𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭

F O R T Y

The screaming made my head hurt but I manage to grab Olivia's hand and hid under the chairs. I saw about twenty men in masks walked into the room with big guns in their hand and started shooting at security guards. I looked around and saw that there's only one exit out of this room and it's blocked by three men with a gun. I tried to see if Nicandro's okay but I couldn't see him from where I am and the noise began to subside where now the only sound is the gunshots.

I looked over to see Olivia crying silently which has ruined her makeup and trembling badly. I squeezed her hand tightly and looked into her eyes as a way of calming her down but clearly no person in this room would be calm right now. Except me, a girl who had to deal with street gangs and people coming to kill her ever since she found out about her past. The gunshots began to decrease until they shot the last security guard who drew his gun on them. I looked around to see at least five guards dead and the masked men spread out around the room, standing in different corners while some of them left the room, probably to kill the remaining security guards in the castle.

I thought of Efren at his post for tonight and my heart dropped. The only thing I can do now is hope that he is smart enough.

"No one has to die tonight if everyone cooperates, with the exception of the security guards." I saw a masked men standing on the stage... and he has one arm.

He's felon.

I can feel my heartbeat going faster as I looked him in the eye. This is the man who killed my parents and made my life miserable.

"Now can everyone take a seat on the chairs please, or else..." He clocked his gun.

Peter was right. He does have an Australian accent.

Everyone quickly sat back on the chairs and they all have a frightened expression on their face. I saw the royal family on the couches at the right side of the stage, including Pascul who was holding on to his mother. Another masked men walked into the room and felon noticed him as well.

"The guards?" Felon asked.

"All dead." He replied.

Oh no, Efren-

"Reporters?"

"Gathered them in the ballroom."

"How much time?"

"Maximum twenty minutes before the palace is surrounded by the police."

Felon nodded, "Good, you can go now."

The man nodded and exited the room, and there was pin-drop silence.

Felon cleared his throat, "I have less than twenty minutes, so let's begin. Can the king please come up on stage?"

The king stood up from his chair, "I'm not going to-"

Felon pointed his gun at a women in the front row and shot her two times in the chest which caused her to fall onto the ground, blood gushing out of her. There were gasps and cries heard all around the room, Olivia hugged my arm tighter and continued to sob silently.

"Are you going to come up? Or shall I continue?" He pointed the gun at a man to is seated next to the woman who was shot.

The king didn't said another word and walked onto the stage, standing behind felon.

"Good, now the objective of why I am here right now is to kill the king." I saw felon gripping the gun tighter.

This was his goal all along, to kill the king. Which means they're not working together... but what made felon hate the king so much that he wanted an audience to witness it, not a quiet one like he did with my parents. There was no sound in the room, but I could see the changes in expression in everyone's face.

I made eye contact with Nicandro and mouthed 'felon' to him. He pursed his lips in response, not wanting to gather attention from the other masked men in the room right now.

"Then get on with it." The king took one step closer towards felon.

"I'm not going to kill you right now, I have an audience to explain why I'm going to kill you first." Felon spat back.

"You might as well do it right now, cause-"

The king would rather he get killed then felon telling everyone the reason. Whatever he did to make felon hate him, he really wants it to be kept hidden.

"I suggest you better shut the hell up, or else..." He pointed the gun at Nicandro's father.

The king looked away from felon's gaze and took a step back. I can feel the hatred from felon is coming from a personal place, but why? I've been trying to crack this since I found out he has a grudge with the royal family but actually it is with the king.

"As I was saying, before I kill your king, I wanted all of you to truly know what kind of men he is so his legacy will be nothing but a pile of dirt. But first, I wanted to have some fun of my own so all of you can just sit and watch." Felon smirked, put the gun in his back pocket and took a metal chain from his jacket.

Without hesitation, felon swing the chain at the king's face a few times before he stopped. Blood was dripping from his lip and he uses his tie to wipe the blood off. I saw some people, including Olivia closing their eyes as they cannot bare to see their king beaten down. The rest of the royal family had a pained expression on their face and looked away from the stage.

"That was satisfying." Felon kept the chain back into his jacket pocket, "On your knees. Now."

The king hesitated for a few seconds before getting down on his knees. Felon took two steps closer to him, kicked him in the chest four times with his knees and punched him continuously in the face until I can see his skin peeling off. I can feel Olivia holding on to my hand even tighter to a point where I could barely feel a circulation. The room was filled only with the sound of kicking and punching, other masked men having a straight face, and everyone else either not looking or scrunching up their face.

"Stop! Stop it!" I looked to see that it was Nicandro's father standing up from his seat with his fists clenched together.

His wife and Nicandro looked up at him with a worried expression as he walked took a few steps towards the stage, another masked men pointed his gun at him but felon waved him off.

"What did my father did that was so bad? Stop hurting him and spill it right now!"

"Son, don't." The king said weakly while laying on the floor, half-conscious.

"As you wish." Felon took off his mask.

As much as everyone tried to be quiet, there were many loud gasps all around the room. Nicandro's father stumbled a step back and used both his hands to cover his mouth. The members of the royal family looked like their eyes were about to bulge out any second. My heart is beating like crazy and I blinked several times to confirm if what I see in front of me is real.

My mind is still processing the fact that felon looks exactly like Nicandro's father.

"Hello, twin brother."

-END OF BOOK 1-