Bloody celebration [II]

"What happened here?" Iris stood in front of the vast building, watching the commotion, as firefighters scrambled helter-skelter. She turned pale at the burning sight of the burning building. The headquarters of the Bowman corporation was engulfed in flames, but Iris' heart turned cold when she saw the direction from which it was coming.

'They want to burn me alive?' The message sunk in, and she leaned into her car to compose herself. "Don't blame me for being ruthless," Iris mumbled before moving towards one firefighter with Rachel in tow.

"Hello," Iris could tell he was the leader. The man responded with equal politeness, "Hello." 

"Has everyone left the building? Is it empty?" No one's in there, right? The firefighter was taken aback by Iris' question. He was informed that the CEO of Bowman Corporation was a ruthless woman who didn't care about anything else but profits. Meanwhile, Iris' first question was whether there were no casualties. His impression of her took a one-eighty-degree turn, as he could tell the woman wasn't a block of ice, as everyone described.

"Yes, ma'am. A few janitors were in the building, but we got everyone out." As the man spoke, he observed her expression. If she were faking concern, he would find out now. 

"Whew! That's good news. Thank you for your hard work, Chief…." Iris relaxed a little before extending her right hand forward. The firefighter was impressed that she easily recognized him from the lot. 

"Fallan. Chief Fallan." 

The man introduced himself while accepting her hand. "Iris Bowman." Chief Fallan received her card and gave his contact to Iris.

"You are shaking hands here? My daughter is burning in there, yet, you are here shaking hands? Why did you discard your lighter so carelessly after smoking? My Sonia is burning in there because of you." 

A shabbily dressed old woman shouted hysterically, attracting the onlookers' attention. Iris exchanged a dumbfounded look with Chief Fallan and noticed the man was as shocked as she was.

"Everyone has been evacuated, ma'am. Please calm down. Rest assured, your daughter didn't burn in the fire." The firefighter tried to diffuse the situation, but the old woman wasn't having any of it. 

"Cut the crap, you loyal dog. How do you know where my daughter is? Is this loose woman supposed to smoke in the building? See what you've done to an old woman? My only child is gone because of your carelessness. How do I live now?" 

The old woman threw herself at Iris' feet and bawled her eyes out, yet she received no response from her. She couldn't allow Iris to evade the tag she purposely came to put on her; a drug addict. 

Iris noticed from the corner of her eye that her lawyer had arrived. 

"Old woman, how dare you slander my client so openly? Officers, arrest her." The lawyer declared without consulting with Iris.

[Boom!!!]

An explosion from the building suddenly blew everyone off their feet, shaking the whole place as if it were an earthquake. 

*******

"Ugghhhhh!!!" 

He felt something pierce his neck, and when he touched it, there was blood. Before the fear could set in, he fell. Similarly, nine other men fell. They didn't even get the chance to scream before losing their lives. 

These men were not on the premises of the Harper clan as they set camp away from the celebration. Everything happened so fast that none of them saw it coming. 

After reaping all those souls, the culprit stepped away without looking back. Not a single drop of blood was on his clothes or body.

"Hey, stop right there… boss…" The guard fell to his knees when he recognized who was walking through the gate. 

"Boss…?" Tyler's right-hand man stood a few steps away, shaking like a leaf. He was so dumbfounded at his presence that he couldn't even accord him the right courtesy.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Tyler blurted eerily, and the man knew it was his end. He regretted being at the gate to stop the wounded Tyler from reaching the event.

Before he could think to beg for his life, Tyler ran his pocket knife through his throat and stepped away, just like he did with the men across the building. The few guards who witnessed the situation could only hope to become one with the air. If Tyler turned his attention to them, he could take out everyone without breaking a sweat.

Since he didn't tell them to move the body, it could be a warning to a few traitors. Therefore, the guards didn't move it. What's strange was that there was no drop of blood on the floor. Everything seemed to have dried up.

Tyler turned a corner and disappeared. A guard, who was only a few feet away, felt a gust of wind against his skin. 'That must be my imagination. Why would the wind blow like that when it's not winter?" 

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the hall wasn't the best, as the guests wondered where the mafia king was. The celebration was supposed to start in a minute, but he was nowhere to be seen. No one from the host's side was even around to entertain the crowd apart from the servants. 

The mafia king was cooped up in his room, dialling his son's number till he couldn't take it anymore. "I told him not to go out today, but he won't listen. Why would this brat choose to make me worry this way?" He seethed at the thought of his son stepping out on the only day that someone could kill him and get away with it. 

Before rulers in the underworld relinquished power to their heirs, there was a final twenty-four-hour window for anyone to challenge him. Meanwhile, instead of challenging the position, their lives were targeted. Dominic Harper cautioned his son not to leave home till after the ceremony, but Tyler never listened. 

After trying her son's number a few more times, a tired sigh escaped his lips, as he resolved to cancel the celebration after allowing the attendees to eat to their heart's content.

Standing on the stairs, Dominic Harper's eyes roamed the venue, but couldn't spot his son. The first step felt heavy, as the shameful situation weighed heavily on his shoulders.

As Draco taunted Dominic, everyone watched in horror as he tripped, and the bodyguards couldn't reach him in time. 

"Serves you right. Tsk!" Draco mocked lazily, reached for a grape on the table and brought it to his lips. Before he could bite the fruit, it fell from his hand, and he stood abruptly, shaken at the sight before him. 

Everyone watched the stairs with dropped jaws, as Tyler Harper had his back towards them. He held Dominic Harper firmly and positioned him properly on the stairs before letting go. With his back still facing everyone, he left his father at the foot of the stairs and walked away. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, my son," Dominic announced with pride. Tyler had no option but to turn around and acknowledge everyone.

His voice caused all the attendees to snap out of the shock. The fear in everyone's heart deepened, except Penelope, who had a twinkle in her eyes. 

Draco mused in dread, "How did he get there so fast?"