As Charles continues holding Cassidy by her wrist, she suddenly feels like drowning in his firm, unyielding gaze.

For some time, the two of them only exchange looks with each other near the entrance of the casino. At that point, there are no more people around. Everyone had already gone out. Even then, they did not move from that spot.

​​

"Depend on me more. I promise I'll protect you," Charles repeated as if saying a vow.

With how tenacious his expression seems to be, Cassidy finds herself getting drawn. It goes beyond the usual service he is supposed to provide. There's unmistaken devotion in his eyes. He stares at her as if she is the most precious jewel in the world - one that he needs to protect with his life.

As silence proceeds to sprawl in their midst, that moment is unexpectedly becoming a bit intimate.

"Of course, I want to depend on you, Charlie..." Cassidy finally replied, an appreciative smile gracing her features all the while.

"I trust you."

Charles can't bring himself to react coherently for a second there. He knows that she has always been the genuine one, but this time, her words have shed light on a whole new level of sincerity. In his eyes, that smile of hers is starting to become as precious as his own life. He wants to protect it - cherish it no matter what.

With all those in mind, he can't help but fall into a trance, admiring her like never before.

"Charlie, people are coming."

Everything is of perfect calm between the two until Cassidy notices something from both opposite ends of that hall - a few figures in black and white suits. All of them are armed with weapons, and that is enough to alarm her. Her bad feeling eventually took shape the moment Charles looked and confirmed those people as tonight's unwelcomed guests.

"This is bad. They already cornered our ways out..." Charles hissed underneath his breath before pulling her all the way back inside the casino and rushing out of there.

"We need to go back. There are other exits this way."

"But aren't there more shooters there?" Cassidy asked in aghast shock and perturbation.

"We'll just have to hide and sneak our way in until we get to the bar. Actually, it's a good thing that we stopped by the entrance. The fact that they're following us now meant that they were waiting there all along - expecting that you'd show up along with the fleeing crowd."

"Darn it! So, they really prepped for this, huh?"

"I think that they'll really go all out on pursuing you this time, especially since we already have someone who knows the possible mastermind."

"There is?! Who-"

Yet before Charles could say more, the people earlier have already entered the casino, trailing after them. Clicking his tongue in vex, he then picks up his pace and hastens away with Cassidy in tow, drawing out his own pistol from inside his suit jacket at the same time.

Since they're outnumbered and all, Charles has to prioritize their escape rather than a bloody encounter with their pursuers, and with that, he proceeds to make use of every strategy he can think of to get Cassidy out of danger's way.

---

"N-No... I-Irish..."

Olivia finds herself in an extremely appalling state at the moment.

Lying right below her now is none other than Irish - all knocked out cold on the floor with streaks of blood flowing down from both sides of her forehead. She remains unmoving even after she tries to shake her awake over and over again. There has been no response up until that very second.

"I-Irish, wake up...! Irish...!"

Even though it should have been proven futile by then, Olivia continues to stir her awake.

The bar was in complete chaos some minutes ago. There were the horrifying sounds of blasting gunshots and petrified shrieks. Then, before they knew it, a wild stampede had occurred.

Since Irish had gotten too drunk, she ended up getting caught in that stampede when Olivia tried to run away with her.

She did try to call for help, but nobody listened. Everyone was too busy running for their lives at that time. She got swept away by the crowd at one point, and because of that, she didn't manage to help her sister. With that, she had been left there lying on the ground, getting stepped all over.

Right now, the whole bar is practically soulless. Nobody is around them anymore. They are all on their own.

'Mother... Edward... Adrian... Where are they...?' Olivia thought with a terrified look, her tears already streaming down the sides of her face.

'Are they alright? Why in the world is this happening in the first place? What the hell did we do?'

Little does she know that while she stays there and does more stirring, Irish is still slightly conscious the whole time.

However, she is too weak to respond. Not only was she drunk, but she also got a bad blow on her head. Her entire body is in a world of excruciating pain. She feels so dizzy that she's surprised she hasn't fainted yet.

Unable to move an inch, Irish has no choice but to lie there and keep her gaze glued on the stage from a distance - the platform where she performed earlier.

'Just a moment ago, I was shining on top of that stage. Everyone was cheering me on - like they always did...' were the thoughts that have been filling her head for a while now.

'But now, I've been left dying here. Everyone ran away. Nobody stopped to help. They all stepped on me like a mere piece of rag.'

It's quite ironic for a famous personality like her who always used to be on the top. People looked up to her all the time. She is a star, after all. Anyone would be dazzled - they would all come to adore her.

But now, she is in a life-and-death situation. The same people who applauded her performance earlier were nowhere to be found. Some of them even stomped on her so brutally that she could no longer stand up.

All Irish has left is Olivia - time and again.

'My dear sister... Seems like I've troubled you again, huh...' she brooded dreadfully, still hearing her crying and feeling her shake her awake.

Though she is older, her twin has always been more patient than her. She is the understanding and considerate one between the two of them. In fact, she even acts like the older sister most of the time.

Irish recalled how she kept troubling Olivia whenever she got drunk like this. It was her who would keep her company every time. She would make sure that she wouldn't get carried away.

Not once did Olivia leave her side, and though she was often aloof, she never failed to give her support or lend a helping hand. Even when she ended up disappointing their parents and brothers sometimes, she still had her back. No matter what happened, they were always together.

They are truly twins.

Irish may have dated tons of men before. She also fell in love many times. Yet in the end, Olivia will always be the most important person in her life. She is the only one who keeps staying in the end, after all - just like now.

"Ms. Sophie...!" Olivia suddenly called as soon as she saw the blonde walking out from a hallway.

"Thank goodness, Ms. Sophie! Please, help me carry Irish! The gunmen are still at the casino! They might reach this place soon!"

Sophie froze the moment she saw the two of them from a distance.

She was about to retreat and make a beeline out of that place when she suddenly spotted them. If only she hasn't been noticed, she would have gone and left them there even if she already saw them.

But since Olivia did notice Sophie, she had no choice but to keep up her saintess image and went to help them.

'How annoying... Why did they even end up there? Dumb little bitches wasting my time...' she thought in miff while feigning concern.

But before Sophie could make it halfway there, a loud round of gunshots echoed all the way from the entrance of the bar, throwing them off guard.

Shooters are coming their way, and there seems to be quite a lot of them. They are already very near to them - so near that they end up shuddering in utter fear and trepidation.

Right then, Sophie no longer hesitates.

She turns back around and rushes out of there, leaving Olivia in aghast shock. She watches her escape all by herself while she only continues to sit there helplessly. It's as if her soul just left her body.

"Ms. Sophie?!" Olivia then bolted out exasperatedly, feeling like she had just been betrayed.

Everything went crashing down for her at that very moment. She and her sister were all alone again - completely defenseless and open to a deadly hazard.

Irish also saw the entire scene, but she still couldn't respond. Dread and agony consumed her when she saw how Sophie left them. At that second, all that surfaces inside her mind is one certain saying -

Indeed, the higher you set yourself in, the lower you would wind up falling.