The sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door caused Harley and Roman to run back to their seats as quickly as possible. Goosebumps ran through their spines as they awaited for the next chapter in their lives to unveil.

As soon as they sat down, the siblings felt a force from above guiding them through this ordeal.

They placed their hands simultaneously on their laps and forced themselves to look as if they did nothing wrong. They prepared to make eye contact with their incoming visitor, and pretended to relax by not slouching on their chairs.

Thus, both the brother and sister knew that trouble was headed their way and masqueraded that they didn't have a clue on what the warden did with the others.

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As he opened the door, the warden made his announcement without delay.

"Mr. And Miss Grendel, your family member has now arrived. Please come with me and I will introduce you to your half brother, Roman." The warden smirked as he held on to the knob.

With a look of astonishment, both siblings were shocked to hear the startling news. Their jaws dropped, and their eyes widened in disbelief, as if a sudden jolt of electricity rammed through their veins leaving them momentarily stunned.

Roman was the first to break the silence that took place for several minutes, as he faced Warden Smith straight in the eye.

I have a half brother? From my mom or dad? This is certainly news to me!

"You must be joking Mr. Smith, I don't have a brother, Harley is the only sibling I have since our parents passed away."

The warden nodded his head.

"That is where you are wrong. I'm not joking Mr. Grendel. Your birth mother was Henrietta Grendel, correct? We traced her on Families.net on our computers. She remarried after your father divorced her and she had your younger brother, Ronnie Matson."

Roman covered his face, as he believed he knew where this conversation was leading to. Although he would like to meet his half brother, it didn't make sense to do a family reunion right now, especially in a prison-like setting;

Why doesn't Smith mind his own business?

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The siblings were careful in how they talked, reminding themselves not to shout or give away any hints that they knew what the warden's tactics were.

But anger quickly built up in Roman's mind as the warden mentioned Henrietta's name, for Roman remembered the constant arguments she had with his father. She left them when Roman was only a toddler, so his memories of her were a bit faint.

Harley noticed a hint of burning red forming on her brother's cheeks, so she knew that his temper was flaring up. Thus, she touched his hand,reminding him of their agreement to remain calm. It lessened the tone, but Roman bit his lip instead.

He couldn't keep his mouth shut, thus, he boldly asked the question that kept popping in his head.

"Why are you doing this warden? Why is it so important for you to see me meet a boy who claims to be my half brother? Henrietta didn't even contact me all those years, so to me, she is no one important!"

He paused to wipe the tears that fell upon his cheeks.

"Henrietta gave birth to me, but she was hardly a mom, since she abandoned me when I was four! I consider Harley's mom, Aubrey, my real mother, as she took care of me while I was growing up."

Roman sighed. He closed his eyes in hopes that this was all a dream and when he'd wake up, none of this fiasco ever happened. But sadly, when he opened his eyes again, the cold hard truth awakened him.

Thus, after pinching himself, Roman thought about how his visitor came so far to meet him and Harley. He knew he couldn't disappoint Ronnie.

It's not all about me and my feelings. I have to think of others.

"You've disappointed me Mr. Smith, but I agree to meet my half brother. This might be his only chance in meeting Harley and me."

The warden was delighted to hear that his plan turned out well and rubbed his hands.

Harley chimed in the conversation as well. However, from her standpoint, she was rather ecstatic to know about Ronnie.

Placing her hand on Roman's shoulder, she voiced her opinion about the episode. In her mind, what Smith did wasn't so bad. She didn't know how much Roman's birth mother affected her brother, but meeting a new relative from afar perked her up.

"Warden, thank you for finding our missing brother. Roman is trying to tell you that this isn't exactly what he had in mind after you locked us up in this room. For me, I'll be happy to meet Ronnie, but please don't expect us to embrace him with open arms."

Not expecting this outcome, the man who thought it would be one big happy family reunion, was now stumped on what to say.

He believed Harley's sudden change of behavior was off key, as he didn't plan any of his reunions to have such a bright outcome.

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Opening the door to the next room, the snarky warden saw a young man thumping his hands on a nearby table due to boredom. Hoping to cheer the lad up, the warden grunted to greet him.

Ahem

"Hello Mr. Matson and welcome to Iron Heights! I hope you didn't have too much trouble coming here."

Following the warden were the two inmates, and after they heard his introduction, the siblings smirked.

Once Ronnie stood up to greet the newcomers, he pressed his lips together as he was in awe of the resemblance he had with his brother. Although they had different fathers, they both inherited Henrietta's traits. Except for Roman's long mane and his own crew cut hair, they both had the same facial features including their mother's dimples. Both also had a wide forehead and a narrow chin.

Walking towards Roman as Ronnie aimed for a hug, he blurted how he was delighted to finally meet him.

However, since Roman still considered Ronnie a stranger, it wasn't easy for him to feel the same brotherly love Ronnie expressed. Instead, he put out his hand for a quick handshake.

Seeing this take place, Harley shook her head in disapproval and aimed to break this tense moment that Roman made.

"No Roman, please hug him. Ronnie came here to see you, please don't treat him as a stranger. Even though this is the first time you met, he is your living soul that shares your DNA ancestry whether you like it or not. We might not meet him again, so please do it for me."

Looking teary eyed at the warden, she took over and asked him to leave.

"I know you organized this meeting between us siblings, but we please allow us to have time alone, Mr. Smith. Can we have some privacy please?"

Respecting her decision, the warden acknowledged it, but not without leaving the hidden cameras on.

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In an adjacent room, Martina, Bonnie and Clyde collaborated together on what to do next. Obviously, the warden's schemes for them to reunite with their estranged family members upset them. But after being told that they might meet them again if a court trial took place, the trio decided to take matters in their own hands by signing the papers the SPANA lawyers left yesterday.

Growing impatient for Harley and Roman's appearance, Martina decided to take the pens and stacks of paper with her as she sat down next to Bonnie.

"I don't want to wait anymore Bonnie, for the others. Time is ticking as the SPANA lawyers want our answers right away. We have no time to lose. I have both you and Clyde as witnesses, so can I trust you two to help me with my decision?"

Bonnie faced her as she twirled her hair. Smacking her lips as if she were chewing a piece of gum, she looked dismayed.

"Anything to get us out of this dump will surely make me happy. I bet Clyde agrees. Don't you hun?"

Clyde nodded in agreement, despite having a gut in his stomach that something didn't seem right.

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Martina turned over the cover paper which held all the details of their amazing trip to space.

"Amazing indeed', she satirically mumbled to herself. Skipping to the last page, she found the exact documentation she was looking for.

I, the undersigned , agree to fly upon the Apollyon designed by SPANA HQ to explore a newly unearthed planet in space in order to help scientists know if it's a habitable place for humans to reside in. I understand the risks I will be taking, but will be doing this in exchange for the prison sentencing and court trials my friends and I may have.

Taking the pen in hand, the warden stepped in as he swayed the wired doors.

"I see you three are getting along just fine. Your two acquaintances will be here shortly, so if I were you, I'd wait in signing that contract."

This comment suddenly interested Martina as she placed the end of the pen to her chin.

Why did he suggest that? Does he have a heart?

As the warden closed the door, Martina stopped him by standing up.

"Just a minute there Warden, don't you have something to say for yourself before you go?" Martina blurted out.

Slowly turning around and tinkering his handlebar mustache. Smith snickered as he knew his plan for bribery had been discovered!