He gave Telly and her family a full two hours to talk. When Hunter Sun finally reappeared in the villa's living room, all three of them had red, tear-streaked eyes. Telly's eyes were especially swollen. Seeing Hunter return, a smile finally broke through the sorrow on her face.
"I'm back."
Hunter walked over with a warm smile, instinctively reaching out to ruffle Telly's hair. She was petite, standing just over five foot three, while his enhanced physique put him near six foot one. Affectionately stroking her hair was a comforting, familiar gesture for him.
The moment his hand touched Telly, Hunter felt a sharp gaze lock onto him. It perfectly embodied the old feeling of having daggers boring into one's back. He turned to find Damon glaring at the hand resting on Telly's head. The older man's bloodshot eyes looked ready to spit fire.
Hunter found the intense reaction amusing but didn't pull his hand away. He gave her hair one last gentle pat before speaking.
"Mr. Macready, I can guess exactly why you flew all the way here from New York."
"I respect Telly's choices completely. If she wants to leave with you, she has my absolute blessing."
"But if she doesn't want to go, no one is taking her away."
"Not even her father."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hunter felt two arms wrap tightly around his own. He didn't need to look to know Telly was holding onto him for dear life.
Damon's face instantly darkened. He had just spent the last two hours confirming that Telly was indeed his long-lost daughter. She had been abducted by Frank D'Amico's men years ago, sold to human traffickers, and eventually forced into a miserable existence under the Boston Russian mob.
Hearing that tragic history had only cemented his resolve to take her away. He wanted to keep her by his side, protect her, and make up for all the lost years.
But despite pleading for two solid hours, Damon had failed to convince Telly to leave. He had briefly considered grabbing her and making a run for it before Hunter returned. Ultimately, he forced himself to abandon that reckless idea.
For one, Damon's safehouse in New York was thoroughly compromised. Hunter had tracked him and Mindy down effortlessly. The man had also single-handedly slaughtered Damon's sworn enemy, Frank D'Amico, and hand-delivered the drug lord's severed head as a greeting gift.
Even if they managed to run, hiding from someone with that level of resources would be impossible without fleeing the country.
Furthermore, Damon had witnessed Hunter's terrifying combat skills firsthand. He had kept an eye on the news and even asked an old contact in the police force to pull the classified reports on the Paris Hotel massacre. Those files confirmed that Hunter wasn't just monstrously lethal on his own, but also had a network of highly skilled associates.
But none of those threats were what truly stopped him. The real reason Damon gave up was Telly herself. Just moments ago, when he had tried to forcefully drag her out the door, she had reacted.
Telly had unhesitatingly pulled a compact lady's pistol from her clothes and aimed it squarely at her own father's chest.
Given his training, Damon could have easily disarmed the trembling girl holding the gun. But at his core, he was still a father. He was a father consumed by guilt over his failure to protect his eldest child. Facing her absolute defiance, his resolve broke, and he abandoned all thoughts of taking her by force.
Hearing Hunter's firm declaration now, Damon swallowed hard. The vigilante swallowed his pride and remained silent for a long moment.
"I... I respect Telly's decision too," he finally rasped.
He pulled off his glasses, giving voice to his bitter defeat. As he looked at his daughter, fresh tears began to well up in his eyes.
Mindy was undeniably mature for her age, but the ten-year-old was still struggling to process the sheer weight of the situation. Her long-lost sister had returned, and her father's desperate attempt to bring her home had just collapsed. Her sharp eyes darted rapidly between Damon, Telly, and Hunter, her young mind racing with unspoken thoughts.
Hunter stayed quiet, patiently waiting for Telly to speak her truth.
"Thank you. Both of you," Telly said softly.
Her heart ached with emotion at the realization that she finally had her family back. If she were still trapped in that Boston hellhole under the boot of the Russian mob, she would have fled with Damon and Mindy in a heartbeat.
But things were different now. She had found the man she loved, a man who shielded her from the cruelties of the world. Telly cherished her new life at the farm and had absolutely no desire to leave it. She looked at her father and sister with a mix of longing and resolve before making her final stand.
"Dad. Mindy," she began, her voice steadying. "I want to stay here. I'm not going back with you."
"This is my home now."
"Telly!" Damon gasped.
He had anticipated her answer, but hearing the actual words still felt like a physical blow. The battle-hardened vigilante trembled violently. He cried out her name, ready to plead his case again, but the absolute certainty in her eyes stopped him cold. He slowly closed his mouth, defeated.
"Then... alright," he whispered.
In that fleeting second, the fierce warrior who hadn't even reached fifty seemed to age a dozen years.
Hunter felt a twinge of sympathy and decided to step in. "Mr. Macready, would you care to hear a suggestion of mine?"
"Hm?" Damon snapped his head around to glare at Hunter. He wasn't exactly gnashing his teeth, but the look in his eyes was far from friendly.
Undeterred, Hunter laid out his proposal.
"As you know, I operate as a professional in a very specific line of work."
"Before I came to see you in New York, I went to great lengths to secure that severed head. Securing a gift of that caliber took considerable effort and called in a few favors."
"When my associates and I took Frank D'Amico out, we naturally liberated some valuable assets from his compound."
"Once those assets were liquidated, I received a rather substantial cut. I don't need a single dime of that blood money."
"I plan to use the entire sum to buy a house for you in Los Angeles, along with a farm right here in the local area for you and Mindy."
"Hold on, don't reject it just yet," Hunter commanded, cutting Damon off before the proud man could speak. He had read the indignant flash on the vigilante's face instantly.
"Mr. Macready, you've spent every waking moment with Mindy, but you've been separated from Telly for years."
"You've already missed out on so much of her life. Don't you want to spend your remaining years actually being there for her?"
He felt Telly shiver against his arm as the gravity of his offer sank in. Hunter smiled knowingly at Damon.
His impromptu father-in-law was a ruthless, highly capable killer in his own right. Even if Hunter couldn't formally recruit Big Daddy into his syndicate, keeping the man close by as an extra layer of protection for Telly and the farm was a strategic win.
Dropping ten or twenty million dollars on prime Los Angeles real estate and a neighboring farm meant absolutely nothing to him. The raid on Frank D'Amico's operations had netted him well over a billion dollars in pure wealth. A few million here or there was mere pocket change.
"Dad," Telly pleaded, breaking the heavy silence.
She looked at him with desperate hope. She refused to leave Hunter, but if her father and sister settled down nearby, it would be a dream come true. To have her family close without sacrificing the life she loved was the perfect compromise.
Damon's initial instinct was to refuse. He had spent his entire life entrenched in the gritty streets of New York.
But his lifelong crusade was over. Frank D'Amico was dead, and his missing daughter had finally been found. He hesitated, his hardened gaze softening as he looked down at his youngest child. He decided to leave the choice entirely in Mindy's hands.
"Mindy," Damon asked quietly. "Do you want to stay in New York, or do you want to move out here and be with your sister?"
Under her father's brutal training, Mindy had evolved into a lethal assassin capable of taking down grown men. But beneath the armor of Hit-Girl, she was still just a ten-year-old kid.
The world was still full of wondrous possibilities for her. She looked at Telly, then shot a cautious glance at Hunter, before finally meeting her father's warm, encouraging smile.
The young assassin chewed her lip in deep thought for a moment.
"Can I get my own pony?" she finally asked.
The tension shattered, and genuine smiles broke out across the room. Hunter and Telly shared a look of pure relief. Big Daddy and Hit-Girl were staying in California.
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