Julius Caesar - Chapter 57

Chapter 57






Julius's POV.

I believe in God.

I really do. I know there's a reason behind everything that happens. I believe that there's a reason why some people are bad and some are good. I believe that God has a much bigger plan that is beyond our feeble conception. I believe that He guards us in the darkest hours of the night. I believe that there's a way how the sky is held up in its place, carrying all its water. I believe that He's carrying it so we could scurry beneath it doing all we desire, good and bad, quite unaware that those skies are God's windows.

God's very powerful. I mean He's powerful enough to have given me the power to stay sane and not go animalistic after being locked down here for two weeks and getting tortured every day by seeing Samantha and regretting every single decision I had made that got me to that pathetic ending.

But I believe in God's power nevertheless. I secretly believed that He'd be there for Samantha in my absence. To protect her and her vulnerable heart. Protect her from the darkness she started knowing because I failed in saving her innocence.

So when I got up from next to her and stared at her sleeping curled figure, messy hair and bareback very early in the morning, I didn't cry regretfully like I did in the darkest hours of the night when she was asleep, cradled in my arms. Because God had better plans for us. At least for her.

Instead, I prayed some more and covered her back.

I remember praying for a parallel universe and for her eternal happiness with someone else if my first prayer never came true. Because I knew I couldn't cheat God. Hell, I could lie to the whole world about who I was, but He'd always know that I was too unworthy of the first prayer becoming true.

I gingerly picked up the light pager that lied on the stage's floor and quickly removed its back where the batteries stayed. And a SIM card, that I had stored since I first came here. I mean, I wasn't entirely unconscious throughout the whole ride in the van to here when Samantha knocked me out. So I did manage to shut down my phone and hide it in my boxers where I was sure they wouldn't dig their hands. And I could tell you that I never found shutting a damn phone so damn laborious in my life like I did on that van. It was like I was in another bloody dimension, trying to press on a power button that I couldn't see, but believed in its presence. And the miracle was in convincing my eyes with what I knew and trying to get my hand to do it.

I figured I couldn't possibly escape.

I reached for the phone hidden in one of my boots and inserted the card. And it was so irritating that the phone required a bloody pin. I mean, where the hell could I'd gotten a pin to take out the SIM card if Samantha didn't drop one (maybe from her hair? I'm not certain how females find pins fashionable) the time she got that panic attack? Cursing the design of the damn phone, I fiddled with it and inserted the card successfully.

Well, I couldn't keep the phone with the card and risk Augustus calling any time, thus getting me exposed. And I didn't trust myself to never forget shutting off the phone which I had very restricted time using due to its battery (I had to keep in on extreme power saving mode and all that). I hadn't used it for the first week because there was no pin and I honestly didn't know what to expect and didn't want to be reckless. I even thought that I'd be watched but when I realized I wasn't 'punished' for the quite irrelevant talk I was having with Samantha, I knew I wasn't.

My bloody shirt, was still bloody, obviously, but it was dry. I slowly put it on along with the jacket and the boots. I ran a hand through my hair once and called Augustus with the four percent I had left. He picked up on the second ring.

"Julius-" His voice was low and I assumed that he thankfully made it into the mansion this time- the five previous times, he managed to accidentally run into Maxime and explain to him that he was a 'gardener' bringing with him his 'gardener friend'- Ledger- and that they were roaming around the area without supplies to get some 'garden design ideas'. And that was why, Augustus explained, he had bought gardener clothes in case he got caught again- because 'he'd need evidence for the sixth time, Julio'. And all I'd managed to do hearing his fails was thank God for it being too dark the night Augustus and I first met him in the 'haunted' amusement park.

"Is everything okay?" My voice was hoarse, yet steady as I rubbed my eyes before blinking at Samantha's soft figure, threatening myself not to think about it.

"We have a real problem, mate-" he sighed heavily and I shut my eyes, preparing myself for the usual. "Ledger- shut the fuck up, I'm on the phone! Yes, hold the damn manure."

Manure?

"A real problem?" I frowned, getting off the stage, not looking back once.

"Actually," he paused and seemed to shush Ledger who accompanied him- because I insisted he didn't come alone after he figured out where I was. "-French fuck number one just passed by us-" He whispered in the phone as I clenched my fist by my side.

"Don't get-"

"Ha! Imagine what my excuse would be. That I'm a gardener bringing a gardener friend in his mansion -which by the way gives me creeps- to check garden designs?" He drawled irrelevantly and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, where are you-?"

"Well, you know Maxime just passed by us, right?" He repeated, ignoring my question. "Guess where he's heading?"

"Augustus-" I said solidly. "This isn't the time to joke around-"

"He's gonna open the front door to let Dad and his men-"

My eyes widened at his words and a lump formed in my throat. "What-?" Father was here too?

"Beats me too, mate. I don't know what he's doing here-" It sounded like he was descending some stairs.

"I think-" I stressed but was cut by his snickering.

The phone was far from his ears- I could tell that as I paced around the bloody basement, terrified for him. Things were already not going as planned. But again, when did they ever do? Father's intervention would in no way be good.

I immediately stopped in my tracks and stared at my dying phone's screen when I heard the sound of something crashing against something coming from outside the basement door. I quickly headed to the door in anticipation, ready to throw punches if necessary. The door was then swung open and I had to blink from all the 'dust' that clouded my vision. And, God, it stank.

A tall figure clad in an oversized overall jumped in front of me. My eyes widened and my heart thumped wildly in my chest.

"Literally holy cow shit!" Augustus exclaimed, stumbling into the basement, covered in, apparently, manure with a gun held casually in his left hand. His blue eyes were wide and clear as his face brightened upon seeing me.

I smirked, hiding a huge smile, and nodded at him. "You actually made it."

"Aren't we like gonna hug or something? I mean, not to be sentimental or anything- but I haven't seen your pompous arse for two weeks and half-a-day-" he remarked, waving his gun around dangerously as he looked around the 'room', peeping behind my shoulder. "And shit, is that Sama-?"

Recalling that she was half-naked and sleeping (too deeply, if you ask me), I grasped him by the baggy overall he wore and dragged him outside while reassuring him that I'd explain later. He seemed surprised but followed suit anyway

The 'corridor' connecting the staircase -I was carried down from on my first day- to the 'room' was dark and when I glanced to my side, the two guards were slumped and covered in manure. I noticed Ledger pant as he stood by the door leading to the washroom where I urinated and took my showers in those past two weeks.

I nodded at him and he slowly approached me. Last time I saw him was in the hospital when I shot his leg, about four months ago. His leg seemed fine now.

"Okay, what is my father doing here?" was what I asked him when he stood in front of me and his rough features came into focus. Dark hair, dark, sharp eyes, Roman nose and a stubble.

"Not a clue," he whispered back, his eyes jumping from me to Augustus and I clenched my jaws.

"Amazing-" I breathed worriedly. "We're supposed to get out of here undetected. He mustn't catch us-"

Augustus then suddenly shoved his hand into his overall's pocket and retrieved a folded paper. "I managed to draw a plan of the mansion-" he said quickly, unfolding it and holding it straight with slightly shaky hands- probably adrenaline.

"How did y-?"

"Well, I convinced Ashton- Dad's personal hacker-" he started, with a raised brow and a smug smirk. "-to let me see what's in the cameras-"

"Cameras?"

"Well, Dad had someone sent to install them-" he grinned proudly. "I literally spent this whole week drawing the damn plan and eavesdropping on my father after you called me and saved me from depression."

"But why would he do that?" I frowned. "Why would he want to come here? Now?"

"I don't know?" Augustus made a face. "To save you? Maybe?"

I scoffed. "Of course, not-"

"What does it matter?" Ledger then uttered for the first time. "We're planning on escaping undetected."

"How did you know that Father is here?" I whispered urgently as theories started to build up in my mind.

"Well, Ledger saw him in the windows. Those vast ones-"

"In the reception where we almost got caught-" Ledger added.

"For the sixth time!" Augustus announced and I shut my eyes. That was really bad because that meant that Father would get to know that I had the documents all along and had been wasting his time. I couldn't fathom how much trouble I'd be in.

"I mean he rang the doorbell-" Ledger muttered with a shrug as he adjusted his oversized overalls.

"Rang the doorbell-?" I winced and Augustus shrugged.

"I mean if I were him, I'd knock down the damn door. I mean, hell, Dad got some delicacies-" he then sighed. "I mean he's got about fifty men by his side and I swear I'm not exaggerating."

"Oh, that's bad. Atrociously terrible-" I tapped my feet, running my hands in my hair and inhaling deeply. Father had come here for a battle- useless battle because I had the damned documents. And when he'd know that I made him kill Leonard for such purpose, I'd be as good as dead. I mean dammit, I never wanted him to kill any of them. A warning to scare the living daylights out of them would've been fine.

"What's vexing me is-" Augustus started as Ledger and I stared at him speechlessly. "-why would he need fifty? For one guy. Our age. I'm confused. Is Maxime a mass murderer or something?"

I raised my eyebrows at the question. It was a good one. Was Father aware of the fact that he was an actual sociopath who used scalpels on people? Even if, why would he bring fifty people to kill one person? One.

"What if they're scanning the floors for Maxime's men?" Ledger then asked another question and I shut my eyes.

"And they wouldn't know that we're not Maxime's me-" I frowned, connecting the dots. We needed to move. And move really quickly. Things were getting complicated and out of hand. All it took was Father's delightful arrival. I hadn't anticipated it at all and was utterly defenceless.

"Shit-" Augustus then exclaimed as I clenched my jaw and walked toward the stairs and peeked up.

"I think we really need to go-" I then said urgently. "We need to go. Now."

Augustus and Ledger eyed each before nodding at me and running up the stairs by my side, their footsteps light and careful. When we stepped into the hall, I stuck out my arm to stop any of them from proceeding any further. I glanced down the brightly-lit hallways and scanned the gazillion number of doors.

What would someone do with all those rooms?

"We need to head to the front-" Augustus started, but Ledger stopped him.

"No-" he panted. "We need to know where Black is."

Augustus and I turned to him and stared scrutinizingly.

"I mean, we might want to contact Ashton-" His gaze shifted between us. "He'll tell us his exact location so we can avoid it. And areyousureyou'renotbrothers?"

Augustus smirked. "You should've seen him in my hair colour. You'd think we're twins."

Ledger then looked at me suspiciously and I raised an eyebrow. "We're not. And can we please focus?"

There was no way I'd want Augustus in danger by having him labelled as someone close to me- family. Because when enemies hit, they hit where it hurt. And I couldn't put him under such risk or put me through such pain. And Ledger, even though had proved his loyalty to me on several occasions, couldn't be trusted with such a valuable thing. My heart.

Ledger nodded slowly and reached out for his phone. But on hearing a large number of footsteps coming from the left, I stumbled back into them (so we weren't visible targets) and down the first stair of the staircase, apparently knocking the phone out of Ledger's hand.

And it was like that moment in the movies when silence settled and nothing but the 'clik-clunk' of the phone could be heard as it stumbled down the rest of the stairs, followed by a prolonged, slow-motion 'Shee-it' coming from Augustus' lips.

I didn't like silence anymore.

"OVER THERE!" I heard someone yell and I froze. There was no way I was going back downstairs and frightening Samantha out of her skin. Because either way, we were dead meat, so why frighten her? And face her again?

So I tugged at Augustus' sleeve and we were all soon running in the opposite direction, our footsteps thudding heavily on the plushly carpeted floors. I then yanked them round a right corner where we stumbled upon more doors and ugly paintings.

I tried a random room's doorknob and cursed under my breath because of course, it had to be locked. Ledger and Augustus were already down the hallway yanking at doors.

"Nothing's unlocked!" Ledger then stressed frantically.

And of course, there was no use knocking down a damn door, if it wasn't going to be up to protect us.

"Let's just confront them!" Augustus panted out desperately from the end of the hallway. "We're on the same side! Literally. We're his damned sons!"

"So you are brothers?" Ledger then furrowed his eyebrows and I had to squeeze my eyes shut from the rush of thoughts. I literally didn't know what to do. This was the worst case scenario.

I was shaking my head when I was forced to the present by a cry escaping Augustus's mouth. Ten or so men were pouring from his side of the hallway. He started running toward us, but one man clad in a black suit grasped him from his overall's strap and I winced as he stumbled back into him.

I immediately rushed to my struggling brother, Ledger at my feet and stared at the line of men that stood behind the guy holding Augustus.

"Alright, alright-" I panted. "Let him go."

"Yes! You don't know who I am!" My brother blathered uselessly as the metal-hard features of his captor hardened.

"You are coming with us-" He growled and I grimaced.

"They are Alexander's sons-" Ledger managed to slip in before two men took hold of the both of us, locking our arms behind our backs. It hurt so much obviously but there was no way I was going to show it.

There is, in those kind situations, obviously, two options. Either you start throwing punches and end up with a broken rib because there is obviously no way in hell can you overpower twenty fully-grown men, unless you happen to be in a Bollywood movie- or, you submit and save your energy where it'll be useful.

Hm, sounded like a plan.

Augustus' captor nodded at our captors and they all started moving together.

"You have no idea what'll happen to your muscly ass when my father knows about this-" Augustus' complaints were unsurprisingly the only music to my ears.

"If he was your father, why would you run away?" his captor asked.

Augustus paused before he replied. "You have a point, okay? You do. But you would understand if your father was an arse."

I rolled my eyes as the two continued to engage in a useless conversation as we climbed up some stairs. I was already planning to trip my captor and get a headstart before I stilled at my father's voice. And, well... Maxime's.

"We brought something for you-" I was then pushed forward into the reception that Augustus described. The crimson walls and ceilings, huge scarlet armchair where Father sat cross-legged, in a white suit and a cigar between his fingers and the huge window by which Maxime stood, holding a shot drink. At the further end of the reception, there was a table by which about ten men stood, pointing guns at Maxime.

Father did a double take when he saw the three of us -Ledger, Augustus and I- standing in front of him. I was frozen in my place, face stoic, expecting the worst, Ledger was cursing under his breath and Augustus was adjusting his overall and glaring at his captor.

"On fait une fête?*" Maxime said fluently as my father got to his feet.

"Ne teste pas ma patience, Lucien et tais-toi*," came Father's sharp reply as he continued approaching us with a neutral facial expression, dropping his cigar to the floor and crushing it. I raised my eyebrows. I never knew he could speak French.

He stood in front of Augustus and scowled. "I thought we had a deal."

I frowned at his words as I peeped at Augustus' face. He was smirking and staring straight into Father's eyes.

"What should I do with you right now?" My father continued to tell him, hands clasped behind his back.

"Apprenez une leçon à votre fils plus tard!*" Maxime commented as Father's eyes narrowed at Augustus before they fell on me, so full of disgust and hatred. I felt my heart beat faintly in my chest as bile crept up my oesophagus at what was coming at me. I'd deserve every and each that'd happen to me.

"I fail to keep count of the number of times you have let me down-" he said loudly as Maxime choked on his drink with laughter. I didn't even feel angry because I'd decided that there was no use. I screwed up and I knew it.

"You tell him!" Maxime interjected and I looked down to stop myself from looking at his face. Because that'd anger me. "Ask him where the 'documents' are."

I shut my eyes. This was going down tonight.

"Shut up, Lucien!" Father roared and I looked up with a frown.

"Lucien?" I whispered as Augustus snorted.

Father nodded with a smirk. He then harshly grabbed me by my arm (I had to suppress a groan) and pulled me so I stood in front of Maxime- no, Lucien.

"We need a proper introduction-" My father said. "Come on, son-" Father let go of my arm and nudged me. "Tell him who you are."

I narrowed my eyes at Father and frowned. I was confused but decided to comply anyway- just to see where it'd get us. I straightened up, sighed and looked straight in Lucien's eyes. "You know who I am. Juliu-"

"No, son, not your name-" Father said from next to me with a smirk. "Tell him what you do-"

"What do I do?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly as my father smiled.

"Okay, then. Repeat after me-" I kept staring at my father, not understanding his actions. Why weren't we fighting already? Why wasn't he pissed that I had the documents all that time? Why wasn't he punching my damn face or wait, no- shooting my damned shoulders?

"No, son," he tsked and raised a brow. "Look at him. Not me."

I reluctantly averted my gaze to 'Lucien' and frowned.

"Say: all I do is," Father paused and urged me to repeat. I did cluelessly. "All I do is fall in love and be a disappointment to my father."

I snapped my head toward him in shock. He was humiliating me in front of the enemy. Didn't he know that in front of the enemy, we were supposed to act as one?

Before I replied, Augustus intervened. "Excuse me?"

"Stay out of it, and I'll deal wit-" Father started but Augustus wasn't taking it.

"What do you think you're doing?" He was frowning, hands rolled into fists. "What the fuck are you doing here in fact?"

Father's features hardened and my heart was beating too fast. So much chaos. Chaos in Father's rage. Chaos in Augustus' glare. Chaos in Lucien's laugh. Lucien's laugh that echoed in my head. I frowned, snapped my head to him and without second thoughts, punched him in teeth. This wasn't funny and he was laughing. Perhaps he'd find my punch funny too.

Oh, yes, keep laughing. Keep showing those bloody teeth.

I winced, shook my hand and flexed my fingers. Father and Augustus stopped bickering as we all stared at Lucien who held a hand to his bleeding lips as the other tightened around the cup.

"What are you doing here?" I finally exploded, turning to Father.

"What were you doing here?"

"I was making out with the love of my life and being a fucking disappointment-" I retorted bitterly yet sarcastically. "Now can we get the hell out of here? Can we kill him and then go on about how I am the biggest mistake in your damned life?"

My father winced. "Mistake?"

I ignored him. "Yes, I have the bloody documents." The truth had to be out and there it was, on the damn table. "I know that Gorj is mine. But hell, you can have it. I don't want it. I don't want a thing to do with you."

"I am done with this whole game we've been playing," I continued. "I am not the least bit concerned about what you do with him-" I said then frowned, turning to Lucien. "-who isn't Maxime...really. Who the fuck are you? Can I understand what the hell is happening here?" I turned to Father who seemed shocked at my outburst. "Why the hell did I come and find you having a chit-chat with him?"

"Son, you seem quite perple-"

"Don't call me that-" I snapped. "What the hell are you up to?"

Father's smirk faltered as he stared at me. "You just punched one of the most dangerous criminals on the dark web*. Lucien, I told you to introduce yourself."

"Oh, woah-" Augustus scoffed. "So he really is a little French sicko."

The dark web? I scrunched up my face and looked at Father, my anger dissipating into curiosity. "What's our business with that crap? Since when did w-"

"Caesar?!"

My heart dropped to the floor as I gulped and looked behind me, finding none other than Samantha making her way through the men standing in rows in front of the staircase we came from. She was still obviously in the pyjamas I left her with -her shirt upside down- and her bunny-like slippers.

Her eyes widened when they fell on me, my brother and father.

"What's happening here?" Her voice was shaky and unsure as she glimpsed her own brother cornered next to the window with about ten guns pointed in his direction. "Maxime?"

Father was the first to speak. "Didn't know your sister is unaware of what is happening. Maxime."

I was still totally captivated by Samantha as she stood wide-eyed, black hair in a messy ponytail, staring at Father when Augustus nudged me. I turned to him distractedly and he raised a brow.

"When all of this is over-" he said with a smile. "-me, you and that chick of yours will go and hang out at my place-"

"Your place?"

"Yeah, the amusement park."

"Uh... okay?"

"And we'll buy a big tub of vanilla ice cream-"

"Is it the time-?"

"Be patient. It isn't like they're being productive-" he whispered. "Then we get three tickets to Vegas."

"Vegas?"

"Yes. And I get you married-" he said, grinning at his plan. "Then we can all live there. Without any of that shit in our lives. Okay?"

"And what about the 'shit' we have at hand right now?" I asked him seriously and he just inhaled deeply.

"We always make it out alive," he told me with a grin. "We always do, brother."

I tried not to roll my eyes before Samantha's voice caught my attention again. Dammit, I never thought I'd see her again. If my plan had been carried out smoothly without my father popping up, none of this would've happened. This was too chaotic for me- a person who knew chaos like a lover.

Samantha had a hand over her chest and was already hyperventilating. "Dark Web? What?"

"So the blind cat did remain blind after all-" my father snickered. "The dark web is the part of the internet that you can't access via Google. It's where some terrible crimes are hidden. Crimes your brothers and father has taken part in. Drugs, child pornography, cannibal-"

"Enough!" Lucien bellowed as Samantha trembled. "Return to your room!"

"How can I?" She started, averting her gaze to me and holding a clenched fist to her heart. "Is that true, Maxime? What is happening? Why are you all here? Didn't you say you'd leave?" The last question was directed at me and I held my breath, not knowing what to say.

"Samantha, I agree with your brother," was my curt reply. I didn't even look at her face. It was simply too painful. "Leave."

She welled up and clasped her mouth with her hand.

"Yo, she's gonna have a mental breakd-" Augustus whispered as I looked longingly yet helplessly at her.

"I can't-" I almost panted it out as I tried forcing the crowd of memories away. I couldn't submit to this. Not now. "You go and do it-" I said, my heart beating uncontrollably fast. "Calm her down or she'll have a panic attack," I said, watching her gulp as she helplessly shifted her gaze around the room and grasped at a random man's arm to steady herself.

Augustus looked at me like I was being weird before he simply left my side and grabbed Samantha to a corner.

I breathed out. Now it was all men's talk. I turned to face Father and Lucien, wiping my face from any emotion.

"What were you talking about?" I asked, wasting no more time as I watched Lucien rub his nose with a frown.

He then dropped his hand and smirked. "We were talking about how you took our documents-"

"They weren't yours-" my father interjected but Lucien lashed out.

"You killed Esteban for them when your son had them!" His eyes widened with anger before he clenched his free fist and exhaled loudly.

"Esteban as in Leo?" I asked, clarifying things for myself. No-one answered me.

"But he was it all, wasn't he? He was the most important one in the trio?" My father asked with a knowing look and I frowned.

Did he mean by the trio, Lucien, Esteban and Ricardo?

"He was-" Lucien muttered bitterly. "He was the centre of Leo."

"Leo?" I questioned with a frown, trying to put pieces together.

"Yes. L.E.O."

I didn't understand how slowly repeating what he said would make me understand any better, but my father winced with realization.

"L for Lucien, E for Esteban and O for-?" My father connected the dots and I stood dumbfounded. What was happening here? Why did it seem that we were in the middle of some investigation? Why didn't Father tell me about all this? How was any of it related to Gorj? It seemed, as a matter of fact, that Father knew about them, Lucien and Esteban, long before I told him.

Did he think they didn't have the documents in the very beginning? Was that why I never knew of them? But I didn't think Father was that idiotic to let me after the girl if she was a useless lead. Or, did Father know what I was doing all along? Did he know it when I got the actual documents? Was that why he wasn't shocked? Did he leave me here on purpose? Was I part of a game? Hell, I thought I was the one playing Father all along.

"I won't tell you-" Lucien scoffed and I raised my eyebrows.

"He's dead anyway, what's the point?" I said and he sneered at me.

"Because you killed him right?"

I ignored him.

"What is Ricardo's first name?" My father cut the chase and Lucien smirked.

"Why are you here Black?" He spat in a thick accent. "You want to kill me? Go ahead. I'm not saying a thing."

"No. I won't kill you-" my father said. "You're already dead, Lucien. Or need I tell you how things go when you don't meet a contract's conditions?"

I stood still, trying to absorb as much information as possible. This turned out much bigger than I had anticipated. I didn't see how it was relevant to those documents at all and here I was, standing amidst it all, completely clueless.

"But of course-" Father continued. "-this isn't my contract. This is a contract with a much bigger entity. And I'm here, to be quite honest, let's say- to protect you from them."

"Protect him?" I asked confused and my father smiled.

"Well, of course-" Father continued. "What's the point in just cutting the tip of the iceberg? I want the whole thing out and down. I want all those who hired you as well."

I shifted in my place and rubbed my chin as I raised my eyebrows bemusedly. Lucien was hired by someone but to do what? Those crimes? Those crimes Samantha told me she watched videos of?

"You are dreaming-"

"And you have no choice-"

"I say let's discuss the documents-" Lucien then said, changing the topic instantly.

"What is there to discuss?" Father said, cautiously glancing at me. I gave him no reaction.

"How I didn't take revenge?" He smirked cruelly and I gave him my full attention.

"What revenge? You have no right for revenge-" I started bitterly.

"You killed my brother!"

"You mean your lifejacket? Because you know that his death would mean your death?" My father mocked and I raised my eyebrows. That was a way of putting it surely.

"Someone is going to die for this-" Lucien said monotone with a disturbing smile. "Today. And I already know who."

"Don't worsen you records-" Father warned but Lucien smiled.

"You cannot threaten me-"

"You literally have ten men pointing their guns at your head. Don't be daft-" I said with a smirk.

"Nine to be precise-" Lucien replied and I rolled my eyes.

"So French boy is witty too?" Augustus intervened, surprising the three of us.

Lucien then smirked. "Save your breaths," he retorted. "They're counted."

"Whatever-" Augustus rolled his eyes. "You're still creepy."

And then I remembered Samantha. How was she holding up? Was she breathing fine? Overwhelmed by all those questions bombarding my mind, I couldn't help but look behind me. She was sitting on the scarlet armchair, head bowed, trying to take deep breaths.

And I remember that it took me my all not to detach myself from the three of them and crouch next to the armchair and help her breathe. I wanted to take her hand in mine, look in her eyes and remind her that there was still serenity amidst all of this chaos. And that I could show her where this serenity was. I could hold her in my arms, whisper in her ears and break her heart- because that was where our serenity laid.

I shook my head, cleared my throat and noticed that she had caught me staring at her. I immediately averted my gaze like a kid, directing my attention back to my brother, father and Lucien. I couldn't look at her without remembering all the things I swore to forget.

"How many victims are there?" Augustus was asking with disgust and I raised my eyebrows.

"Victims?" I asked and my father replied impatiently.

"The people he's keeping hostage right now. The people he's torturing and recording videos of. Videos he gets paid for." He then turned to Lucien. "Oh, does that still apply? Are people still watching the crap you sell without Esteban? Or is it just for pleasure-"

"Bad habits are hard to break-" Augustus added smugly and my eyes widened in realization.

"All those rooms up there-" I trailed off as Augustus filled in for me.

"Are where you keep them!" He patted Lucien twice. "Bloody brilliant!"

"How many are there?" My father demanded seriously and Lucien smiled weakly at him.

"You won't believe me if I told you-" he said and Father rolled his eyes.

"We believed all that shit you sold before. This, I'm sure, wouldn't be hard to believe-" Augustus remarked and Lucien smirked.

"Five-" he muttered in defeat.

"Only five?" I narrowed my eyes on him. There were definitely more than five rooms up there.

Lucien then grinned, took a sip from his drink, smacked his lips and looked dead in my eyes. "Five alive."

***

Your little translator:

On fait une fête? : We're having a party?

Ne teste pas ma patience, Lucien et tais-toi: Do not test my patience, Lucien and shut up!

Apprenez une leçon à votre fils plus tard! : Teach your son a lesson, later!