FAMILY DINNER

I DIDN'T MOVE A muscle from where I was standing. I knew that if I did I'd be killed, so I stood still and stared back at Cyrus without uttering a single word. I'm not going to make any more trouble, and I think he knows that.

"Your work has just begun Mr. Carter." He says while slowly walking towards me. I thought he was going to at least give me a quick stab in the stomach with a knife that he might be literally hiding under his sleeves, but he grabs me by the head and gently pulls me towards him instead, and then to my surprise, the man gives me a hug.

I didn't know what to do, but then Cyrus wraps his right arm around my neck and covers my mouth with a white cloth. The scent on the cloth was strong, and it started making me feel dizzy. My eyes were starting to close, but before I could even lose consciousness, Cyrus moves his face so close to mine that his lips touched my ear, "You still have to find the person who killed my father." He whispers, his low voice sending chills down my spine.

My legs weaken, and Cyrus hugs me tighter so I wouldn't fall. As everything was now starting to get blurry, I hear Cyrus say, "Make sure no one finds out about this."

"I think your sister knows," Luis informs him.

Cyrus chuckles, and the last thing I heard before I could completely faint was him saying, "Oh believe me she didn't. But based on how Carter might have reacted on what she said, she just did. That...is how good that bitch is."

...

I open my eyes, a milky white ceiling welcoming me. I was expecting to wake up tied in a chair without a hand or leg, but instead, I was gently tucked in a bed at a bedroom that was too big for a single person. I wasn't wearing my coat anymore either, and my shirt was unbuttoned to the point where my chest could be seen.

"What the hell just happened?" I ask confusingly before sitting up. I immediately massage my head because of the immense pain. I shouldn't have sat up so quickly.

"You shouldn't move too much." I hear someone say.

My eyes widen from shock. I search for the owner of the voice, and it was actually Cyrus Delton himself, standing in front of a large window in the middle of the room.

"The drug I gave you helped calm your nerves, but it doesn't make anyone feel pleasant." He says before sipping from the glass wine that he was holding.

"What am I doing here?" I immediately ask him. Not standing from the bed, like my body was unconsciously afraid of moving even a single inch.

Cyrus still doesn't look at me as he answers my question, "You wanted to be my bodyguard so I hired you. Why are you so surprised? It's not like I dragged you here."

I clench on the sheets on the bed in annoyance. Is he playing dumb? Is he just toying with me? Does he want me to spell everything out without even being forced to say anything?

"You know who I am don't you?" I ask him. It was the safest question. He might not know everything yet, and I don't want to blindly spill it out unintentionally.

Cyrus turns around and finally faces me. He doesn't have the same expression as the time I met him at his office. He actually looked tired, and the expression that he was showing me now is the same expression that I kept on seeing on his pictures.

It's just empty.

"I care little of your true identity. I don't care if you're really a Vincent or actually a Chris, but what I do know is that the police sent you, which means you're good." He explains. It surprised me because I thought he'd just slap me with my entire profile.

"Apparently not good enough," I say back since he was able to catch me just fine.

The empty expression on his face finally changes back to the expression that I have already gotten used to. He puts down his wineglass and takes a step forward, a smirk now present on his face as he says, "Oh you're good. But your other agent wasn't. His work was sloppy. I was able to spot him with just one look. But that didn't matter because the truth is, I'm the insider who told chief Philips about the murder case." He reveals, slightly shocking me because I half figured it out when he whispered about his father's murder to me before I fainted earlier.

"I let that agent be for a while, and then I took the opportunity and made up the lie about my bodyguard. I knew the police were going to send someone to me again, and I knew they wouldn't be sending someone sloppy like the first one." He explains further.

"So you really do want me to investigate your father's murderer?" I ask him, but Cyrus doesn't answer me.

I sigh and massage my temple in frustration. Hearing what he just said tired my brain cells.

"You do know that if you wanted to investigate your father's murderer then you could have easily done it. Your family is rich, and the police force was willing to help your family too. Why go through all the trouble?" I point out to him because the Delton's could have gotten the greatest detective in the world if they wanted to. They might have even already solved the case just a few weeks after their father was killed. Now he has me, and the only reason why I'm here is not because I'm a great detective, but because the force knew that I have the greatest chance of getting out of this mansion alive.

"My siblings..." Cyrus suddenly starts, surprising me.

I was waiting for him to continue, but he doesn't say anything about it anymore. Instead, he walks closer to where I was and starts something else, "If we did continue with the investigation, I bet they wouldn't be able to send anyone who is as good as you." He says, flawlessly changing the direction of his first statement.

"Why are you speaking so highly of me?"

"Because only someone as good as you will be able to find the perfect time to strike. A fool would have shot me with the gun that I so generously gave them the moment they opened the restroom door." He answers, and to my surprise, when I touched the side of my pants, the gun was still there. I could grab the gun now. We're all alone here, and I could shoot this man and escape.

My hand itched for that gun, but like what Cyrus said, I knew better. So I gulp and clench my fist. Now is not the time to do anything rash.

"Why are you so confident that I wouldn't shoot you in the future?" I bravely ask him. I was trying to see how he'd react to it, but he didn't seem surprised at what I asked at all.

"I'm not," he simply answers before sitting down on the edge of the bed just a few inches away from me. I unconsciously move away from him, which made Cyrus chuckle.

"Don't worry, I'm not like Chance. I don't seduce people. It's not my style." He explains to me, making me remember the time Chance was practically caressing his hands all over me while he circled around me during the time I was at Cyrus's office.

I take a deep breath and look straight in his eyes.

"What is your style then Mr. Delton?" I ask him, not daring to look away.

Cyrus doesn't back down either. He continues to stare back at me while slowly leaning closer. He was only a few inches away from me now. "My style?" He asks back.

I don't say anything to him, but then he grabs my hand and pulls it towards his lips so he could kiss it. His lips felt so soft, and his kiss felt so light that the hair on my skin stood up. I immediately pull my hand away, and the reaction made Cyrus smirk.

"You guess." He finally answers. Then he winks and stands up from the bed, which only now did I become aware of that it was actually his bed, and this was actually his room.

I bolt out of the bed and wipe the back of my hand on my shirt. "You're disgusting," I say with an angry tone, warning him that if he does something like that again I won't hesitate any more and actually shoot him.

Cyrus stares at me like he was trying to read me. The way he was doing so made me feel uncomfortable. I don't know if he read something important, but he kept his mouth shut about it.

"I want you to look for my father's murderer, but at the same time, I hired Vincent Carter to be my bodyguard, so 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. Your things are at the table, contact your people and tell them you're all right." He says while gesturing at the table at the side of the bed.

I look at what he was gesturing at, and like what Cyrus just said, my phone, earpiece, files, and suitcase was placed on top of the said table.

"My siblings can never know. If you find anything, you may report it to me and to whoever you have to report to." He explains further.

"I get why I have to keep this from your siblings, but why to the chief too? Wouldn't it be better if we can have someone else to help us with this?" I ask him, and Cyrus turns around and answers, "Like what I told you...the best lies are when you convince others and yourself that it's the absolute truth."

I thought he was finally going to go out of the room and leave me, but to my surprise, he gestures his index finger for me to follow him. So without any second thought, I button my shirt and wear my coat. I was going to shove all of my things inside my suitcase when Cyrus turns his head to stop me.

"That's not necessary. You can leave it there." He tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, slowly putting my suitcase back down.

With his hands now inside his pockets, Cyrus answers me, "This is where you'll be staying."

My eyes widen from surprise. He hasn't really said it himself but I'm pretty sure this is HIS room.

"Don't worry." He immediately says when he saw my reaction. "I don't sleep in this room anymore," he adds before finally turning back towards the door so he could leave the room.

I was obviously curious on what he just said, but I knew there was no way that I would get an answer to that now, so I follow Cyrus out of the room instead, and when we got out of the room, it was only at that time did I realize that it was actually already dark outside.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I whisper to myself, but Cyrus who was just a few inches in front of me still managed to hear me.

"Quite a while actually." He answers without even turning around to face me.

"It's already time for dinner." He continues to say while we walk down the hallway.

We pass by Chance's room. The two guards weren't guarding it anymore so I'm guessing he's not inside. Other than that room and Cyrus's room, those are the only rooms that I know of in this enormous mansion. Luis told me that he was going to tour me around the mansion, but of course, I flipped out a few hours ago and got caught having a mental breakdown at the restroom.

It's funny how I'm not dead yet. This is surprisingly not going the way I thought it would and that's even more frightening.

"I have a meeting tomorrow at seven so I want you to be ready at six." He tells me.

"And where exactly am I going to fetch you?" I ask him since I'm the one who's staying in his room and he says he doesn't stay there anymore.

We walk down the stairs as he answers me, "You're my bodyguard, not my butler. Luis will take care of that. You on the other hand will guard me when I'm out of the mansion. I don't need anyone to guard me in my own home."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I hear him say those words. He glances at me, his expression dying to ask what I found so funny, so I did him a favor by answering his curiosity without him saying anything.

"I bet that's what your father also said," I answered without even being sensitive enough to think that his father was murdered. I realize what I just said and immediately close my stupid mouth that apparently doesn't have any restrictions.

"Your mouth..." he starts, making me gulp. He glances at me again, a smirk now present on his face when he saw my reaction.

"I would love to shut that mouth." He says with a low voice, making me gulp again. It was his turn to chuckle, but it immediately vanishes when we arrived at what I suppose was the dining room that looked more like a five-star restaurant.

Sitting on the dining table was the three siblings: Catalina, Chance, and the 'angelic' boy Tobias. They were talking earlier but stopped when they saw us enter.

Surrounding the three siblings were their own butlers and guards. Catalina has a female butler and a female guard. Chance has two guards and a butler. And Tobias has a butler and no guard. How could they eat in peace with all these people staring at them?

"Master Cyrus." The guards and butlers greet with a bow. The sight of them doing that made me shiver for some reason. Then Luis appears, and it was only then did I realize that his uniform was slightly different from the other butlers. He must be the head of the butlers here.

"Good evening master Cyrus. Are you done checking your files with Mr. Carter?" Luis asks, confusing me. But then I remember that no one has to know about what Cyrus and I talked about earlier, so I kept my mouth shut, returning my cold and empty expression.

"I spent more time teaching Vincent the ropes than I did with my files." He says, making me clear my throat in surprise since he actually called me Vincent.

"Cyrus!" A loud and cheerful voice then greets.

I glance at my right and saw Tobias standing from his seat. He then runs toward Cyrus and wraps his arms around his neck to hug him. Because of the impact, Cyrus was slightly pushed. I had to take a step back so the back of his head wouldn't hit my face.

Cyrus doesn't say anything, and Chance just continues eating like this was normal. Catalina on the other hand puts her fork and knife down and looks at Tobias with an annoyed expression.

"Didn't father teach us not to stand if we have already started eating?" Catalina asks him, "Sit back down before I raise a hand on you." She then warns, finally making Tobias let go of his brother. But as he was doing so, he glares at me first before finally sitting back down on his seat.

"Oh, Tobi. You always know how to make our sister mad." Chance says with a grin. Then he looks back at Cyrus, "What happened to you brother? We didn't see you at the office." Chance asks him.

Cyrus takes his seat at the middle side of the table.

"Like what I told Catalina, I requested a day off since I had a lot of files to do here." Cyrus flawlessly lies as he takes a sip of the glass that the maid just poured water in.

Luis grabs my arm and pulls me towards the side. We stood beside the other butlers and guards, and just like them, we just watched the four siblings have their dinner.

Chance chuckles and glances at me before looking back at his brother, "But I presume it ended unproductively."

Cyrus doesn't answer him anymore, so Chance continues, "How's your bodyguard? Did he give you any trouble on his first day? If you want, we can switch guards. I think he'll fit better in my care."

"If you don't have anything useful to say dear brother then I suggest you shut your mouth and only open it whenever you need to shove food in," Catalina says.

Chance continues to grin as he looks at his sister and shamelessly says, "Am I allowed to open my mouth if I shove a cock in instead?"

Everyone looks at Chance with surprise, while Tobias and Cyrus continue eating their dinner. I could even see Cyrus trying to suppress a smile.

"If you're not aware yet Cat, our brother here is starting to enjoy men more than he enjoys the other," Cyrus says without even looking up to look at her.

On a side note, why do I find it cute that they call each other by nicknames?

"So you're not only widening your options, but you're widening your asshole too. How resourceful of you Chance." Catalina fires back, almost making me cheer like I was in a diss battle.

Are these types of conversation normal in this family?

"At least I get to widen mine, while yours are starting to have cobwebs because of how unused it is." Chance then fires back, and finally, Cyrus breaks his serious aura and releases a laugh. I looked away because I had to close my mouth just so a laugh wouldn't escape either.

"I sincerely apologize for laughing, but that was quite funny. And jokes that are funny deserves a laugh." Cyrus explains while wiping his mouth with the table napkin.

Catalina looked annoyed, but it was mostly directed towards her other brother, Chance.

"Funny you say? Then I suppose you want to hear something funnier?" Catalina asks as she looks at Cyrus who looks back at her with the same dominance.

"We just lost an important deal because of this hilarious brother of ours," Catalina reveals, and the light atmosphere that was slowly building up finally shifts back to being dark and serious.

"What?" Cyrus asks, and the seriousness he had wasn't the same as before because now, even I felt a tingling fear when I saw it.

Chance looks away, but he looks back again when he felt Cyrus intensely staring back at him.

"Now Chance, can you share to us your funny encounter with President Boris?" Catalina asks, adding more fuel to the fire.

Chance obviously didn't want to speak, but he knew it was better to do so than to keep his brother waiting. He was starting to look worried as he tries to explain himself, "Look, I did my part as a Delton. Cyrus wasn't in the company, and Catalina was too busy, so I decided to talk to President Boris myself instead of keeping him waiting. You clearly know my style of persuasion, it just so happened it didn't fit him."

The moment Chance was done talking, and when Cyrus finally heard about the funny encounter, Cyrus couldn't help but grab the knife and pierce it so hard on the table it actually got stuck there. And that was a bread knife. A BREAD knife.

"Making a move was not a choice for you to make!" Cyrus now shouts, and everyone and I mean everyone inside the room flinched in fear. Even Catalina who has been showing dominance had a small amount of terror in her eyes.

"We grew up learning these things Chance. Each person has a specific style that fits him or her. President Boris was mine to handle, not yours!" He continues to shout.

"Well if you were there then this shouldn't have happened!" Chance bravely shouts back.

"How dare you," Cyrus says, standing up from his seat and looking at Chance with an expression that would even make grown men cry.

Tobias looks at his brothers with a worried expression and slowly stands from his seat as well so he could try and calm the two men down. "Please, we're having dinner. This is not the time to-"

"You shut up and sit down." Cyrus immediately tells him.

Tobias gulps and sits down like how he was told.

I look at Luis, checking if we should be doing something by now, but he remained still. He knew it was best not to say or do anything in these types of situations.

Everyone was quiet for a while. Cyrus was breathing heavily, but then, I notice Catalina pat his back ever so lightly like she was waking him up. And just like that, Cyrus blinks and realizes what he just did.

"I think you scolded him enough. Thank you, Cyrus. I'll talk to him about the rest later." Catalina says.

Cyrus looks around the room, brushes his hair back, and clears his throat before looking back at Chance and saying, "Your actions...my dear brother...are angering me."

Chance doesn't say anything and puts his head down.

Cyrus looks at him for the last time as he moves aside and pushes his chair in.

"I apologize for my ill-mannered behavior. I hope I did not ruin your appetite. Please, do continue as I head back to my study room to continue checking some files. Thank you for the delightful dinner." Cyrus says, turning around and walking away.

Luis nudges at me. He looks at Catalina and the others so he could bow, then he follows Cyrus out. I reckon he wants me to do what he just did, so I look at the siblings and bow at them as well before finally heading out of the dining room.

"Now that is what you call a family dinner," I say to myself as I look over my shoulder to look back at everyone at the dining room who was still too terrified to speak.

No wonder everyone's so scared of Cyrus. I'm just glad he didn't try to kill me on my first day here...

Because he definitely looked like he was ready to kill his own brother without any hesitation.