[Order]
The day had been hectic, with Atlas and his brothers leaving early because of what happened to Charles, and then Izu and his team deploying out of the Order. Lola still hadn’t heard back from Haji or Scarlet, and it worried her.
On top of that, the investigation and questioning regarding the small cult in their territory were still ongoing. It was just Lola and Allen supervising everything. The others were helping, but the workload was overwhelming.
"Mommy."
Lola snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Second’s voice. When she refocused, her gaze landed on the twins, already ready for bed. She smiled softly at them.
"Sorry," she humd, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Mommy’s a little distracted. Bedti stories?"
Her smile faded slightly when the twins shook their heads. "Why?"
"Mommy, we don’t want bedti stories tonight," Chacha humd. "We want Mommy to stay with us."
"Daddy left today because of Grandpa. Is he fine?" Second asked.
Lola’s brows furrowed in confusion. "Who told you that?"
"We just heard it," Chacha humd. "Is Grandpa okay?"
"...." Lola pursed her lips, a little surprised at how quickly her children caught wind of this. Then again, they could be nosy sotis.
A shallow breath escaped her as she smiled. "Of course. Grandpa is fine. I’m sure of that. Don’t worry."
The twins blinked innocently, noticing the exhaustion etched on their mother’s face. However, they didn’t see worry there. That eased their hearts.
"Second, Chacha." Lola looked them in the eye sincerely. "Daddy will always look after the family. But your aunties and uncles will, too. They won’t allow anything bad to happen to us."
Her lips stretched into a wider smile. "Moreover, Daddy said he’ll co ho once he makes sure everything is fine. So don’t worry. He’ll be back."
"We’re not worried because Daddy isn’t here," Chacha spoke quietly, looking at her mother. Suddenly, she felt sleepy—even though she hadn’t felt like sleeping just monts ago. It was still early for their bedti, and usually, they spent more ti together before sleeping.
Second smiled subtly, yawning. "Chacha and Second are never worried because Mommy is here. Mommy will protect us."
Their words softened her expression, her eyes filling with affection and gratitude. She pursed her lips in a tender smile.
Then she yawned.
At first, she thought it was just exhaustion from the past few days of little sleep. Even the twins were yawning now, their eyes growing heavy.
"Okay," she humd, tucking them in. "How about we sleep now? I’ll stay here with you."
The twins tried to keep their eyes open, but their sudden drowsiness was overpowering. It didn’t even take two minutes before they closed their eyes and fell asleep.
Lola yawned again and shook her head. She sat on the edge of the bed and turned, catching sight of Renny and Chunchun near it. The two had been sleeping in the twins’ room lately, and she saw no issue with that.
Renny was a good guard.
"It’s still a little early," she muttered, yawning as she stood. "But I feel very sleepy. Gosh... maybe because he’s not here."
She believed Atlas had already arrived in Anteca and was likely at the hospital where Charles was. Before leaving that morning, he had told her he would fly back as soon as he confird Charles’ condition. Atlas didn’t plan to stay away long, which was understandable given the situation here.
Dragging her feet, Lola headed toward the door to shower and change. It might be best to call it a day and spend the night with her children.
But as she took a step forward, she forced her eyes open and looked around.
The room looked... foggy.
"Huh?" Lola blinked, lightly slapping her cheek to stay alert as she realized the sleepiness felt unnatural. The sharp sting helped briefly.
This ti, she was certain.
There was a faint mist in the twins’ room.
Her heart thudded as her mind raced. Acting on instinct at the first sign of danger, Lola marched to the door and leaned against it. She pressed her ear to the wood and listened.
There was nothing in there but silence.
Carefully, she cracked the door open.
The hallway was quiet and dark, and most of the dim lights were switched off. Still, it was enough for her to spot a thin can farther down the corridor, smoke seeping from its top.
The mont she saw it, she shut the door.
"What the hell?" she breathed, dizziness creeping in.
She grabbed the bathrobes draped over a chair and rushed to cover the gap beneath the door.
Lola shook her head again, forcing herself to stay conscious. Adrenaline surged through her veins, pushing her to act.
She hurried to the window and slipped the curtain aside. The mont she peeked out, she spotted n dressed in black approaching the mansion quietly.
Worse, several mbers of the Order were already knocked out.
Lola held her breath as she carefully reached for the window lock. With steady hands, she cracked it open just slightly—enough to let the smoke escape while making it appear closed.
When she finished, she leaned against the wall beside it, her gaze drifting to the bed.
She didn’t know exactly what was happening.
But she knew one thing for certain: the Order was under attack.
And they had chosen to strike while Atlas was away.
"Wait—" her breath hitched. "Did they... attack Dad to lure Atlas away from here...?"
She pressed her lips into a thin line and shut her eyes.
This wasn’t the ti to analyze. They had done enough of that these past few days.
What she needed now... was to act.
Opening her eyes, she looked at her children’s sleeping forms. The sight made her heart skip.
"No, I can’t—" She slapped herself again to stay conscious.
Then, a gentle nudge brushed against her leg. She looked down. In the darkness, the black panther she had nearly forgotten ca into view.
"Renny..." she whispered, squatting to et his gaze. He seed unaffected by the mist.
Lola swallowed, staring into his golden eyes.
"Can you... help ?"
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