QUIETLY, Stephen and his friends landed on the ground after their climb over the high fence. They promptly arranged their weapons and carefully walked through the dense and dark area of the expansive estate.
However, they paused upon noticing the patrolling guards. There were three men, all armed. Stephen looked at Oliver. Oliver nodded, swiftly producing three shurikens before expertly hurling them at the unsuspecting guards.
Their eyes were wide open the moment they fell to the ground, blood pouring from their necks.
When they noticed that there were no more guards in that area, they quickly emerged from their hiding place and headed straight for a high gate. However, their surprise was evident when they saw even more guards there.
As much as possible, they didn’t want to fire their guns to avoid drawing attention. But all hell broke loose the moment they noticed them. Bullets rained down on them quickly, accompanied by the blaring sound of the alarm system throughout the area.
“We’ll handle this, Anderson! You need to open the gate!” Ashter shouted loudly at Stephen, mercilessly throwing punches at any guard who came too close, preventing them from being able to shoot him.
Stephen nodded and swiftly ran towards the gate with Riley and Shantel. Damon was covering their backs while the others continued to fight against Aries’ men.
Upon reaching the gate, Stephen immediately pushed the red button on the side. They stepped back as the gate slowly opened.
Chaos ensued as their waiting reinforcements began to pour in from the outside. They quickly formed their own groups along with Stephen’s friends, each engaging in their own battles.
Ryza and Riley simultaneously took the path leading to the back of the lighthouse. Meanwhile, Liam and Ash entered from the right side. The reapers, on the other hand, decided to confront the enemies from the left.
“Just keep on going, Anderson! Make sure you find our daughter, or I’ll kill you!” Edwin commanded Stephen as he exchanged gunfire with the adversaries. Behind him stood his wife, Marcel, swiftly slitting the throats or stabbing the hearts of the approaching enemies.
“Let’s go, Stephen! We shouldn’t let Aries escape this time!” Shantel tapped him on the shoulder.
He nodded and quickly followed her and Oliver. Their comrades were clearing a path toward the front side.
“Don’t worry. My cousins and I will take care of the others from the balcony and the upper part of the tower,” Ace reassured through his earpiece.
Ace, along with his cousins and men, were tasked with guarding and protecting the outside. They observed from the heights of the towering trees, aiming at the enemies who were firing from the upper part of the lighthouse and its balconies. Their rifles were equipped with night-vision scopes.
The tall tower wasn’t just a typical lighthouse; Aries had transformed it into an actual house.
Rhyz and Amelia, on the other hand, were waiting in their respective vehicles. Rhyz was busy monitoring his friends, all of whom had mini-cameras attached to the collars of their shirts. Meanwhile, Amelia patiently awaited the end of the battle. It was a day when they had the highest number of bodies to take care of.
Upon Stephen’s entry into the interior, they were met by five men.
“You go ahead upstairs, Stephen! Find Nathalia!” Shantel shouted as she fired her gun while on the move. Oliver quickly took cover behind a pillar and threw three shuriken.
“Thanks.”
With long strides, Stephen approached the staircase. He aimed straight for the head of every enemy he encountered.
Wait for me, my queen. I’ll come and save you.
ALMOST absent-mindedly, Cole walked the path towards the balcony. He hated to admit it, but what Nathalia had told him was somehow true.
In the years he spent with Stephen and the others, he had to admit that there were times when his enemies slipped from his mind. He hadn’t given much attention to his revenge plans, especially when they weren’t directly ordered by his sibling.
He’d had numerous opportunities to kill Stephen. But every time he tried, he couldn’t go through with it.
His feelings were conflicting, even though he had witnessed Stephen killing his father.
But he couldn’t quite understand why he couldn’t fully despise him. Maybe it was because he knew his father had also made mistakes.
The problem was, he couldn’t bring himself to betray his younger sibling either. He is the only family he has left, and he couldn’t afford to fail him. Moreover, even before their father passed away, he entrusted his sibling to Cole in case the time came when he would be gone.
Deep in thought, Cole suddenly heard two familiar voices conversing. He furrowed his brow and followed the source of the voices.
He eventually arrived on the balcony. There, he saw his sibling with one of their associates. If Cole was not mistaken, the man’s name was John. He was his brother’s right-hand man and one of the children of the organization member whom Stephen had killed.
“Is your departure tomorrow confirmed?” John asked Aries.
Cole quickly hid against the wall.
Aries lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled the smoke before responding.
“Yeah. We need to leave this place as soon as possible. I just need to secure a place where my private plane can land. It seems that Rylie has already alerted the airports.”
“Okay. Are you really not coming back here anymore? What about your brother? You mentioned that you won’t be taking him with you.”
Cole was taken aback by what he heard. In truth, he knew that his brother had no intention of bringing him along, wanting to keep Nathalia to himself. But still, he was curious to hear his brother’s response.
He admitted that he wasn’t initially accepted by his sibling. In fact, their shared goal of bringing down Anderson and his allies was the only reason they managed to somewhat reconcile and cooperate with each other.
But they’re not really that close. Especially since they didn’t grow up together. They don’t even have good memories of each other.
“Take care of him. I don’t need him anymore. I could never accept that Dad had a child with another woman.”
Cole felt frozen in his spot upon hearing that. His fist clenched as he took deep breaths.
He knew he wasn’t accepted by his sibling as a brother. But he never imagined that he might be discarded to the point of being killed.
Now, it was clear to him that his brother had tolerated him only because he had been useful in some way.
He walked away slowly, his heart heavy as he left that place. He continued walking without a definite destination in mind.
If circumstances played out that way, he couldn’t guarantee whether he could make it out of there alive. All the personnel there were loyal only to Aries. None of them feared him.
He was lost in his thoughts when suddenly an alarm blared throughout the entire tower, signaling the presence of an intruder in their facility.
In that instant, Cole knew it was Anderson and the others. Torn between his brother and his former comrades, he closed his eyes and decisively turned around to return to Nathalia.