They left Andy and Vengo behind to protect the mansion and their wife and Eddie stayed behind as he is still recovering from his injury.

Generally, they expect the whole thing to be over and done in a snap as this is not the first time they have dealt with something like this, and have often proven themselves to be very successful.


When only Charles, Michel, and Carlos were left in the car, they settled into their seats and waited for the agreed-upon phone call.

"You think it's going to be an easy job?" Carlos asked while shoving the gun into its holster.

Michel nodded. "The plan should be easy. Kaylin will call us. If we don't hear anything within ten minutes, we'll go bankrupt regardless."


Charles thought about this, tormenting himself that he had caught himself hoping for a conflict.

All he wants is to release a little bit of her pent-up anger, but of course, he knows that there are other ways to do it than fighting a Phoenix gang asshole.


As they almost waited seven minutes, Michel began to lose patience. Even Carlos showed concern as he continued to tap his feet, trying to catch a glimpse of one of their stained windows.

Then, Michel's phone rang, prompting him to pick it up immediately.

"Kaylin,"

"Michel. Bellamy and Kieran... Please..."

At the desperation in Kaylin's voice, the three senior Phoenix members immediately left their seats as they ran towards the entrance of the playhouse, wasting no time to barge in, armed with guns ready.

However, not in a million years, they would not expect the scene set before their eyes.

Bellamy and Kieran are dead. Blood splattered around them.

Mark had just shot down a Phoenix member as they assessed the situation.

Attendees who appeared to have nothing to do with the dispute were crouching, crouching, and hiding behind pieces of furniture, making it easy to spot who was siding with their enemies.

Charles counted to six when he slipped two guns out of their holsters and engaged in shooting, hitting two lucky men who immediately went down.

Michel was almost immediately targeted as the leader, although Carlos was faster as he fired bullet after bullet, catching no one, but at least succeeded in keeping them away.

The Phoenix members shouted something at each other and just as Charles looked around for an opening to take down another one, he noticed that a Phoenix had moved too close to Kaylin, who was distracted in the process.

Charles lunged at her and they hit the ground just as a bullet hit them.

"What happened?" Kaylin shouted, hysteria shaking her body.

"He's about to shoot you..." Charles was almost speechless as he pulled her toward a more sheltered area.

Looking over, Kaylin breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that Michel, Carlos, and Mark were cowering beside the lounge chair, aiming for the last Phoenix sniper.

"Catch him." Michel roared one last time, a barrage of bullets ricocheting down on the site.

However, when Kaylin turned back to Charles, she noticed that he was awkwardly pressing his fist against his stomach.

"Charles?" She sat up and looked at him worriedly.

But Charles ignored her as he rolled over on his back and groaned loudly, his eyes hard and wild.

Within seconds, Michel, Carlos, and Mark were beside them.

"What is up?" Michel scanned his second-in-command, his eyes immediately flashing when he saw Charles's face pale.

"Are you OK?" Mark knelt beside Kaylin and Charles.

Charles forced him to nod.

"Don't lie to us. What's wrong with your stomach?" Carlos barked as Kaylin's lower lip trembled with repressed emotion.

"I think he was shot when he pushed me out of the way..." Kaylin covered her mouth to hold back her sobs threatening to escape.

She's a strong woman, but after Bellamy and Kieran bled in front of her, she can't help but think that Charles is now the third person in their family to share the same fate.

"Don't move." Michel took the phone and started dialing.

Though as soon as he connected to the nearest ambulance, Charles passed out, his hand fell from the midsection as the wound began to spew blood.

"Charles," Michel shouted.

---

Vengo ended the call, face distraught as he stood in the living room, speechless.

They gathered together, Audrey had just returned from putting her daughter down for a nap as Fanny, Farrah, and Rosabella shared a drink. Andy and Eddie are working on some of their financial statements.

"What is up?" Audrey immediately noticed the change in her husband's attitude, sensing that something was not quite right.

Fanny and Rosabella looked at him curiously as Andy and Eddie momentarily shifted their gaze from the papers on the table and waited for him to speak.

Vengo ran her hand through his hair as he sat down, feeling Audrey nervously place a hand on his shoulder.

"Honey, what's going on?" Her voice was low, knowing he must have had such a serious reaction.

"Yeah, is that Michel?" Eddie asked as Fanny moved on the couch, nervous at the prospect of something happening to her fiancé.

Licking his lips, Vengo swallowed hard into the dryness in his throat. He ignores curious glances and comments and continues to quickly dial a number on his phone.

"Alexander? Yes, I'm Vengo. Listen, I need you to go to the police station and bail Michel out. No, just him. He'll explain everything when you get there. Call me later, ok? Thanks." He hung up and looked up to see Fanny staring at him with wide eyes.

Jumping up from the couch, she strode over to Vengo. "What's going on? What's going on? Why is Michel at the police station? Vengo..."

"We've lost Kieran and Bellamy..." he began, immediately hearing a collective gasp in the room as the rest of the group rose from where they were sitting and stepped closer to him.

Vengo continued. "And Charles was shot." His own face shows that he is still in the process of processing the bad news, he added.

"The injury was too severe to bring him back to the villa in one piece so they had to call an ambulance."