LIKE A GENTLEMAN

MY HEART ALMOST SKIPPED a beat when I saw Cyrus standing in front of me. I don't know how fast he got back, but he's panting like crazy. I gulp and clench on my fist. I'm so angry I can't think straight. But I have to put that anger aside. I can't let Cyrus ruin my chances again.

"Move," I say with a blank expression.

"Elliot." He calls out, almost making me breakdown right in front of him. He said my name in such a warm way that I had to clench on my fist even tighter. I can't believe anything he says. He's a liar, an actor, a manipulator, and a tempter. He's everything I desperately tried to avoid, but I still ended up believing such a monster.

"Don't you dare say that name," I warn him, my hands now trembling. The look on Cyrus's face tells me that he knows of what I found out about him. I'm already angry, but his effort of not even trying to explain himself made me angrier.

"Give me an excuse Goddamnit!" I finally shout at him, and Cyrus just stares at me in silence. I couldn't contain myself anymore that I ended up punching him. Cyrus isn't fighting back until he fell on the floor, but that didn't stop me as I sat on top of him. My already aching knuckles continued to punch him until blood came out of his nose. Even the side of his mouth is bleeding.

My punches slowly weaken, and I grab Cyrus's collar and pull it towards me, "Was it fun? Did you enjoy yourself, Mr. Delton?" I ask him. Cyrus still doesn't say anything that I couldn't help but let the tears fall. I let go of Cyrus's collar, and as soon as I did, he lifts his hand and wipes my tears away.

"I hate you...I fucking hate you." I sobbed as I pushed Cyrus's hand away from me.

"Tell me another lie. Make it so good that I'll believe you again. Tell me." I said to him as I looked at his face.

A tear fell from Cyrus's eyes, and he lifts his hand and touches my cheek again before saying, "I hate you. I always...hated you."

I finally calm myself down. I move away from Cyrus and walk towards the large window. Cyrus stands from the floor and moves close to me. Then he grabs me and hugs me from behind.

"Let go," I demand as I try to push his arms away, but he isn't budging.

"L-Let go of me." I continue to say as more tears poured out of my eyes. But Cyrus wouldn't let go. He embraces me like he's afraid that I'd leave, and I'm already too tired of fighting back.

"Why did you do this to me? Why?" I finally ask him, and Cyrus buries his face on the side of my neck and hugs me tighter.

"In the beginning, I lied to you, I'll admit to that, but the day I told you that I'll shower you with my truths, I never lied to you again. I showed you nothing but my truths. I told you before that-"

"Enough," I say, instantly making Cyrus stop. I push his hand again, and this time, Cyrus did let go of me. I turn to face him. Cyrus is crying, and I touch his cheek to wipe it away for him too.

"Convince me," I tell him. "But even if you try your hardest...I will never believe in you again. Not now and not ever." I finish as I move away from him.

I walk away and grab the doorknob.

"I'll tell you two truths. You can kill me if I lied. I wouldn't fight back. That's a gentleman's promise." Cyrus suddenly says, stopping me from opening the door.

"There's a hidden passage behind the bookshelf at Chance's bedroom that goes straight to the underground security room. The watchers will notice that Catalina's gone and will head upstairs. That's the perfect time you can get in. I'll handle everything up here." Cyrus suddenly tells me.

I didn't know if I should believe him since I already said that I wouldn't. He could lead me to a trap if he wanted to.

"You want evidence right? And I told you before that you couldn't accuse anyone without evidence. And that place is the perfect place to get it." He tells me, but he didn't really have to because that's already my plan from the start.

"And the second truth?" I ask.

Cyrus is silent for a second before finally saying such painful words, "I love you...Elliot."

Another tear fell from my eye as I clench on the doorknob. I gulp and tried my best not to turn around to face him, so I took a deep breath and opened the door with all my strength, leaving him there with nothing else to say. Because I knew deep down that if I looked back at him...

I'll believe him all over again.

...

"So looks like he really didn't lie," I tell myself as I push the bookshelf that's found inside Chance's room, hiding a hidden door that leads to a staircase.

"I love you...Elliot." I suddenly remember when I opened the secret door.

So was that true too?

No, let's not think about that.

"Get yourself together Elliot," I say as I slap both of my cheeks. I'm about to head down when I suddenly remember Catalina's lighter. I could use this to burn the fucking mansion down, but I need a little help.

I ran to Chance's bathroom and took the muriatic acid before splattering it all over the room. Afterward, I went down the secret passage, leaving acid trails as I head down. I'm just glad they decided to put lights here or I would be blind as a bat. The walk down is long, considering the fact that we use an elevator to actually head down the underground area of the mansion. But Chance must have used this passage before since he's a watcher.

When I arrive at the end of the staircase, I'm welcomed with another door. I take a deep breath and take out my gun. The acid container is also empty now, but hopefully, that could start a fire that's enough to spread across this enormous mansion.

"Alright. Time to kill like a gentleman." I say as I reloaded the gun. But I suddenly heard something, making me stop.

"Find him! And that bitch Catalina! I want them alive, understand?" I heard a voice from behind the door. The owner of the voice is definitely Dario. And the reason he's here only makes my theory correct. He's the guy who's supposed to replace Abraham.

"I promise you, father, I will bring them here and punish them so they could remember their place," Dario says, probably talking to Abraham, which means this door directly leads to the room where Abraham is.

"The time has come." The robotic voice that I already heard before stated. "It is time for me to repay my sins."

"Enough nonsense father. You were already punished before remember? The watcher's punishment; you would still have your eyes if you didn't receive it." Dario reveals, surprising me.

Abraham was punished before? He once said that you'd receive a watcher's punishment if you found something out about the siblings but you won't tell it to the family. What did he find out that made him keep it a secret?

"I tried to please my children, but it only led to this," Abraham says, making Dario laugh.

"Your favoritism caused our demise, and this led to brother Adam's death. Don't act like the victim here." Dario says with an angry tone.

"You wouldn't understand Dario. You never loved anyone your entire life." Abraham tells him.

"Love? Why? Did this family teach me anything about love? No. They taught me fear." Dario says, his voice getting louder and louder as he spoke, "Adam never got to make his last will and testament, but we're pretending that he did. I didn't say anything because you promised me you'll give me the family's share, but why haven't you transferred a single dime to me yet!" He finally shouts.

There's a moment of silence for a few seconds, but afterward, Dario spoke again, "Don't tell me...you're transferring all the riches to Cyrus."

Abraham doesn't react, making Dario laugh hysterically this time, "Your love for Ophelia is too strong father. Just because she died because of you, doesn't mean you have to make it up for his son." Dario reveals, making me cover my mouth from complete shock.

Ophelia? That's the youngest sibling. She's...

"You said you've been with the master since he was a baby. Does that mean you've been a butler here once before Cyrus came?" I asked Luis before when I was having my first dinner in the mansion.

"That's right. I was a butler of the youngest in the previous generation before Cyrus and his siblings."

Luis was Ophelia's first butler. And him knowing the truth about Cyrus makes perfect sense now. How did I not able to connect the dots?

"Sir Dario!" A new voice suddenly appears.

"What now?" Dario asks with an impatient tone in his voice.

"M-Master Cyrus...he's shooting the men upstairs." The voice reveals, surprising me even more.

Dario curses, then I hear the door slamming shut. I'm assuming he went out now. I'm gripping on my gun when I barge inside the room. And like before, the sound of the machines is the first thing that I hear. I don't say anything and point my gun at Abraham. It doesn't take long for him to notice that someone's in the room with him.

"I'm assuming I'm being graced by Vincent Carter's presence," Abraham says, but I don't put the gun down.

"What did you do? What's with Ophelia and Cyrus?" I ask, hoping Abraham is going to answer me.

"Among your children, you will always have a favorite. It just so happened I favored my little one. She was sweet and caring. We didn't have to give her the saint role for her to be an angel. But my angel bore a child, and I wasn't going to make her unhappy. I didn't tell my father, and I took Cyrus and forced Adam to pretend that it's his." Abraham explained to me like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Do you know what you did? Adam hated Cyrus and created a monster. That's why he favored..." I paused, realizing it myself, "That's why he favored Tobias. To make Cyrus feel the same feeling that he felt when you favored your youngest."

"I was punished for it. I do not have regrets." Abraham answers me.

"Your missing eyes will not be enough for all the missing years that those siblings could have had." I say as I move closer to press the tip of my gun on his head, "It's over Abraham. The siblings aren't afraid of you anymore. They're willing to take the consequences and leave all this behind. I told you didn't I? I'm not afraid of death. I am willing to die...if it means I can make sure these siblings get the hell out of this mansion for good."

"So you're saying prison is better?" He asks.

"Anywhere is better except for here," I answer, and Abraham chuckles.

"You were right sir Vincent Carter. I am afraid of those children." Abraham tells me. "But the family secret will never be revealed. I'll take it to my grave." He continues, suddenly pressing a button. Nothing happened yet, but then I heard beeping sounds outside the room.

I ran out and saw the screens dying one by one.

"N-No...No! He's erasing the evidence!" I shout as I run towards the controls, checking if I could stop it. As I was pressing any buttons that I could see, I suddenly felt a gun press on the back of my head, making me gulp.

"Look...whoever you are...I'm not the enemy. I need to help the siblings gather evidence. It's the only way to save them, do you understand me?" I ask as beads of sweat fall down the side of my face.

"It's too late. Those computers are dead." A familiar voice says, immediately making me turn my head.

"Matilda!" I shout when I saw her face.

Matilda's pointing her gun at me. She didn't say anything, but I understood something when she looks back at me with an apologetic expression.

"You're the watcher that's supposed to watch over me," I say, and Matilda takes a deep breath and finally puts her gun down. Without saying anything, he takes off her necktie and throws it to me.

"The camera in my necktie has a recording since you arrived at the mansion. Hopefully, that would be enough evidence for you." She reveals, leaving me speechless.

"Abraham told me to watch you and report your every unusual activity to him, but Catalina and Luis told me not to, and I trusted them more than anyone in this mansion." She tells me.

I grip on the necktie and say, "Thank you."

"The other siblings arrived. Master Cyrus is clearing a path for you upstairs. Do what you have to do and escape." She tells me instead of acknowledging my gratitude.

"What about you?" I ask, and Matilda suddenly smiles and gives me an elevator card. I haven't seen her smile ever since I first met her, but for some reason, I understood what that meant.

"Thank you," I say again before running out of the room and heading to the area where the siblings' different areas could be seen. The place is almost empty. They're probably going out of the mansion because of what's happening upstairs.

I know I'm gonna sound like a fool here but I hope Cyrus doesn't get hurt. Of course, it's because I have to kill him myself. That's right.

"I really have to make sure the fire spreads," I tell myself as I ran around the place to look for a restroom or janitor's closet so I could get more acids to help make the fire bigger. After going around the place I'm able to find two large containers of muriatic acid. I run around, splattering it in every corner. When the two containers are finally empty, I head to the elevator and scanned the card. When I got it, I take Catalina's lighter out and click it, making the fire appear.

"Can't believe I'm fucking doing this for the second time," I say as I throw the lighter towards the pond of acid and immediately closing the elevator door.

The elevator goes up, and below it, I could hear explosions setting off. Afterward, the door opens, and when I stepped out of the elevator, Dario appears in front of me with his gun pointed in my direction, "You sly sly boy. I thought you didn't have guts, but it seems I underestimated you."

"It's too late, the fire downstairs will burn this place to the ground."

"Are you a fool? The family will live on. As long as the siblings are here, the legacy will-"

"You really have underestimated me, sir Dario." I say as I bravely walk towards him, "You see..." Without waiting for him to react, I punch him right on the stomach, making him let go of his gun. When he's about to reach it, I kick his gun away and take out my own gun before pointing it at him.

"For a boss, you're too slow," I tell him, angering him even more.

"Well calm down, your emotions are showing. You can't let your emotions show remember?" I continue so I could tip him off even more. I'm not letting this old man manipulate me again. This time, it's my turn to manipulate him.

"Didn't Catalina fucking teach you that?" I ask, and I could see how unfocused Dario is now.

"So all this time you were planning on getting the family riches. But how does it feel to see your plan get destroyed because of the same siblings you manipulated?" I ask.

Dario must have really lost it because he started laughing again, "You trust the siblings too much Vincent Carter. Don't forget, they're Delton's too. They will make sure this family will live on. They won't let our riches go to waste. That's what we taught them, that's what we-"

Dario instantly stops when I pulled the trigger, shooting a hole directly on his forehead.

"I told you, you're not making the same children."

Dario's eyes were wide from shock, but eventually, he falls to the floor, the blood from his head oozing out and making a pool around him. I look down at him and kick his body away from me, "And it's Elliot Huxley, not Vincent Carter." I say as I ran outside the mansion with the evidence at hand.

All the guards, maids, and butlers were outside the already burning mansion, but there were no watchers to be found. I couldn't see Cyrus either.

Don't tell me...

Did Cyrus wipe them all out?

"Vincent!" Someone shouts.

I turn my head to the right and saw Catalina, Chance, and Tobias standing together. I didn't know why but a tear fell when I saw them. I didn't think about anything, but I ran to where they were and grabbed them for a hug.

"It's over. It's finally over." I tell them, and the three siblings hug me back and cry like this is the first time they ever cried for a good cause.

"Thank you...thank you so much," Catalina tells me. When they let go of me, the four of us looked back at the burning mansion. The memory of the cabin that I burned before suddenly appeared, but beneath that I saw Kris, looking at me with a proud smile. Tears fall as I stare at the mansion. Catalina and the other siblings held hands, and then Chance grabs mine and holds my hand tightly too.

The four of us stare at the mansion with our eyes filled with tears. And then, the bell rang, and the siblings cried even more.

The bell means that the siblings can strip away their roles.

This bell...will be the last bell that they will ever hear.

"My name is Elliot Huxley," I say without looking back at the three siblings. Chance chuckles, and I could feel Tobias looking at me with a shocked expression.

"Well, that's a fucking ugly name." Tobias suddenly says, making the three of us laugh.

"Oh, I know you love it. No need to act that you don't." I tease, and the siblings laugh again.

Police sirens could be heard in the distance. The four of us didn't say anything anymore and just watched the fire in silence. When I let go of Chance's hand, Catalina wraps her arms around her two siblings and kisses their heads like a loving mother.

I stare at her in admiration. This is all thanks to her. Catalina called me here, not to investigate their father's killer, but to investigate Adam himself, and to uncover the truths of their cruel family. She could have been punished for it, but she didn't care. She wanted a way out. She wanted a way out for her and for her siblings, and here they are now.

In the end, I couldn't find who the killer was. But it's clear from the very beginning.

This family killed Adam.

The Delton family...killed that fucking gentleman.