As early as 7 am, Jean and Harold were already on their way to pick up her family. She called Winston. It rang for a few seconds before it was answered. 
 “We’re on our way.” She stated. 
 “I’m on my way home, too. See you there. Have you called them?” he asked on the other line. 
 “I haven’t. I will call them when we hang up.”
 “Call them then.” He said and cut the call. 
 “Seriously?” she rolled her eyeballs. 
 “So, Agent Eagle really is your brother?” Harold asked. 
 She looked at him and smiled. 
 “Adoptive brother. Well, not officially but we’ve known each other since we were kids.” She answered. 
 “Oh. I thought he is your real brother.”
 “I wished.” 
 “So, are they all ready?”
 “Oh yeah. I will call my mom.” she said and dialed her mom’s number. 
It rang but she didn’t pick up. She dialed again. Another missed call. She called Gary’s number. It rang for a few minutes before it was answered. 
“Jean, hey.” He said on the other line.
“I just called to check in and also to tell you that we’re on our way to pick you up. By the way, where’s mom? She didn’t answer her phone.” 
“She’s taking a bath. Did you call Winston?”
“Yep. He said he’s on his way home.”
“Okay then.”
“See you, boss.”
“See you kid.” He said and cut the call. 
“You know I’ve met your family a few times before, on different occasions.” Harold stated. 
“Really? How are they?” she asked.
“Well, I haven’t talked to them yet but they are all on to themselves. They don’t socialize much.”
“Yeah, that’s really who they are. Possibly because of their backgrounds, but they are good people.”
“Well, given that they are your family, I guess they did a good job raising a social person like you.” 
She laughed. Compared to them, she’s really a people person. 
“I guess so, too.” She said. 
“I think we’re here.” He said. 
“Yeah. Just pull over there on that gate.” She said. 
Harold stopped at the blue gate. They both went out of the car. She pressed the doorbell. Another car stopped in front of their car. They looked at it and the driver stepped out of the car. 
“You’re fast.” Winston noticed as he walked towards them. 
“I’m with Harold.” She said. 
“I noticed. Mr. Quentino, great to see you here.” Winston greeted him. 
“You too, Agent Butler.” Harold greeted back. 
“Let’s get inside.” Winston invited them. 
The three of them went inside. Upon entering, they saw Gary fixing his sleeves into a roll. Jean went to him and helped him roll up the sleeves of his shirt. 
“Thanks, kid. Mr. Quentino, thank you for accompanying Jean, here.” Gary said and shook Harold's hand. 
“No worries, Agent Butler. She's a friend of mine.” Harold said. 
“Oh, that's great to hear. By the way, how do i look, kid?” Gary said, more on Jean. 
“You look great, boss.” She said and showed two thumbs up. 
“I'm ready. Do I look okay?” Her mom said. 
“You're gorgeous mom.” She said and kissed her mom on the cheeks.
“Of course. Where could you have gotten your looks, right? Oh, Mr. Quentino you're here.” Her mom noticed Harold.
“I drove Jean here, Agent Duque.” He simply said. 
“Ay Mija~~” Marina gave a warring look at her daughter. 
“No, it's fine, actually. Stanton asked me to accompany her here. Besides, I and Jean are friends.” Harold explained. 
“Oh okay. I thought my daughter made you her personal chauffeur.”
“I'm not that spoiled, mom.” She rolled her eyeballs. 
“And yet you're rolling your eyeballs on me.” 
She smiled nervously and went to hug her mom. 
“Just kidding, mom. Where's Winston? What's taking him so long? Winston!?!” She shouted. 
“I'm coming. Jeez. No need to shout.” He said as he went out of his room. 
“So, let's go?” Jean asked. 
“Ms. Marina you can go with Harold and Jean. I and pops will follow after you on my car.” Winston said. 
“Okay. Let's go then.” Marina said and they all went out. 
Jean and Marina went with Harold in the SUV and Winston and Gary followed. They headed back to the compound. 
When they arrived, Harold dropped them off in front of the door and he parked the SUV on the parking lot. Winston followed Harold and parked beside tha SUV. Jean and Marina waited for them and they all went inside together. 
As they were walking inside, Anthony noticed them. 
“Ah, here they are. Welcome, welcome.” Anthony said and went to them. 
The other MARVELOUS member also went to greet them. 
“Alright, everyone, meet my mother, Marina Duque. Mom, they are the MARVELOUS team.” Jean introduced her mom to them. “Technically, you know them since you're an ALLIANCE member.” She laughed. 
“Marina Duque. I hope my daughter was not a nuisance here.” Her mom said and shook the hands of each of the MARVELOUS team. 
“Oh no, ma'am. Your daughter is a sweetheart.” Nash said and smiled. 
“Great to hear.” Her mom smiled. 
“This is my boss, Gary Butler. Boss, the MARVELOUS team.” She introduced her boss next. 
“Gary Butler.” He simply said and shook their hands. 
“And of course, you know my brother but to officially introduce him, he is Winston Butler. Winston, the MARVELOUS team.” 
“Nice meeting you again.” Winston said and shook their hands as well. 
“Officially meeting you as Jean’s brother.” Vera said and smiled. 
“Yes, ma'am.” He said and smiled back. 
“Oh great, here you are! The foods are arriving, maybe we could set the tables at the lawn?” Penelope said as she approached them. 
“I'll help Ms. Pen.” Jean volunteered. 
“Why don't we get to know each other at the conference room to make this meeting formal and then we can enjoy ourselves later when they call?” Anthony said, more on Jean's family. 
“Great idea.” Gary agreed. 
“Let's go, then.” Anthony said and they all went to the conference room. 
They took their seats and they were all quiet for a bit when Anthony broke the silence. 
“First of all, it's a bit awkward for us that you know us but we don't know you, but, I think we will all agree when it comes to Jean, and I do hope so.” Anthony stated. 
“It depends on the matter, Mr. Stanton.” Marina answered. 
“Right. Did you know she applied for a college scholarship in Stanton Foundation, Inc?” Anthony asked, more on Marina. 
“I do.” She simply said. 
“Did you also know that she agrred to be a member of the MARVELOUS team?” He asked again.
“I do.”
“Were you aware that she was trying to contact you because she was uncertain of her childhood?” Aiden asked.
“I am aware.” She answered again. 
“Then why didn't you contact her back?” Nash asked. 
“Because it was dangerous. Fienes was trying to locate her and bless you for offering her on a silver platter to him by letting her attend the Charity ball.” She said in a calm voice. 
“So you also knew her missions?” Vera asked. 
“We might not be physically with her, but we are with her every single day.” Gary said. 
“Then, you are secretly monitoring her?” Pierre asked. 
“Technically, I know all your whereabouts, unless, you go under the radar. That's my job at the AEGIS HQ.” Winston stated. 
“You worked from GUILD before, right?” Benedict asked. 
“As head researchers, yes.” Gary answered. 
“How long have you been working as AEGIS’ Agents?” Benedict added.
“I and Gary have been working for 15 years. Winston is on his 10th year. He started when he was 16.” Marina said. 
“Why would you work for AEGIS when you worked in GUILD?” Aiden asked.
“Because we want protection. Not only for us, but also for these kids we care about. Jean and Winston were under our care before. And when Jean destroyed the facility, we cannot just leave them. You might not know this, but the children in the previous facility were in Ordinarius and Fienes was able to track them because of Ambassador Augustus.” Marina said. 
The MARVELOUS team looked at each other. 
“Does Freeman know about that?” Aiden asked. 
“Of course he knows. What do you think the members of ALLIANCE are here for?” Marina asked back. 
Jean opened the door of the conference room. 
“Oohh, intense atmosphere.” She blurted out. They all looked at her. “I came to tell you that food is served.” She continued. 
“We'll be there in a minute. We'll just wrap what we were just talking about.” Anthony said and smiled at her.  
“Alright, Mr. Stanton.” She smiled and left. 
“We didn't mean to offend you but we really do not know about that information. But best believe that Jean is under good supervision.” Benedict stated. 
“We really do hope so.” Marina said. 
“I hope you're not going to stop her to be a part of our team.” Tin said. 
“As long as she's happy and protected, we are happy for her as well.” Gary said. 
“With that said, we would like to invite you to watch her final assessment on the 20th. The day after tomorrow. Freeman scheduled it himself.” Anthony said. 
“Just give us the address and we will be there.” Gary replied. 
“Let's go and enjoy the food then. It might get cold if we will make this meeting a bit longer.” Anthony invted them. 
They all went out and saw Jean, Pen, Harold, and Leinth waiting patiently for them. 
“What is he doing here?” Marina asked, pointing at Leinth. 
“Ms. Marina, they are already friends so please do relax.” Winston stated. 
“I know what you're doing, Winston. I will still talk to her about that.” She said and went ahead of them. 
When Leinth saw Marina approaching, he stopped talking and stood up. Jean noticed he was looking behind her so she turned around and she also stood immediately. 
“I know what you're thinking, mom.” She smiled nervously. 
“Can I talk to you privately, please?” Her mom asked. 
“Sure. Let's head inside. Don't wait for us. Go ahead.” Jean said and she walked with her mother. 
Once they were in the living room…
“What is he doing here? And why are you friends with him?” Her mom asked. 
“Mom, Leinth is a good man…”
“Killing almost a hundred just for fun is good now.” Her mom said sarcastically. 
“That was months ago.”
“Or leaving you without saying anything is also good now?”
“Tin explained what happened. Why he left me. It was unintentional.”
“Jean, the fact that he is roaming around freely here makes me feel more worried than ever!”
“I am the one who's keeping him on the good side, mom.”
“Men will always be men. Don't put your full trust in them.” 
“I am stronger than him.”
“You are so stubborn and hard headed.”
“You raised me.”
Her mom raised an eyebrow. 
“Mom, my point is, I am tough because you raised me that way. All I am doing is based on how I observed you while I was growing up. I remembered everything you have done for me since I was in the facility, and I will always be thankful that you raised me. And you raised me to become a tough nut. Please show that you trust me and you believe in me. That's all I am asking now.”
Her mother sighed. 
“Then promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
Marina went to her, held her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. 
“Whatever happens, don't give your full trust to anyone, including me. You only need to trust yourself. You got it?” She asked. 
“Why?”
“Because trust, when broken, can never be returned back in its original form whatever you do. If you only trust yourself, they can never manipulate you. You understand?”
She nodded. Marina hugged her tight. 
“Good.” Marina whispered to her daughter’s ear. She pulled back from the hug. “Let's eat. I'm starving.” She smiled at Jean and held her hand. 
Jean smiled back and let her mom take her outside. Her thoughts on her words bothered her for the rest of the day.