Sophia couldn't help but admire Diana; she had clearly planned everything well in advance, gaining Cronus's trust early on while also keeping him in check, ready to rein him in at a critical moment.
The salt flats were eerily quiet. As they approached the iron gate, Blackie began barking on the other side. Diana called out to quiet him, and he stopped, looking anxious as he ran around them, circling and jumping, as if urging them to go inside.
Sophia's heart clenched; it seemed Capone's condition was grave if Blackie was so eager to lead them to him.
For safety, Diana had brought a weapon. It was the first time Sophia saw her holding a gun, and it was also her first time seeing such a tiny handgun—just the size of a girl's palm, a silver revolver that looked more like an art piece than a weapon.
Diana gave a wry smile and explained, "A birthday gift from Capone a few years ago. Since I'm not a foreign national, carrying this is actually illegal. Today's the first time I'm using it!"
In the kitchen by the entrance lay one of Cronus's men, a broken glass and a pool of spilled water nearby. It seemed Diana had slipped something into their drink, rendering them unconscious—anyone who drank the water would have been affected.
They tiptoed upstairs, finding another guard sprawled at the room entrance. Diana took the weapons from them, just in case they woke up and tried to cause trouble.
"Quick, go in. Time is limited! Remember, aside from your brother and his men, don't let anyone else's people get to you!"
Sophia nodded. "What's that sound outside? It sounds like someone's coming?"
Diana replied, "Cronus and Lucas should be on their way, but I also led the police here in advance. There's bound to be some chaos when they confront each other. Use it to your advantage to escape, alright?"
Sophia opened the door and saw Capone slumped against the wall, his face covered in blood. His normally striking features were so swollen they were unrecognizable. One eye was severely bruised and swollen, and a gash ran across his forehead. Blood from his mouth had dripped down his chin onto his clothes, now dried and crusted, a horrific sight.
Sophia felt a sharp pain with every breath. She ran over to support his shoulder, trying to wake him, but he seemed to be in great pain at even the slightest touch. His brow furrowed, his breathing heavy.
"Capone, Capone, wake up! It's me, Sophy. Open your eyes and look at me! Where does it hurt, huh?"
As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on the bloodstains scattered across his skin. Sophia felt like her heart was breaking.
Capone struggled to open one eye, glancing at her with a faint smile of relief. "You're here… did they give you any trouble?"
Sophia shook her head, then quickly added, seeing how difficult it was for him just to open his eyes, "No, they didn't. Diana brought me here! I'm taking you away; we'll go to the port district together! I'll contact my brother—no one will hurt us there!"
Capone gripped her hand, his palm also covered in blood, his knuckles swollen and purple as if they'd been stomped on. Thankfully, they weren't broken.
"What is it? We don't have much time. Let's get you out of here first, we can talk on the way, alright?" Sophia felt useless; every word she spoke seemed to come with more tears, yet it did nothing to ease his pain.
"Sophy, listen to me! The grudges we have—there's a way to settle them. Don't worry about it! You go first, contact your brother, let him take you home! Once I recover… cough cough… and handle things here… I'll come see you!"
He could barely get through a sentence without coughing, his chest seemingly filled with blood that he couldn't help but expel with each cough. Their clasped hands were covered in it, his teeth almost completely stained red.
Sophia shook her head; she couldn't bear to see him like this. His injuries terrified her even more than when they'd faced the threat of a bomb together on that ship.
She felt like he was going to leave her behind—not like he had promised, that they would face life or death together.
Somehow finding the strength, she hoisted him up, supporting him on her shoulder as she staggered to her feet, pulling him towards the exit. As they walked, she said, "Don't even think about leaving me behind. I don't believe in that kind of 'settling of scores!' You still have other siblings, and your father's entire legacy to consider. How could you give up on all of that? Why should you pay for things you didn't even do?"
Sophia had no patience left for small talk. The commotion outside was getting louder and louder, and she needed to get him out of there as quickly as possible.
"Where's the boat Diana arranged?" Capone, a bit more aware, immediately guessed that Diana must have prepared an escape route with a boat somewhere near the port.
"Out the back door!"
Sophia wasn't exactly sure which direction "back door" meant, but as soon as Capone heard it, he led her outside.
"Well, I've been waiting a while for this!" Cronus was already standing in front of them, blocking their path before they could even catch a glimpse of the day's first light.
Sophia felt her world shatter into darkness. Capone was severely injured; a fight was out of the question. She, with no physical strength to speak of, had no idea how they could escape.
"Cronus, I'm begging you, let us go! He's badly hurt and might have internal bleeding… Can you please let him go to the hospital?" Sophia pleaded.
Cronus sneered. "Begging? My sister begged too back then. Why didn't anyone let her go?"
"About your sister—"
"Shut up!" Cronus struck Capone's jaw with the back of his hand, slamming him into the stone wall with a resounding thud.
"Cronus!" Rage overcame Sophia. She couldn't waste time helping Capone; she threw herself at Cronus, hitting and shoving him with all her might.
"Sophia, it's too dangerous!" Capone, seeing her trying to wrestle the gun from Cronus's hand, felt his blood surge, willing him to stand. He couldn't let her struggle like this—if the gun went off, she could be hurt!
Cronus didn't want to tussle with Sophia, but the primal strength she displayed in her desperation surprised him. She even bit down on his hand, refusing to let go.
Just as the struggle reached its peak, a gunshot rang out, and everyone froze.
Capone rushed over to support Sophia, fearing she had been hit, only to see Cronus collapsing instead.
Behind him stood Diana, her hand trembling as she held the gun. No matter how composed she usually was, the shock of having fired her first shot—aimed at someone she cared for—was overwhelming.
"Go... hurry, get out of here!" Diana shouted, her eyes fixed on the ground, unable to look at either of them.
Sophia held onto Capone, guiding him as they hurried toward the shore. She couldn't help but glance back. She had never seen Diana so unhinged, crouched beside Cronus, murmuring something, calling out to him…
Sophia closed her eyes, another tear slipping down her cheek. Her heart ached—why did they all have to endure this?
Would Cronus die?
She didn't want to see him die, didn't want to see him bear so much…
"Don't worry, he will be fine," Capone noticed her concern and softly reassured her.
The two of them ran for quite a while, but they didn't see the arranged small boat. Instead, the sound of gunfire drew the crowd that was confronting them at the front door towards this direction. Sophia inwardly cursed the situation; she had no choice but to abandon the plan to go to the seaside and instead turned deeper into the island.
"Are you okay? Can you hold on?" Hearing Capone cough, Sophia couldn't help but worry about his stamina.
"There's a place to rest up ahead; I can still walk!"
Capone guided Sophia to a hidden cave entrance, glancing back cautiously to ensure no one was pursuing them before weakly smiling at Sophia. "Let's go in and hide for a bit, but there might be mice inside. Are you scared?"
Sophia shot him a glare; how could he still joke at a time like this?
The cave wasn't too dark and was fairly dry, which made Sophia curious about how he knew this place so well.
"Have you ever heard the saying about the crafty rabbit having three burrows?" Capone leaned against the stone wall, exhausted. "For all the islands where we have our hideouts, I've checked them out. I guess I was just afraid that one day would come!"
"Don't say that; once these people leave, you'll be fine!" Sophia sat down next to him, trying hard to comfort him.
Capone turned to look at her. "If I never get better, won't I just drag you down with me?"
Sophia pouted, unhappy; she didn't like the feeling of being excluded from his world.
Capone had exhausted most of his strength, and after speaking a few words, he was coughing heavily, as if a knife were twisting in his chest. Most of what he coughed up was blood.
"How are you? Where are you hurt? Did they hit you anywhere?" Sophia asked with concern. He looked so bad; his internal organs must have been damaged, and they needed to get him to the hospital as soon as possible. Dragging this out wouldn't do any good.
Capone shook his head. "It's nothing serious; I can still hold on!"
"How could they hit you like this…" Sophia recalled the scene from yesterday, feeling a pang of sorrow. "What do they want from you?"
"All my IDGM shares, the Franklin family's assets, and… um—"
He was interrupted by another wave of intense pain in his chest, unable to finish his sentence. There was also her; Cronus still wanted her!
"Did you give them anything?"
"Of course not! If I die, those things will go to other brothers and won't fall into the hands of the Donkin family working for Lucas!"