THE BUTLER

I FOLLOW BEHIND Cyrus down the hallway. After telling his siblings about his supposed target, the atmosphere in the mansion immediately became different. But it's understandable since their eldest brother was going to kill their own mother. Who would be happy about that?

"You weren't supposed to tell them weren't you?" I ask Cyrus as we continue walking. Based on how surprised Cyrus was when he found out his siblings were here, I've had a hunch that he wasn't supposed to reveal the identity of the person he picked. But since they gathered at the living room just to find out, I feel like deep down they somehow knew that it would be their mother. They just wanted to get confirmation from Cyrus.

"No." Cyrus simply answers.

"Then why did you tell them? Wouldn't you be punished for it?" I ask, and Cyrus stops walking and answers me again, "I'm already being punished. They can't give me two at once."

I was supposed to say something back, but then Cyrus adds, "And it's for Catalina's sake. So she could at least say her goodbyes."

I sigh heavily when I remembered how Catalina reacted after finding out. Imagine how she felt after hearing about the big news. She's Talia's favorite after all. But their mother Talia also helped me discover something about Adam, so it only means she loves all her children in her own way because she wants the suffering to end for them too.

Though I can't help but pity her as well. If the Delton family can do all those cruel things to their own flesh and blood, then what more to someone whom they're not blood-related to? She could have gone through far more worse things to be able to have such a lifeless expression now.

"The bell will ring tonight, and you have to pay your debt." Cyrus suddenly reminds me. I almost curse because I literally forgot about that part. I went through a lot today that I couldn't remember the things that happened before.

"I'll handle it," I assured him.

Cyrus is silent for a second. I wait for him to say something, or to at least face me, but instead, he turns his head to the right, making me realize that we're actually standing in front of my room now.

Wait. Did he just walk me to my room?

"I apologize for what happened today." He says before turning around so he could face me. He walks closer to me and touches my cheek in such a gentle way as if I'd break if he touches me roughly again.

"I'll see you tonight okay?" He asks in a soft voice. But before I could answer him, he moves close and suddenly presses his lips on mine. The kiss is way different from earlier that something inside my stomach starts to flutter.

When he moves away, he removes his hand from me and turns around so he could walk away.

I touch my beating chest and watch him go. When he's already out of my sight, I head inside the bedroom, only to find Luis standing in front of the large window in silence.

"L-Luis. What are you doing here?" I ask as I close the door behind me.

Luis's hands are inside his pockets. He doesn't answer me, but then I remember what Cyrus told me earlier.

"My butler. I always wanted to choose Luis." Cyrus told me earlier when he said that he didn't really want to pick me.

I approach Luis with my defense up. Who knows what he has in his pocket. And this is the perfect place to murder me, especially since this is the only room that doesn't have any watchers.

Luis takes his hands out of his pockets, making me flinch. But when I saw that his hands were actually empty, I sighed in relief.

"Why so jumpy?" He asks when he finally faces me.

I gulp and decide not to answer him. If Cyrus wants to kill Luis, then there's something about Luis that Cyrus is cautious or suspicious about. It's only natural that I should feel the same.

"Did Cyrus tell you something?" He asks.

"Why does it feel like you already have an answer to that?" I ask back, making him chuckle.

"I'm a butler, a driver, a guard, and a watcher. It's natural that I know things more than anyone here." Luis says, taking a step closer.

Out of instincts, I take a step backward, and Luis chuckles again.

"I know the reason why Cyrus wants to kill me despite everything that I've done for him," Luis says, surprising me because I didn't expect him to open up about it first. I don't say anything and just continue to wait for him to add more information about that. Luis takes a deep breath and walks back to the window so he could stare at the view again.

"The reason why he wants to kill me is that I know something about him that others don't. He wants to remove the last person who knows of his secret. The person who can destroy everything that he built." Luis explains, confusing me more.

"And I presume you're not going to tell me that supposed secret," I say, and Luis looks at me impressively.

"No. But you're very close to finding it out." Luis reveals.

"You see mister Vincent Carter, Cyrus has a secret that will break the entire system of the Delton family. If you find out about this secret, you will be able to solve the Adam Delton case." Luis says before looking over his shoulder so he could face me again.

"But be warned Carter, once you find this secret, you will destroy the Delton family, and that includes Cyrus," Luis says, making me widen my eyes from surprise.

"What do you mean? Why are you suddenly telling me this?" I ask with a confused expression.

Luis turns his head towards the window again and answers, "Remember why you're here detective. Don't let your feelings ruin your reasons."

"Are you telling me I should-"

"Don't fall in love with him." Luis immediately adds, almost making my heart drop.

"What?"

Luis faces me with a more serious expression and warns, "Don't fall in love with a liar."

I don't know why, but I was already clenching on my fist as I continue listening to him speak. Why is he telling me this all of a sudden? Why is he warning me like this? I'm not in love with him. I'm not...

Right?

"Cyrus is dubbed as the most successful Delton ever created because of how good he is. You might not believe me, and I understand if you don't. But at least remember that Cyrus is a gentleman. And gentlemen..."

"Are the best liars," I finish, and Luis sighs and nods his head.

"Choose what to believe and not what to believe in. You're a detective, you should know." Luis says, now walking towards the door to make his exit.

I'm left frozen in place because of what I heard, but as Luis gets ready to take his leave, he stops and adds, "One last thing. You're learning how to act like a saint right? Then I advise you to have a chat with the saint himself. He knows something that might be of use to you."

Tobias? He wants me to talk to Tobias?

"Once you talk to the young master, I want you to know that I have treated Cyrus as my own son, and I am willing to trade my life for his sake. I am willing to die for his sake. I will do everything, just so he could be at peace. Do you understand me, mister Carter?" Luis asks.

I'm still too confused about what he was saying that I just nod my head regardless of not understanding why he's telling me those words.

"Never hesitate, do you understand?" He asks.

"Never hesitate. I got it." I repeated even though I don't know what it's for.

"Then I'll see you tonight Vincent Carter." Luis finishes before finally leaving the room. When he was gone, I unclench my aching fist and walk towards the window with an unreadable expression.

Don't let my feelings ruin my reasons.

I've made that mistake once, and it has destroyed me completely. But if solving this case means that I have to destroy Cyrus too, then is it worth it? And the fact that I'm already having these thoughts means that Luis was right about everything that he just told me.

Has Cyrus been lying to me just so I wouldn't solve this case? Is he purposely doing these things to me so I could lose my reason and just end up following him?

I touch my lips that just recently touched Cyrus's lips.

Who am I going to believe in? Cyrus or Luis? Who's the better liar between the two of them?

I wonder.

...

The music gets so loud when I step out of the elevator. I'm wearing the mask, and I have the card that Chance gave me in case the Watchers start suspecting me. I also talked to Mr. Philips regarding the money that I needed for tonight. Thankfully - after being scolded a few times - he was able to get the money from the higher-ups.

Mr. Philips must really trust me for being able to do that.

"Master Tobias is coming!" Someone suddenly shouts, and like before, the music immediately pauses, and the people dancing stops and makes a path so Tobias could pass through.

The elevator door opens, and the young master steps out with two Watchers behind him. I'm supposed to hide and let him pass, but I remembered what Luis said. If Tobias knows something, then this is the best time for me to talk to him.

"Master Tobias!" I call out, running towards him so I could face him. The crowd starts murmuring at each other as I bravely face the young Delton. They might be thinking I'm crazy for suddenly doing this.

"I just wanted to-" I wasn't even able to finish my sentence because the two watchers were already pointing their guns at my head.

The people around us gasp and move away. Their guns are so close to my temple that I can't help but gulp as sweat trails down from my forehead. I guess I should have thought this through first. Tobias looks like he's confused, but when he stares at me closely, the side of his mouth twitches. He lifts his hand, instantly making the two Watchers put their guns down.

"I know him. Please don't treat such an important guest like this. My family does not want to be known by doing such barbaric things like this." Tobias says with such an innocent voice that I feel like angels would start appearing from the ceiling.

"I apologize for scaring you. But Mr. Hans Richards, would you please follow me?" Tobias asks before walking away. I thought the Watchers were going to follow him, but they didn't. So I follow behind Tobias until we arrive at a private room that I suspect is part of the gentleman area of this underground place.

As Tobias closes the door, he looks at me with a grin. For some reason, the way he's acting is different. Not like his innocent act earlier, he looks cunning and playful. It only hit me when I realize that they drop their act when they hear the bell. This must be Tobias's true personality.

"So how may I help you...Vincent Carter?" Tobias asks as he takes a seat. "Don't tell me you don't have 25 million dollars with you. That will be very troublesome." He teases as I sat on the chair in front of him. Before I could say anything, Tobias takes out a gold-ivory knife. It's the same knife that he used when he found me at Adam's room on my first day at the mansion. After killing president Boris, AKA Santa, I learned that saints use knives, so that must be his official weapon.

"I'm here to ask you about your brother," I reveal with no hesitation. There's no reason for me to beat around the bush anymore so I might as well go straight to the point.

Tobias's playful grin vanishes and he looks back at me seriously. His aura is different now. His dominance is close to Cyrus. If I didn't know better, I'd mistake him as the eldest instead of Cyrus.

"You're brave to ask such things from me. You must have something to give me to confidently do so." He tells me.

I obviously don't have anything. I just did this because of what Luis said, but mostly because of impulse. But if he wants something, maybe I could give it to him.

"Then name your price," I seriously say, and the grin on his face returns. He takes his knife and starts touching the edges. It's making me anxious because I feel like he'll accidentally hurt himself if he continues to do so.

"I was trained to be a saint Mr. Carter. I know whom to please and I know how to please them. And sure enough, it's not the type of pleasing that Chance does." Tobias says before looking straight into my eyes while licking the knife.

The action makes me feel uncomfortable but I don't say anything. It really feels like I'm talking to a completely different person. This is exactly how I felt when I was talking to Chance yesterday too.

"Do you know why I don't have butlers and guards?" He suddenly asks.

I shake my head as an answer.

Tobias puts the knife down and continues, "It's because I know who to trust."

"Does that mean you trust me?" I ask, and Tobias smirks and takes his knife again.

"I do favors, that's my role in this family. Talking to you right now means I'm doing you a favor, so doesn't that already answer your question?" He asks back.

"Then you can answer my initial question," I tell him, and this time, Tobias laughs.

"That's not how it goes. I do favors to people that I know I'll benefit from." He tells me.

I continue to look at the knife that he's holding as I say, "Then what do you want from me?"

Tobias doesn't answer, but then he suddenly pierces his knife on the table that was just a few inches away from where my hand is placed. I flinch, making Tobias chuckle. But just in a split second, his serious expression returns.

"You want to know if you can trust Cyrus, that's why you're talking to me, correct?" He asks, but I didn't answer him.

Tobias sighs and looks straight into my eyes again, "Cyrus values loyalty more than anything. He will not dispose of you if you give him that." Tobias reveals, and I couldn't disagree with it because Cyrus made that clear to me before too. But as I look back at Tobias, I furrow my brow when I realize something. "Is that why you're kind to him? Is that the reason why you're always sticking around him?"

"Saints are the best actors, remember that. And if you don't know yet, saints are known to balance the gentlemen. We're around so the people don't hate on him too much. We're the people who stand behind him. But my big brother is making it fucking difficult for me to act out my role." He adds, surprising me even more.

So he doesn't really like Cyrus?

"Isn't that similar to lying?" I ask, and Tobias shakes his head to oppose it.

"Lying is not telling the truth. Acting is performing your role. But you have to remember that Cyrus is good at doing both, so you have to identify what's a lie and what's an act. That's how you'll know whether you should trust his words or not." Tobias answers me.

"Lying or acting? I have to know what's what?" I ask.

"Yes. Because it's either everything that Cyrus has said to you isn't true, or he's just saying those things to fulfill his role, which isn't exactly a lie. Identifying what is what will be a great advantage to you. Now that...is my answer to your initial question." Tobias finishes.

So its either Cyrus has been lying to me, or Cyrus has been acting.

How the hell will I know that?

"Confusing isn't it? But I guess that's why Cyrus taught you the saint ways first, so you'd know the answer yourself." Tobias says, shocking me because I didn't expect that he'd know about that.

"Don't think we're fools, mister Carter. We've always known that you killed president Boris." Tobias continues, and I got too shocked to even deny it.

"But don't worry, it's not a big deal," Tobias says as he takes the knife and stands from his seat. I immediately do the same. Then Tobias looks back at me and says, "I gave you a favor, now it's your turn to give something in return."

"And what could that be?" I ask.

Tobias smirks and takes a step closer. Then, he hands me his knife and whispers in my ear, "Kill Luis Fletcher."