38 TRUTHS UNTOLD

"CALL FOR CATALINA, WE'LL hold the punishment now." Dario declares, shocking me right off my seat. Chance and Cyrus told me to protect and watch over Catalina; Tobias almost got punished for her sister's sake, and now it still boils down to this? Just because I fucking messed up?

"What did she do? What did she do to deserve such a punishment?" I ask Dario, now standing up from my seat and facing him. Dario continues to look calm as he answers, "Catalina is a boss, but her actions do not portray a boss. She is neglecting her role and the Delton Enterprise. This punishment will make her realize her mistakes." Dario then leaves the private room that we were in and starts walking away.

I clench on my fist and run to him so I could block his path, "You cannot do that. The siblings are not here yet, nor are the guests. "

"There is no rule that I have to wait for them. I am here, which means we can continue." He says as he tries to walk past me, but I block him again. Dario's starting to look annoyed.

"If you weren't the head of the household I would have beaten you up by now. But since I am not a master in this household anymore, I do not have a right to touch you. Now consider yourself lucky and call for Catalina before I drag her here myself." Dario says before finally walking away from me.

My heart's beating fast. I don't know what Catalina's current state is, but a punishment is the last thing that she needs today. Can't she just mourn for her loved ones just for today at least?

"Sir Vincent. What happened?" Matilda asks when she arrived at where I'm standing.

I don't have the time to explain to her every detail as I say, "Call for all the siblings. Tell them to be back here immediately. Do you understand?"

Matilda is surprised by my sudden demand, "W-What? I cannot call them at this hour, especially when they're working. The family will be-"

"Call them now!" I shout, startling her.

I take a deep breath and realize what I've done when I see a shocked expression on Matilda's usual blank face. My emotions are running wild. I have to keep my cool. I'm finally at my limit, but I know that this isn't the time for that. The siblings need me now more than ever. They taught me their ways, did things in order to protect me, and even disclosed the Delton family's secrets even when it means they would get punished for it. I am here now because of them, so failing them is not an option.

"Mistress Catalina will be punished. I'll stall Dario as much as I can. You have to call for the siblings and tell them to come back. They'll know what to do." I say, shocking Matilda even more. But this time, she didn't question me. She nods her head and immediately runs off.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before running upstairs to head to Catalina's bedroom.

What should I do? Should I warn Catalina? Should I ask her if she's willing to run away and I'll tell Dario that she's actually at the company? Holy shit I'm fucking losing my mind. I am not about to see another Delton sibling get punished again. I am definitely not.

"Sir Vincent." Catalina's female guard greets when she saw me approach Catalina's door.

"Is the mistress inside?" I ask, and the guard didn't have to ask as she opens the door for me.

I take a deep breath and step inside the bedroom before closing the door behind me. The room is similar to Adam's room, but for some reason, it felt gloomier. I look around to see where Catalina is, and to my surprise, she's standing in front of a window that's also similar to Adam's room. I catch a glimpse of her reflection through the window, and it almost breaks my heart when I notice her holding a child's dress.

"I'm going to be punished now aren't I?" Catalina asks without looking at me.

I can't take a step closer to where she is. The strong woman that I've always seen now looks broken. I thought she'll break if I approach her.

"Are you alright?" I ask, and Catalina chuckles like I just said a joke.

"My mother died, killed by my loving brother's hands. The same day as today, my child was killed, and so are the rest of the people who I cared about. Would you imagine that? Your family asks you to kill your five-month-old child? I couldn't do it, so they killed them all and all I could do was watch." Catalina says with a sad tone that I thought she'll start crying.

"Catalina...you have to leave the mansion. I'll escort you out. I'll handle whatever the consequence may be." I tell her because right now, that is the most rational thing that I could think of.

"I'll call for a friend of mine. He can protect you." I add, and Catalina starts laughing this time.

"You mean Sir Philip?" Catalina asks, shocking me.

"Elliot Huxley, the ex-military man. You were sent here to look for our father's murderer. Isn't that right?" She continues to ask, shocking me even more. I didn't know what to say, but I knew that making an excuse now would be pointless.

"H-How did you know?" I ask.

Catalina doesn't say anything for a few seconds before finally giving me her explanation, "I hope you find what you're looking for...that's the exact same words that I told you when you entered the mansion."

I stare at her back for a couple of seconds. I can't quite comprehend where she's going so I have to back my memory up a little further. When I first got inside the mansion, I got so scared that I hid at the bathroom, only to realize that the mirror was a two-way mirror. Then Cyrus took me and drugged me, making me wake up in his room right after. He told me he was the insider who told chief Philip about...

Wait.

"Inside and outside this mansion, you continue on with that fake identity you have going on. Don't tell this to anyone, even to that chief Philips." Cyrus once told me before.

I thought he didn't mean to make that small mistake but he called him Philips. For someone who calculates his every move, Cyrus got his name wrong.

"Y-You're the insider? You're the one who called me here?" I ask, and Catalina finally looks back at me. Her face ss pale like she hasn't eaten or even slept properly for days. Her eyes are also red and swollen. I can tell that she's been crying all day.

"You've underestimated Cyrus's ability to lie. I'm pretty sure Luis had warned you about that before." Catalina explains, and something inside me suddenly shatters.

"N-No...that can't be. He said he never lied to me. He said that-" I stop and remember Luis words this time.

"Remember why you're here detective. Don't let your feelings ruin your reason."

"Don't fall in love with a liar," I whisper to myself as I felt a tear fall down my eye.

"Cyrus wanted nothing more but the company. He's been stalling you from finding out who our father's killer is so you wouldn't find out. He did all that the family asked of him in hopes that he'll inherit all the riches. Now, why do you think he hasn't said any information to you that would have helped your investigation? Because he's scared of getting punished? Because he can't?" Catalina asks me, and my heart is beating faster and faster.

Everything I know now either came from Chance, Luis, or any other person other than Cyrus. But that doesn't mean anything right? That doesn't mean-

"You're lying to me. Cyrus couldn't...he's not using me. I know him. He's..."

Catalina looks back at me with a pitied expression. I wanted to puke then and there. I didn't know what else to do. I wanted the whole mansion to swallow me whole so I could just disappear.

"Cyrus knows that he won't be able to inherit anything even after everything that the family has done to him." Catalina now tells me. "We know he's been fixing the company papers so he could officially own it. He's been-"

"Enough!" I shout, more tears now falling out of my eyes.

"You don't know him as much as I do." I try to tell her, my hands now trembling. I couldn't even breathe properly anymore. I thought I'm going to faint. Catalina takes a deep breath and looks back at me seriously, "I know he's not our real brother." She reveals, taking me aback.

Catalina walks towards her bed and sits down on the edge of it before continuing, "Our father, Adam, he made sure that we'd know. That's why Cyrus has been hiding that secret. People can't know he's not a son of Adam. If they find out, his chances of inheriting the family riches will all fall into waste."

"Then why? Why haven't you done anything to stop him?"

"We love him, do you understand that? We love him with all our hearts and we treated him like our real brother. He worked the hardest, taking all that pain, and for what? For nothing. He gets nothing in return, and Cyrus couldn't accept that." Catalina tells me, making me fall on my knees.

All this time, all his sweet and gentle words, all that was to trick me into putting my guard down. His plan all along was to stall me so I wouldn't solve this case. He made me feel special like I was the only person who knew him. But in fact, I was the only person who didn't.

"I'm sorry Elliot. I'm sorry." She says as she looks at me. Soon after, she starts sobbing too.

"All I wanted is a way out of here, but I just didn't know how. I didn't mean to bring you here and let you experience all this. I didn't mean to be so selfish and cause you such pain. I wanted to pull you out of this mansion, I swear I did, but you were already pushed in too deep. They'd kill you if you get out." Catalina says as she hugs the tiny dress.

"It was never my intention to involve you in our family." She continues to say.

I cry with her for a few seconds before punching the floor in anger until my knuckles ached. I stare at the floor as I watch my tears fall.

Fuck this mansion.

Fuck this family.

Fuck Cyrus.

Everyone here are liars, but there's one thing that I am sure of now. I am not one of them. I did what I did because I wanted to help. I wanted to set these siblings free. To save them. Nothing could change the past now, but I'm here now, and I can still stop what is yet to come.

"I am a detective," I say with diction as I lift my head and look back at Catalina. I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and force myself to stand up even though my legs were trembling.

"I swore to solve this case, and I promised that I will watch over you."

I walk closer to where Catalina is and grab her arm so I could pull her from the bed. Catalina is surprised by the action, but I ignore her and pull her out of the room. The guard waiting outside is surprised to see us, but I don't give her any further explanation as I hand her Catalina.

"Bring her out of the mansion. The other siblings will be arriving soon. Tell them to not enter the mansion no matter what. Do you understand?" I ask her. The guard is confused for a second, but somehow she understood the situation. These butlers care for their masters as much as I care about them. I know they'll be safe with them.

"Understood sir Vincent." She answers before grabbing Catalina by the shoulder. Before they could leave, I grab Catalina's arm and say, "Give me permission mistress Catalina."

Catalina looks back at me with a confused expression as I continue to ask, "Do you need all the Delton riches?"

Catalina couldn't say anything, but when she realized why I'm asking her, tears immediately fell from her eyes as she gives me her honest answer, "N-No."

"Are you willing to face all the consequences?"

Catalina's already trembling as she answers next, "Yes."

"Do you love this family?"

"No," she answers with no hesitation.

"Then do you love your siblings?" I finally ask, and Catalina doesn't say anything and nods her head instead.

I let go of Catalina's arm and tell her, "Then give me permission. I will end it here. But I cannot assure you that you will not be able to face a lot of problems after. Everything this family has done, all the illegal business, all that...the four of you will shoulder all that. Do you understand what I'm saying?" I ask her again, but instead of answering me, Catalina pulls something out of her pocket. She takes my hand and forces me to hold onto the unknown item before saying, "Thank you." Then her bodyguard pulls her away.

I stand there as I watch her leave, my heart beating fast as she disappears at the end of the hallway. When she was gone, I open my hand to see what it was. I couldn't help but let a tear fall as I stare at Catalina's lighter.

"I should have done this from the start," I say as I clench on the lighter and hide it inside my pocket.

I run to Adam's bedroom and take my gun, and then I took my phone and dialed chief Philip's number. It rang twice before the chief could answer it. I didn't let him speak first as I start saying, "Call for the police force. Tell them to be here at the mansion after an hour."

"W-What? What's going on?" Chief Philip asks.

I walk towards the window and stare at the garden. I gulp before saying, "We're arresting the Delton's."

"What? What do you mean we're arresting the Delton's? Did you find the killer? Did you-"

"They're running an illegal business underground. The family has killed a number of people, and they have tortured and extorted the siblings. Everything has been recorded. I'll get the records as evidence. Just make sure they arrive, not sooner nor later. Exactly an hour." I persistently say, each word breaking my heart as I say them.

I told them before that I won't expose them, but this...this is their only escape. Luis once told me that once I expose everything, I will be destroying the Delton family, and that includes Cyrus. But now I realized that the only reason why I haven't done this is that I care about Cyrus too much, and that became my downfall.

My mistake...is believing in his lies.

The siblings gave me all the hints. They showed me everything, and I didn't fucking do anything because I was scared of disappointing Cyrus.

"We'll take the siblings out of this godforsaken mansion no matter what," I say before finally ending the call.

"Alright. I have to get the footage from downstairs. I don't know how I could run past all those watchers, and then there's Dario, but it's better than doing all this without any proof. The last thing I want is for people to think I'm fucking crazy." I tell myself as I tuck the gun in the waistband of my pants.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. But when I open the door, someone stands in front of me and blocks my way.

"Cyrus."