"Kill him... and I’ll drag every single one of you to hell. Especially you, lissa Young."
Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on Lola’s figure. Her warning carried through the wind, and none of them dared challenge it. They didn’t even want to dismiss her action as a fluke. Taking down a man to save her bodyguard—even while cuffed—was not sothing done out of pure luck.
lissa’s fist trembled, but after a deep breath, she cald herself.
"Fine," she humd, nodding faintly. She glanced at her n and ordered, "Take her... and leave that man alone."
Florida, grinding his teeth in pain, forced himself to look at Lola. "Madam."
"Florida," Lola whispered as several n approached her. She glanced down at him, the corners of her lips curling slightly as her mouth moved.
Florida’s pupils constricted as he watched the n drag her away. His breath hitched. He reached out, forcing himself to get up and follow her. However, all he could see was Lola being pulled farther and farther away. His chest tightened, and the wound throbbed violently.
There was nothing he could do but watch them take her.
When Lola was close to the chopper, his vision began to blur. Still, he saw soone strike the back of her head with a weapon.
"No..." Florida whispered, his vision shaking.
He blinked weakly and saw them loading Lola, Kiara, and Henrik’s son into the chopper. Then lissa climbed in. The next thing he noticed was one of the n aiming in his direction.
Of course, he knew they wouldn’t honor Lola’s demands.
But just as the enemy opened fire, another gunshot rang out from the distance.
lissa whipped her head toward the sound, and the n with her looked up as well. All they saw were mbers of the Order rushing out, taking positions around the area.
"Fall back!" one of the enemies shouted. "Leave him!"
As the enemies scrambled into the chopper, a few stayed behind to engage with the Order mbers who had already reached the scene to rescue Lola. However, they were too late and could only prevent Florida from being shot dead.
"Don’t let them escape!" one of the Order mbers shouted. "Take them all down!"
But alas, despite the Order’s bold and desperate attempt to shoot down the chopper, all they heard was the sharp clang of bullets hitting tal and the fierce gunfire of the enemies firing back. With the Order’s numbers steadily increasing as more reinforcents arrived, the enemies were soon overwheld and failed to escape.
"Shit!" Kean breathed as he slid beside Florida, pressing down on the latter’s gunshot wound. His eyes trembled, his complexion paling at the sight of Florida in such a state. "Hey! Hang on! Just wait—don’t close your eyes!"
Florida drifted in and out of consciousness. "The madam..." he breathed, forcing himself to refocus as he grabbed Kean’s shirt. "...they got her... and Miss Ki... Hen’s son."
His words ca between deep gasps, more worried about Lola and the others than his own condition.
"Don’t worry about them!" Kean exclaid, whipping his head around until he spotted soone familiar running toward them. "Here!" he shouted before looking back at Florida. "Don’t think about them right now. Pika’s already contacting the master! Think about yourself first!"
But Kean’s voice sounded distant in Florida’s ears as he felt his consciousness slipping away from his cold fingertips.
*****
[Anteca]
"Lola—my wife... my children are in danger."
The mont realization struck Atlas, it felt as if soone had poured a bucket of ice over him. Without thinking, he jumped from his seat and rushed out. His siblings froze for a second, their minds going blank.
Hugo paled, and before he realized it, he was already on his feet. "Kiara," he whispered to himself.
But just as they hurried toward the door, a loud ring halted their steps.
Everyone froze.
Their brows furrowed. Their eyes widened. They even held their breath as they slowly turned toward the source of the sound.
One by one, the Bennet siblings, Finn, and Zoren found themselves staring at the door connected to their father’s private room.
The ringing was faint from the other side, but sohow, to their ears, it was piercing—almost deafening.
Atlas swallowed and straightened, facing his father’s room. Slowly, he approached the door.
When he opened it, the ringing grew louder.
Atlas stepped inside until his eyes landed on the telephone. He let it ring for a mont as he stood beside it. Then he glanced at everyone, taking in the different expressions on their faces.
Hugo wore an expression that Atlas had never seen before. He looked terrified and pale, as if desperately denying sothing in his mind. But all of them knew they had made a mistake in leaving the Order.
Atlas drew a deep breath and picked up the cordless phone, bringing it to his ear.
There was silence on the line. The second he heard a voice, Atlas closed his eyes.
"Atlas Zorken... or rather, Atlas Bennet," a woman’s voice ca from the other end. "At this point, I believe you’ve already realized how big a mistake you’ve made."
Atlas buried his face in his palm, holding the phone tightly.
"Where are they?" he asked under his breath, adding quietly, "Don’t hurt them... please."
A chuckle echoed from the other end, amused by his quiet plea. Anyone would find it amusing to hear Atlas begging, considering the kind of man he was.
"Tell what you want," he continued softly, his hand still covering his face. "Just don’t do anything to them."
The woman snickered. "Don’t worry. They’re not hurt yet. And they’ll remain unhard if you follow my instructions."
"..." Atlas listened carefully, not missing a word. Then he nodded once. "Okay."
Slowly, he lowered his hand, revealing the dark shadow cast over his face. His voice sounded almost helpless and exhausted, but his eyes burned fiercely, barely blinking.
Atlas parted his lips and whispered, "Alright. I’ll do it."
At those words, everyone in the room exchanged looks before their gazes settled on Hugo’s blank expression. Penny, in particular, pressed her lips together and darted her eyes between her First and Second Brothers.
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