Chapter 3 — The Parker Family's New Neighbor
The moment Blake Thorne saw the white man standing in front of him, frozen in place for far too long without moving a muscle, he immediately realized the truth.
This man was trying to deceive him.
Blake didn't waste a single second.
His fist shot forward, clean and decisive, ending the man's life with one blow.
After that, Blake pushed aside the bookshelf in front of him. Hidden behind the wall was a massive safe, embedded deeply into the structure. With a small exertion of strength, Blake tore it free from the wall and lifted it with ease.
He then used the office phone in the room to dial the United States emergency number, 911.
In a calm, concise manner, Blake explained the horrifying situation inside the building to the operator. Once he finished, he hung up the phone, hoisted the safe—one that was even larger than his own body—onto his shoulder, and leapt straight out through the window.
Outside the building, Blake spotted a large truck with an enclosed cargo container. He climbed aboard with the safe and drove away, leaving behind the den of sin that had disguised itself as an orphanage.
— — —
Roughly twenty minutes after Blake's departure, the Chief of Police of New York City, George Stancy, arrived at the scene with a massive force.
They immediately entered the area known as "Gillard Orphanage," located in Queens.
The moment George laid eyes on the horrifying scene inside—pitiful victims whose organs had already been harvested or were awaiting extraction, chained like animals to iron beds—his expression darkened completely.
But before he could fully vent his rage, the police uncovered something even more shocking beneath the building.
A large-scale narcotics manufacturing facility.
What looked like an orphanage on the surface was, in reality, a living hell.
At that moment, George Stancy made a firm decision in his heart.
The Queens Police Chief, Paul, had to go.
Even though Paul had the backing of several congressmen, George could no longer tolerate him.
It was common knowledge that in any country with a functioning legal system, the raw materials for narcotics were tightly controlled. In most cases, drugs circulating in the United States came from neighboring Mexico.
But for an orphanage named "Gillard" to be producing narcotics on such a massive scale right in the heart of America, it was obvious that countless people were involved in facilitating this crime.
And Paul, the Chief of Police of Queens—if he wasn't directly profiting from this illegal business—then he was nothing more than a completely useless official.
Either way, to George Stancy, Paul's continued existence was no longer acceptable.
— — —
One week later, the small three-story house at 21 Ingram Street, Queens, finally had a new owner.
That's right.
After navigating countless complications and taking a path that wasn't entirely legal, Blake Thorne had successfully obtained legitimate American citizenship. Shortly after, he spent $130,000 to purchase the house.
On the second day after moving in, a middle-aged white man knocked on Blake's front door. He arrived with his wife and a young boy about the same age as Blake.
"Hello there, handsome young man! We're your new neighbors. This is my wife. We brought you a homemade apple pie. We hope you like it."
With a friendly smile, Ben Parker handed the baking tray to Blake, who stood at the doorway.
Blake accepted it with a warm smile of his own and stepped aside to let them in.
"Oh, such a kind uncle… and such a beautiful aunt. I actually haven't had breakfast yet, so this apple pie came at the perfect time. If you don't mind, please come in. I'd like to serve you some pure green tea I brought from East Asia…"
Ben chuckled softly and nodded.
"Really? Well then, we're quite lucky today."
The three of them entered the house together.
After Blake poured each guest a cup of green tea, they sat down, enjoying the warm apple pie while chatting casually.
But little by little, something about the conversation began to feel off.
Why was there no adult presence in such a large house?
Even though Blake was extremely polite and well-spoken, Ben Parker and his wife couldn't ignore the fact that not a single parent had appeared.
Eventually, Ben asked directly.
"Blake, where are your parents? Are they not home today?"
Hearing the question, Blake nodded calmly and began constructing his lie.
He explained that in his family's tradition, every male child had to undergo independent training starting from the age of ten.
The parents would only provide financial support. Everything else had to be handled on one's own.
The explanation left Ben and his wife stunned. They didn't know how to respond.
The only one who seemed excited was the quiet boy they had brought along.
Peter Parker, who had been silent the entire time, now wore an expression of overwhelming envy.
'Wow… living alone in a house this big, with no adults watching over you. You can watch TV anytime, play games whenever you want, and still get allowance money regularly… This is literally a dream life!'
'I'm so jealous… No! I have to become Blake's best friend!'
Peter made a silent vow in his heart.
Meanwhile, Ben and his wife, after a long pause, finally sighed and spoke.
"Only irresponsible parents would have a tradition like that. I'm sorry, Blake, but in America, this kind of thing is against the law."
"Your parents failed in their responsibilities. If someone were to report this to the police, they could be sentenced to several months in prison…"
Blake quickly interrupted.
"Ah… please don't do that, Uncle Ben, Aunt May. I really can take care of myself. And if this independent training were to be stopped, I'd lose my inheritance rights to my family's entire fortune…"
The moment they heard the words "inheritance" and "a vast fortune," Ben and his wife fell silent.
As ordinary citizens, they felt it wasn't appropriate to interfere any further—especially if Blake truly came from a powerful, wealthy family.
Seeing the atmosphere grow awkward, Blake immediately changed the subject.
"Uncle Ben, there's actually something I'd like to ask for your help with. I hope you'd be willing…"
Ben, kind-hearted as he was, naturally didn't mind helping a boy like Blake.
Blake then stated his request.
He wanted to transfer to the same school as Peter Parker.
Although Ben was momentarily puzzled as to why Blake wouldn't choose a better private school, he still agreed to the simple request without asking too many questions.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join my Patreon here:
patreon.com/FaaanzKun
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —