THE BELL

I WAS WALKING AWAY from the scene even when I didn't want to. That was Cyrus's signal; I just know it. But I can't just follow them openly when those two men in the red suit looked like they'd blow my brains out with no hesitation.

I have to think of something on my own.

"Think idiot. Think." I tell myself. But as I was walking down the halls back to my bedroom, I couldn't help but think about what happened at Cyrus's study room earlier instead. Why on earth did I cry? I didn't intend to but I did. Maybe the wound is still fresh even after all those years.

"Mr. Carter." Someone suddenly calls out.

I stop walking and turn my head to face the owner of the voice. I immediately bow my head as a sign of respect when I saw the third Delton, Chance.

"What are you doing at this hour? Shouldn't you already be in your room?" He asks.

I stare at him for a second and realize that he was wearing a different suit from what he wore earlier. Why on earth would he wear a suit in the middle of the night? Unless this is what rich people use as pajamas then I won't judge.

I also realize that I walked past his room too. I didn't notice it immediately since there weren't any guards standing outside anymore. Is he heading out perhaps?

"I had a short discussion with master Cyrus. But I'm heading to my room now." I finally answer him.

Chance looks at his watch, and then he looks back at me and says, "Well hurry now before the bell-"

And like my luck was testing me, the bell rings. I wasn't really worried, but the look on Chance's face made me feel like I should be. He looks lost, and he doesn't even know how to react. We wait for the bell to stop, and when it did, Chance looks around and looks back at me before grabbing my arm and pulling me inside his bedroom.

"M-Master-"

Chance covers my mouth and shushes me.

The lights were off, but thanks to the lights coming from outside the window, I'm still able to grasp what the inside of the room looks like. His room was smaller compared to Cyrus's bedroom, but it looks cleaner. For someone who seemed dirty, his room was the exact opposite.

My back is pressed behind the door, and Chance looks like he's waiting for something to happen.

When a minute passed, he takes a deep breath and finally lets go.

"What's going on?" I ask with a soft voice since this situation seemed like we were hiding from something.

"You're not supposed to be out after the bell. Has your master or even Luis not inform you of that?" Chance asks seriously before walking towards the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

I don't move from where I was standing and just watch him in silence. I know how he moves, and I know his style and role just by observing him. But right now, just like how Tobias acted when I saw him in my room, Chance seems different. He seems less playful and a lot calmer instead. Maybe every one of them acts differently behind closed doors.

"There are consequences. I am aware of that." I finally tell him, but Chance doesn't look at me. Instead, he turns his head and looks out of the window.

"Maybe you haven't grasped the real danger that you are in yet, and I understand that. Nothing about this is normal. Our family isn't normal. What you see isn't always what you get." Chance says, his words so similar to Cyrus.

"Your brother is going to be punished." I finally tell him.

There's no need for me to watch my words. Chance seems to be close to Cyrus. And with what happened earlier, it seems like Cyrus cares about Chance more than the others. Saying this to him now is better than saying it to anyone else.

Chance immediately looks back at me with a surprised expression, "How did you know that?" He asks.

"Men in red arrived while we were talking," I answer him. It wasn't entirely a lie, but it's best if he doesn't question the rest of the story.

Chance sighs and massages his temple. I thought he was worried about his brother, but it seems like he was more worried about something else.

"The gathering will begin soon. I know about Cyrus's punishment even before he got home, but I wasn't expecting you to know about it too. No one has seen the Delton Watchers before." Chance explains.

"Delton Watchers?" I ask, but even if Chance doesn't explain further, I'm sure he was talking about those men in red. It's just strange how they actually have names for them.

Chance stands up from the bed and walks back to where I was standing. He looks at me like he was thinking of something. Like he was trying to argue with himself and he immediately needs an answer to it.

"I was supposed to let you stay here for the night so they wouldn't see you, but it seems like my brother is planning something. Cyrus isn't careless. He wouldn't let you see the watchers if he didn't want you to see them." Chance explains, and then he heads to a cabinet and opens it. I don't know if he could find what he's looking for with this small amount of light, but I don't want to move from where I was standing to assist him either.

"Strip." He suddenly says, catching me off guard.

Alright, maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe he really is a pervert.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. The bell already rang. There's no need for me to act anymore." He suddenly says, and that statement surprised me more than him asking me to strip without explaining why.

"What did you just say?" I ask, but Chance looks back at me. He was now holding a black suit and a silver mask.

"You'll be an important guest of mine." He says, shoving me the suit and the mask.

I continue to watch him as he heads to a drawer and takes out what seems to be a golden ticket. He hands it over to me as well and says, "Tonight you're my friend Hans. A rich elite from the Richards family. I invited you today, but you're only here to observe. Which means you do not have to speak...to anyone."

I'm still confused about what's going on, but I immediately place the items on the side table and start removing my clothes like what Chance asked me to do.

This is an opportunity that I cannot waste. I might not have a chance like this again.

I wear the suit and then the mask. The mask only covers my eyes, but I'm still too new for anyone to recognize my lips. I think I'll be safe with this.

Chance takes my clothes and hides it under his bed. "I'll return them to you after." He says, now looking back at me.

"Why are you doing this?" I then ask him.

Chance looks at me seriously. The question must have been a question that he's now constantly asking himself as well. "I don't know who you are, and I don't know why you're here. But my brother trusts you, and the only thing I could do to repay him is to trust you too." He answers me, and it was an answer that only confused me even more.

"Repay him? From what?" I ask, hoping he'll explain further.

"From everything that our family has done to him." He answers shortly, and I knew that anything beyond that answer would now be a secret.

Like what he said, he doesn't know me. There's no reason yet for him to tell me everything.

"Now promise me, Mr. Carter, that after tonight, you will not mention anyone about this, even to Cyrus himself. We only say secrets at night. Because during daylight, everything is exposed. They will see better during the day. Do you understand me?" He asks.

I know there's something more to what he said. There's a deeper meaning behind all of it. But now isn't the time to decipher every word.

"I promise," I answer him sincerely.

"Good. Now follow me. I'm sure everyone's already downstairs."

...

Chance and I went to a part of the mansion that I obviously have not been to before. And even with my disguise, Chance still tried his best to avoid places where others might see us.

This mansion was so big that after walking for at least three minutes, we finally arrive at an area that actually left me speechless.

It's an elevator. It's the only modern thing that's different from this hundred-year-old mansion. The elevator door opens, and both of us head inside. When the door closes, Chance takes out a card and presses it on the scanner. Soon after, the elevator goes down.

"Aren't you afraid you'd get caught? Doing this to me will greatly affect you." I warn him, but Chance doesn't seem to mind.

"As long as you stay in character, I won't be caught." He says confidently. But before I could say anything back, he immediately adds, "And besides, you're not the first person I've brought here."

"How many of those people are still alive then?" I ask because, for some reason, I feel like they've all had a painful end.

"Let's just say those people I haven't fucked are still alive." He answers, his reflection on the elevator door showing me his grin.

If that's the case, then Chance had brought people at the mansion before the bell rang. Because based on what he said to me earlier, he doesn't have to act when the bell rings. And during the day, he acts like a slut. So I'm guessing he brought people here while he's still in his slut character.

"We're here." Chance says, the elevator door now open.

I don't know why but I was actually expecting a torture room, or maybe even dozens of piled up dead bodies. But instead, what welcomed me was loud music and a bunch of men and women dancing to the beat.

"What in the name-"

"Come on. Let's go." Chance says, tugging my coat.

I slowly follow behind Chance. The air smelled like cigarettes and a mix of every drug that I have ever confiscated when I was still a cop. I feel like I'll get high just by simply standing here.

Everyone's wearing masks too. I guess it's to keep them anonymous.

Chance smirks when he sees my shocked expression. Well, who on earth wouldn't be shocked? There's a fucking club right under this castle!

"Welcome to the real family business." Chance says with a loud voice so I could be able to hear him.

We walk past everyone until we got to a door where two watchers stood guard. They bow their heads for Chance and look at me right after. Good thing Chance instructed me earlier that if anyone ever questions me, just show them the golden ticket. So I reach out for the pocket of my coat and show them the ticket. They nod and open the door for both of us.

We step in, and when the door closes, the music fades. Now we're in a long hallway with dozens of doors. The music did fade, but now all I could hear is moaning.

Men who look like waiters went from door to door, holding champagnes and towels, not even noticing that Chance was right there.

Chance and I continue walking. I don't ask anything, but he explains anyway, "You can say under the mansion is what we call hell. And this area is my very own realm. Then there's a lounge where rich men talk while drinking the most expensive wine and smoking the most expensive cigar. You know, the gentlemen. Then another area is for gamblers. That's the place where the bosses make negotiations." He continues to explain it to me.

Everything's still too much for me to fully understand that my mind hasn't processed anything yet.

"So the areas here represent the sibling's personality?" I was able to ask.

"It's called roles, but yes, you're correct. The first generation of Delton's intricately planned all this. It's the perfect system." Chance explains, and then we step inside another hall. This time the hall was covered with portraits.

I look around and see every Delton that has ever existed. One has a serious face, and then the other has a playful grin. Then I notice a symbol on each frame. One's a tie, the second one is two guns crossed together, the third is a snake, and the other was a cross.

"Those are symbols." Chance explains. He must have noticed me staring at it since he stopped walking so he could look at me.

He doesn't say anything and suddenly lifts his shirt. There, right on his hipbone was a tattoo of a snake. The same snake that was on the picture frames.

"All the siblings have it." Chance says, and then he starts walking again.

I immediately follow behind him. And when we reach the end of the hall, I finally catch sight of Cyrus and everyone else's portrait.

Chance stops again just to look at it as well. Everyone posed exactly how he or she acts during the day. It almost gave me chills.

"What's with these roles? I get that it keeps everything running smoothly, but why do you have to follow it against your own will?" I ask. I don't know if it's a sensitive question, but Chance doesn't seem to mind.

"If only we could." He says. Then he turns his head and looks at me, "We were forced upon it until it became our human nature." Chance says, and he looks at me with such pain that it immediately made my heart drop.

Don't tell me...

Chance's role is to tempt people. Did they force him to like...sex? Did they actually...

"Maybe that's why Cyrus cares so much about me." Chance suddenly says with a forced smile, surprising me. It's only now have I realize that Chance mastered the art of reading people. Maybe that's part of his role.

"He knows what I've gone through, which is why he acts the way he does towards me. But it's not just me. Every one of us went through pain just to be the perfect siblings. It's the price to pay if you want to be part of such an elite family." Chance tells me.

"What are you guys? What is this fucked up family?" I finally ask him. There's no reason for Chance to lie now after showing me all this, so I'm expecting him to give me a truthful answer.

Chance takes a deep breath. I know deep down he's afraid to say anything. I know that he feels like he's betraying his family just by talking to me. But there must be something that he wants from all this. He wouldn't go through all this trouble just because he trusts Cyrus.

What have these siblings gone through that they're willing to make a stranger like me see everything? Am I somehow their only means of escaping? Is there something that I have to find out? Am I here not just to find Adam's killer, but to help them as well?

"The Delton family..." Chance finally starts.

My heart's beating fast as I wait. I want to know so badly. The words that will come out of Chance's mouth will be the words that will change the whole game. This will be my trump card. What I will learn tonight will be the reason why I'll finish this game without dying.

"The Delton family...is the oldest and most successful underground criminal organization in the world." He reveals, my eyes widening from shock.

"We lived and survived all these years because of the family bond." Chance explains further.

I gulp and take a deep breath to calm myself. Do you have any idea how it feels to hear someone admit something as big as this to an undercover agent? This will blow up the entire police force!

"Drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling. You name it. We have it all here." Chance continues to tell me.

I'm lost for words. I don't know what to say anymore.

"Let's face it, Carter, no one would be this rich doing anything honorable. There's always that stain. That dirt. It just so happened the Delton's doesn't just have a stain. Because this is our foundation. We started doing illegal business, and we won't end it anytime soon." Chance says, and I look at him straight in the eyes to observe him.

"You want it to end, don't you? That's why you made me come with you." I finally conclude.

Chance was surprised at first, but then he smiles at me amusingly.

"Not just this, but everything in between it as well. The act, the lies...all of it. I want it to end. And I know that Cyrus and Catalina want it to end too." Chance tells me.

"Then why don't you? Your father is dead. End it all now." I answer back, but I knew it was a stupid suggestion the moment I said it out loud.

Chance sighs and looks back at the portrait in front of him, "The head of the family hasn't been declared yet. And I don't think it would be Cyrus."

I look at what he was staring at and realize that it was actually a portrait of the youngest.

"It's master Tobias isn't it?" I ask.

"Nothing is certain, but there are a lot of reasons why it should be Tobi." Chance answers.

I stare at Tobias's portrait as well. I look up to check his symbol, expecting to actually see a cross, but my eyes widen when I see a necktie instead.

"Something's not right here." I immediately say, and it seems like Chance purposely stopped in front of Tobias's portrait so I could see it too.

"Tobias holds the gentleman act? But if that's the case-" I stop and immediately jog to where Cyrus's portrait is. Since Tobias had a necktie symbol, I was expecting Cyrus would actually have the symbol of a cross instead even though I knew that it would be impossible. But when I reach his portrait, my eyes widen even more. Instead of any of the symbols that I have already seen, Cyrus's symbol was a skull.

"Surprised?" Chance asks, now standing behind me.

"Tobi was born as the gentleman, but as the youngest, he was given the façade to act like a saint. The head of the family always had the gentleman act; they're always the face of the Delton family. But our father made it so obvious to give the position to Tobi even before he was born. So when he heard he had a fourth child, he stripped Cyrus away from his role and changed it."

That's right. Luis said it was an old family rule that a Gentleman can't do his killing, but Adam Delton changed it so Cyrus does it himself now. But if that's the case, was the reason why Cyrus does his killing now is not because Adam changed the rules, but because he changed his role instead? And the reason why he's being punished now is because…

"He did an act only meant for a pure gentleman." Chance finally reveals like he was just reading my mind.

"Then what is he now? Why does he still act like a gentleman?" I ask confusingly.

"Like Tobi, it's his façade since he's the eldest. But there are still factors that he must consider. And these factors are what reminds him of his real role." Chance explains, but it isn't enough for me to understand it.

"And what role could that be?" I ask.

"His role?" Chance repeats. He takes a deep breath and stares at Cyrus's portrait. At first, he was smiling, but then the pity in his eyes was so visible I thought he'll cry.

"Well, our big brother...he holds it all. He was trained to master all four of our traits. Now imagine what kind of hell he had to go through, just to be able to do all that."