. In his memory, he chased a girl in the wind, and there was only joy in his heart…

Happy times always passed too quickly. Feeling satisfied, Bennett took out his wallet and counted out twenty bucks. Then he paused for a moment and added another ten, making it thirty bucks in total before placing the money into the girl's hand.

He could have given her more. Deep down, he also knew that this was nothing more than a moment of joy bought with money. But whether it was due to his pursuit of a false illusion or because he didn't want the girl to become greedy, he restrained himself from giving more.

As he placed the money in her hand, he froze. He noticed the bracelet on her wrist.

It was an old silver bracelet, some parts badly tarnished, but Bennett recognized it instantly.

He grabbed her wrist, but the girl quickly pulled away.

Her expression was no longer as lively as before. Now she looked indifferent as she stuffed the money into her cleavage. "Sorry, sir, the service is over."

Her sudden shift in demeanor was like a splash of cold water on Bennett's head.

Yes, she had finished her job. By the rules, she could leave now.

But Bennett was anxious. The bracelet looked exactly like the one from his memory, a bracelet he had bought for a girl long ago with all the pocket change he had, a bracelet that represented his purest, most beautiful feelings.

He still remembered the engraving on the back of the second clover on the bracelet—two initials, representing his and his first love's names.

"Sorry if I scared you…" Bennett apologized, still fixated on the bracelet. "Where did you get that bracelet?"

The girl shook her head. "That's none of your business, sir."

She began to gather her things, though there wasn't much to pack. As the girl prepared to leave, Bennett, growing desperate, pulled out several twenty-buck bills. "Give me another round!"

The girl gave him a long look before snatching up the money. "If you can't cum, I'm not giving it back."

Bennett sat back on the sofa and nodded, calming down a bit now that the girl wouldn't leave immediately. "No problem. But you must answer my question because I'm your…"

The girl rolled her eyes and started again. Soon, Bennett learned the origin of the bracelet. It had been given to the girl by her mother, and Bennett also saw the two initials engraved on it.

His heart began to race again. The conflicts at home made him long for the innocence of that first love—something so pure and sacred it had become almost a religious ideal in his mind.

But then the girl told him something he never wanted to know.

"You know my mom?" she asked, lighting a cigarette after finishing the second service.

Bennett awkwardly nodded. "I used to be friends with your mother."

The girl smiled cynically, a look that irritated Bennett. "I'm not joking. I really knew your mother."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, well, where I come from, at least half the men I meet say the same thing…" She had a biting sense of humor, though her words weren't funny. "And they probably know my mother better than you."

A long silence followed before Bennett blurted out something he shouldn't have said, "You shouldn't be doing this!"

"You look down on me…" The girl threw the rest of her cigarette to the ground and began packing up. "I know, just look at your trench coat. How much did it cost? Three hundred, five hundred, or a thousand?"

"Eight hundred and eighty bucks," Bennett replied softly.

The girl sneered with even more contempt. "Eight hundred and eighty bucks, sir. Do you know how many times I'd have to suck…" She spat on the ground, her face filled with hatred, her emotions affecting the way she packed her things.

She angrily shoved her belongings into her bag. "I bet that's just one of many coats in your wardrobe. What gives you the right to tell me how to live?"

She looked him straight in the eye. "You think I enjoy sucking you off?" She raised her middle finger and swore at him before slamming the door on her way out.

Bennett hadn't yet realized that what he had said was more offensive than anything he had done. A large man entered the room, looked at Bennett sitting on the sofa, and smiled in a way that wasn't reassuring.

"Sir, please show respect to everyone. I don't want to use force, and I'm sure you don't want to get hurt. We won't be seeing each other again, right?"

That night, Bennett couldn't sleep. It was very late when he finally dozed off, and he had a strange dream. His hazy memories were blending with other memories, and in the dream, he experienced so much that he felt utterly exhausted.Please vote for this novel at /series/blackstone-code/There are advance chapters available nowAccess will be granted 24 hours after the donationTier 1: 7 Advance chapters Link

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