CHAPTER 79: TWINSTER: THE BLOODY FLOWER FIELD

Silas slumped onto the ground and dragged his bag into his lap. His hands trembled as he hugged it to his chest like something precious.

Nearby, Lucien knelt beside Adrian, who lay unconscious and bleeding, and shook him desperately.

"Adrian! Adrian! No! Wake up!"

Lucien’s voice cracked as panic surged through him. He turned toward the strangers, his whole body shaking.

"Who are you? Why would you do this, why would you—" his words cut off, his breath hitched.

"It’s not my fault. He startled me," the man with the gun said with a mocking laugh.

His long, oily hair hung around his face, and he clutched the weapon as if performing.

"I was scared he’d attack me," he added, feigning fear before breaking into cruel laughter.

"You... you," Lucien shouted, his words trembling with rage and terror. "If my dad finds out, you are dead!"

His hand pressed firmly over Adrian’s wound, trying to slow the bleeding. They had been trained for this, taught how to handle injuries and firearms even when their hands were still too small for that.

Gio had even given the Twinster a special lightweight gun for their birthday. Silas knew exactly what to do.

Silas was still crying hard to dampen the sound of him unzipping the bag with slow, shaky movements, his hand sliding inside until his fingers curled around the familiar grip of the weapon.

"I know your father, Cesare’s son," the older man said with a grin. His silver hair looked dull as the sunlight faded behind gathering clouds.

Lucien stiffened. "What?"

The man leaned closer, his blue eyes pretending kindness but revealing nothing but malice.

"Everything that happens next is your father’s fault." His smile stretched into something rotten.

The long-haired man smirked and lunged, grabbing Lucien’s arm and yanking him violently.

Bang!

Silas fired without hesitation, hitting the man in the shoulder. Lucien stumbled free as Silas shouted, "Run, Lucien!"

The gunshot was intentionally loud, a signal meant to alert anyone from Lucero that the Twinster fired the gun and it meant they were in a dangerous situation.

Lucien immediately reached for Adrian, trying to lift him. "Come on, I’m not leaving you," he insisted, struggling under the weight.

"What are you doing? Go!"

Silas shouted, keeping his aim on the older man while the wounded one cursed in pain.

"Damn kids," the injured stranger snarled. "Why the hell do they have guns? Lucero is insane."

The old man chuckled. "Come now, Andrea. Don’t be dramatic."

Bang!

Silas tried again to shoot the old man, but the bullet only grazed his arm. The man’s expression darkened. He drew his own pistol, aimed without hesitation, and fired into the child’s chest, right to his heart.

Silas collapsed with a choked cry.

"Tch. Children should stay home and play with toys, not guns. Lucero truly is barbaric," the man said as he stepped toward him.

He planted his boot on Silas’s shoulder and pressed down hard.

"Aahh!" Silas screamed as searing pain tore through him.

He could barely breathe. Something in his shoulder cracked under the pressure.

"Stop! Stop hurting him!"

Lucien’s voice broke somewhere behind him. He could hear him struggling, sobbing, pleading.

His ears rang. His vision blurred. Through the haze, he saw the long-haired man dragging Lucien toward the black sedan. A door slammed. The car rolled forward.

Silas stretched out a trembling arm. "Lucien..." he whispered as he crawled weakly across the blood-stained flowers.

He forced his eyes to focus on the license plate as the car disappeared down the path.

"Z 4884 BY," he murmured again and again, clinging to the numbers like a lifeline.

His consciousness slipped, and the world dimmed until everything went silent and black.

The vast field of flowers, once bright and beautiful, was now washed in red, their joyful memories twisted into a nightmare.

***

Silas’s eyes flew open as he sucked in a sharp breath. The ceiling above him wasn’t the field. It was the manor. The room had been transformed into a makeshift hospital, complete with monitors beeping steadily beside his bed.

His shoulder was wrapped in thick bandages that stretched across his chest, and an oxygen mask covered his face. An IV line tugged gently at his arm.

Beside him, Adrian slept quietly, his breathing steady and calm. He sighed in relief.

Silas caught the smell of cigarettes. He turned his head and saw Gio and Rocco leaning against the doorway, their expressions tight with worry as if they had been standing there for hours.

When Gio realized Silas was awake, his eyes widened. He rushed to the bedside and sat down.

"Are you okay? You almost died," he said, his voice unsteady. "You’re lucky your organs are inverted or something. The bullet missed your heart by pure chance."

Rocco let out a breath of relief. "Giving you two that gun was the right decision. The staff noticed all of you were missing and started searching the island."

"Huh?"

Silas blinked, confused, until everything came back at once.

"Z 4884 BY,!" he burst out. "That was the plate on the car that kidnapped Lucien!"

Both men froze. Gio shot to his feet. "I’ll tell the Don."

The two of them hurried out and returned moments later with Cesare, Mikhail, and the man everyone called the Basilisk. The Twinster were usually too terrified to look him in the eye.

But Silas forced himself to sit straighter. He had to be brave now.

"Did you find Lucien?" he asked, though his voice shook.

Before anyone could answer, Salvatore exploded. "So you bastard was the one who invited him to play outside the manor! You were warned it was dangerous, weren’t you?" His anger filled the room like smoke.

Silas bowed his head, trembling. He was terrified, but it didn’t matter for now. He lifted his gaze and forced himself to look directly at the Basilisk.

"I was. You can punish me later. But finding Lucien is more important."

Salvatore faltered for a moment, thrown off by the boy’s bravery, then surged again. "You—"

"Enough, father," Cesare said sharply. "Even he understands the priority."

"You dare interrupt me?!"

"I do," Cesare answered coldly. "My son has been kidnapped. If you can’t control yourself, leave this room."

The Basilisk gave Salvatore a silent, heavy look that made the old man finally bite back his anger.

"Tch. Report to me when the interrogation is over," Salvatore said. His gaze flicked to Silas. "And you, boy... your problem is with me after this."

Sweat gathered at Silas’s temples, but he nodded. Punishment could wait but Lucien couldn’t.

Cesare pulled a chair beside the bed, sat down, and motioned for Silas to speak. "Tell me everything."

Silas recounted it all, from their exploration of the island to the moment the strangers appeared, the shooting, and Lucien being dragged away.

"It was Z 4884 BY," he repeated firmly. "I remember it clearly."

Cesare’s expression remained composed. "The car is likely abandoned by now, but the ferry they used to reach the island may still be traceable."

He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. "Describe the men."

"The older one had gray hair, blue eyes, and a strange smile. He had a wound on his hand and a tattoo, his suit covered most of it, but I think it’s spider web," Silas said, forcing himself to recall every detail.

"The second man was named Andrea. He had oily brown hair, black eyes, and smelled horrible. His clothes were filthy. He looked like someone from a slum."

Cesare closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. When he opened them again, his tone had changed.

"We don’t need to search for Lucien," he said.