[Flashback]
"Scarlet."
Scarlet paused and looked back at Atlas, catching him staring at the board while she had her hand on the doorknob. She was about to leave for a three-man mission with Haji and Chuck and had gone to Atlas for final specifics.
"I know you’re about to leave for Yuri," he said, still staring at the board they had been working on, "... but if all else fails, make sure to look for Lola and the children."
"Huh?"
Atlas glanced at her.
"This is a huge matter," he continued. "And these people want my head. If they get it, the first person you go to is Lola and the kids. Can I trust you with that?"
She scoffed. "Why ? You know I don’t get along with your wife. I just don’t like her."
"I trust you," he said, making her brows knit. "Everyone else will try to fight for — that includes my wife. And I’m afraid she’d make a huge mistake because of ."
What he ant was that his n would surely protect him and focus on him. But if the worst happened and he couldn’t survive the storm, he could only trust Scarlet to keep Lola from making a reckless choice. While everyone saw Atlas as their boss to protect, Scarlet’s unwavering sense of duty to the Order was sothing he trusted.
In other words, whether he lived or died, Scarlet would ensure his wife’s and children’s safety above all else.
"You can do that, can’t you?" he asked quietly.
Silence settled between them as they held each other’s gaze.
"Don’t you dare," she whispered, looking away toward the door. She stared at the knob but didn’t leave yet.
After a mont, she spoke again.
"I don’t like that you’re telling this. No, I’m not going to look for her or your children. I’m not flying across the globe to save them. As I said, I don’t like your wife. The young master and young miss, I can tolerate."
"She can die for all I care," she added with a slight smirk. "So don’t put this responsibility on . Don’t forget — you cut my toes once, and I still have a few left to sacrifice to defy you. And I’m no longer the head of security operations."
"So don’t send off like this is the last ti I’ll see that face," she added mockingly. "I’m not going to run for your wife. That’s your responsibility, not mine."
With that, she left without looking back.
Scarlet had ant every word she said.
And yet, now — the mont she realized Atlas’s chances of surviving had dropped to almost nothing — the first thing she did was run to Lola and stop her from making a reckless choice.
Even now, she held Lola tightly as the latter scread and cried, keeping her from falling apart — even as Scarlet’s own tears fell.
*****
anwhile...
"Papa God, please protect our mommy and daddy from harm. Please don’t let them lose, and I hope they don’t get hurt," Chacha prayed loudly, hands clasped together in the small chapel in the Bellemonte territory.
Beside her, Second prayed as well. "Chacha and Second will be good kids for our mommy and daddy. Also, please protect our uncles, aunties, and everyone from the bad guys. You are God, right? You can hear us."
"I will be good!" Chacha added quickly. "This ti, not just Second."
"We want to have movie nights with our mommy and daddy. So please keep them safe and bring them back to pick us up."
The children slowly opened their eyes and looked up at the altar. Then they turned to each other.
"Chacha, did that make you feel better?" Second asked.
She nodded, so he said, " too. I feel like mommy and daddy will be safe.
"And everyone too!" Chacha intoned. "Papa God just told he sent an angel to protect our family and everyone from the bad guys."
"Oh..."
Chacha bead. "I heard it. Maybe He sent a superhero or sothing."
"Like Superman?!"
"Like a knight in shining armor!" she grinned, turning toward the altar. "Right, Papa God?"
The guards and a few mbers of the Phantom Circle stationed inside and outside the chapel — never letting the children out of sight — exchanged glances before looking back at the twins with quiet sighs.
At that mont, they could only hope the twins’ prayers worked. Even if they didn’t believe Chacha truly heard a whisper from heaven, they wanted to hold onto the hope that everyone would return alive.
That hope was shattered almost instantly when word reached them.
*****
[Anteca: Pri Group’s Rooftop]
"Penny!" Yugi shouted as he grabbed Penny’s arm, stopping her. "Penny, this is too abrupt. You have to calm down first!"
Penny didn’t turn. She let him hold her. Her head was lowered, her hand clenched tightly into a fist.
Yugi could see her shoulders trembling, and his grip tightened. Their task wasn’t finished yet.
"Penny—"
"Yugi," she said quietly, her voice sohow cutting through the roar of the helicopter blades waiting to take her to where everyone was.
"Renren... Dad... First Brother and Second Brother..." Tears fell to the ground as she ground her teeth. "... how can I stay?"
She knew there was nothing she could do even if she reached the site. She couldn’t magically bring anyone back. That was impossible.
But still...
"What do I do?" she whispered, turning to him. The helplessness on her face was unmistakable. "How do I go ho... and look at my children?"
How could Penny look at her children and tell them their father might never co ho? How would she break the news to her mother not to wait for her father?
What about Lola? And the twins?
How could Penny tell them that Atlas...
Or Kiara, who might bla herself because Hugo wouldn’t have been there if she hadn’t been in danger?
"How could I..." she choked, her vision blurring. "... carry all of this?"
Right now, Penny blad herself.
If only she hadn’t told Atlas and her brothers about what happened to Charles. If only she had stayed calm instead of panicking. Maybe things would have been different. But she had spoken the mont she learned about Charles’s accident.
"Penny..." Yugi loosened his grip and pulled her into a hug. He patted her back, opening his mouth as if to say sothing, but no words ca.
In the end, was there anything he could say to console her?
It was the sa thought everyone shared.
Like Scarlet, who could only say, "I’m sorry," to Lola — nothing more.
And Finn, who was holding Kiara from behind as she scread and cried, calling Hugo’s na.
Was there any word any of them could say to ease the pain?
Everyone knew the answer.
Nothing.
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