222 Inevitable Crash (14)

On the way out the house, Iris remembered the last time she left to meet with Lily. It had taken them so much time that she had returned only late at night. If she did that again, wouldn't Kyro be seriously angry when he came back?

After a moment's consideration, she found a piece of paper and wrote that she was off to meet Lily. But where to put the note that Kyro would certainly see it? Dinner table? Refrigerator? The sofa?

Her eyes landed on Lucy, and she jogged to the cat. If Kyro visited one place in the house, it would be where Lucy was resting. Iris placed the note nearby, wondering if the cat would want to tear it apart for fun, but he was sleeping soundlessly.

"Rest well then," Iris told him, petting his head, and strode out of the house. Her taxi had to be reaching the gates already.

It took her two hours to get to the hotel, and she was almost certain that everything would be over by then. If something had been bound to happen, then it would have happened already. The only thing she'd be able to see so much later would be the aftermath.

And she wasn't certain she wanted Lily to be the first to learn of it. [Where are you?] she wrote to her.

[Twenty minutes away.]

That gave Iris plenty of time to snoop around. Or so she thought before entering the place. The moment she stepped foot, she was waved over by a receptionist at the counter.

The man spoke extremely politely to her, but his manner alone left Iris troubled. He was dressed in a suit, had slick hair, and was standing straight as a rod. The sense of posh he radiated was no small matter.

"I-I'm looking for a room, top floor," she staggered in the end. The man gave her a once over, taking note of her clothes that were certainly not brand ones, but did not say anything.

Instead, he just said that there were five available, one three room, three four room, and a single suite of five rooms. Their prices were staggering, and Iris gulped involuntarily. She didn't have that much money before, let alone now. Kyro might have, but she wasn't going to waste whatever he gave her like it was water.

"Thank you, let me think about it," she said with a strained smile and took a step back to sit down at a table nearby. There was a cafe on the first floor of the hotel, so she ordered some overpriced coffee to not look too suspicious.

'I can't possibly pay that money… but how else can I get to the topmost floor?' The question plagued her until Lily showed up. She was followed by a buff man in a suit who looked at everyone with a cold glare. He had an earpiece whose cable disappeared into his back, and Iris could swear she saw him moving his lips to whisper something.

Lily didn't seem to mind him. She stepped through the hotel's door like she owned the place. Her steps were steady and full of confidence, the smile on her face condescending. Without sparing a glance for the surroundings, she went straight to the counter.

It was high enough that only half of her head would show from it, so she stopped a few steps away. "My brother, lead him to me." Her voice was still hers, but it was freezing cold, like she didn't even put the receptionist in her eyes.

"My lady," the man said, lowering his head in her direction. "Who might your brother be?"

Lily scoffed at him, a sneer forming on her lips. "Pathetic. Gale Mosley. Now hurry up, I don't have the whole day to play with you."

The girl's words might not have intimidated the receptionist, but the bodyguard who suddenly focused on him sure did. "At once," the young man said and called over another person to take his place.

At that moment, Iris realized that she was going to be left behind if this continued. She rushed to her feet and came to stand by Lily. The receptionist gave her a look, but since Lily didn't say anything, he decided not to question it.

They were led into an elevator which took them to the fifth floor. "Mr. Mosley door is 555." When they reached the door, the receptionist knocked on it, calling that his sister was looking for him.

There was no answer for some time, but then the door opened to reveal Gale's sunny disposition. He smiled at the receptionist, thanked him, then sent him away. The man was more than happy to do that, scurrying away in a blink of an idea. And so did the bodyguard.

Once they were gone, Gale turned to Lily. He didn't look to have done anything, his gaze was clear, even if his smile soon lost its cheer. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Go home."

"I don't want to!" the girl shouted out, losing all her composure. She rushed to Gale and hugged him around the waist. "Don't leave me, please," she begged.

"Lily…" Gale's face softened when he looked at the girl, but he soon untangled her hands and pushed her into Iris' hands. "Take her away."

At that moment, the click of high-heels could be heard from inside the room, and the door was opened wide. "Let her in. She's a part of this family, is she not?" a woman asked in a vicious tone, a cruel smile on her lips.

In an instant, Iris recognized Mrs. Mosley. The woman looked as young as before, and this time she wore a short black dress with sky-high heels.

"Oh, you're that hanger on. First that Kyro, now our daughter and son, you sure have no shame."

Indignation surged through Iris, but she bit down a biting comment. Even if she wanted to tear this woman apart for Lily, and a bit for herself, it wasn't her place. She would only make things worse if she tried.

Instead, she turned to Gale while holding onto the girl. Lily was still, just standing by her side quietly, tears in her eyes.

"Fine then, come in."

Inside, they passed a room to enter a spacious living room. The father of the family sat on the sofa, watching them with an inscrutable gaze, but he wasn't what attracted Iris' gaze. No, it was the table covered in drugs.

'What in the—'

"Sit down," Gale ordered, and Iris chose an armchair the farthest away from father and the table.

She first sat down herself, then pulled Lily on her knees. The charged atmosphere in the room made it hard to breathe, and she didn't dare to let the girl sit by herself. No one here was sane.

Once mother returned to father's side, Gale dropped into the armchair opposite them. He crossed his legs and leaned back as if he was having fun. "Where were we before? Oh, you wanted me to stop." His smile grew brighter. "Fat chance of that." He then stood up and clapped his hands. "Right, the conversation's over. I've a party to end. Bye bye."

When he was about to leave the room, mother jumped to her feet, her face red with fury. "Is this how you're going to act? Even before your beloved sister?"

The way she said 'beloved' was as if she was mocking Gale for liking a pile of dung. Lily shivered, looking away, and Iris tightened her hands around her.

Gale leaned against the door-frame, hands crossed. "She knows better than you that I won't stop. I don't care about power. It's fuckin' useless. Your traditions and rules - worthless. I don't give a damn about any of them. You think I'll return to the path if you don't give in, but that's just your delusion."

His eyes moved to Lily for a second, then he turned away from all of them. "If I can't do what I need to, then why should I bother doing anything. Might as well jump off some building and be finished."

As everyone gasped at the brutal words, Gale strode out by himself. For a long time after, the room was filled with the echo of the door thrown closed.