See Her Fall

Lydia took the initiative to say, "The thing about my father and Japheth scheming against my Uncle Lucas, using me as a pawn?" "You already know? You seem very calm, not quite what I expected. A little bit of regret." Lydia asked, "Are you regretting because I didn't freak out?" "Of course not, I am a doctor." Lydia, with no expression on her face, said, "Leave quickly if you don't want to die." "I haven't even watched the show yet, no hurry." Lydia frowned, "Did you get caught on purpose?" "Of course, I played a significant part in this. As the final act is about to start, I ought to be in the front row." He leaned close to Lydia and smiled. His eyes were dangerous as he whispered, "This is how I can see clearly." A gunshot rang from the front hall, Tim raised his eyes towards the direction of the front hall, and said softly, "It's starting." Lydia glanced at him, "Be careful, you might not leave as you came." Lydia turned around and walked out. Tim quickly followed, catching up with her in two steps. "It will be chaotic and dangerous later, Miss Callahan, please continue being kind, I don't know my way around, could you take me with you?" While saying this, he grabbed Lydia's wrist, leading the way to the front hall. Lydia angrily exclaimed, "Let go of me!" The two had just stepped out of the eastern courtyard and hadn't yet approached the front hall when they heard continuous sounds of fighting and unending gunfire. Lydia wanted to shake off Tim to go check the situation. However, Tim firmly held onto her, "Going out now makes it easy to get shot accidentally. Even if you're just watching the show, you need to value your safety. Let's wait a bit longer." Lydia asked him, "What on earth do you want to do? Where are your men?" Tim replied, "They're outside. They have to assure my safety, don't they? Don't worry, I have no interest in your clan's businesses. I don't intend to rob a burning house, I'm just here to join in the fun and will leave after." The sounds of fighting in the front hall were incessant. At this moment, almost all of the Callahan Clan's members had gathered in the front hall. Even through some distance, they could gradually smell the increasingly strong stench of blood. Tim glanced over at her and saw her serene expression. To say she was nervous and worried didn't quite hit the mark. In a playful tone, Tim asked, "Worried about your father?" Angrily, Lydia glared at him, "It's none of your business!" "If your father dies here tonight, you won't be as foolish as Lucas, blaming everything on me, then doggedly chasing me to the ends of the earth, would you?" He seemed to be quite looking forward to that. Lydia glared at him again, not knowing whether she was angry at his jinx regarding her father or his insult about her stupidity. Suddenly, Tim said, "Your father said a few words to me when I was arrested." He looked at her. Under the lights and moonlight, her beautiful face became a bit pale due to the injury. She appeared utterly harmless, with a fragile demeanor that induced a desire to protect her, but beneath this cute and harmless skin were truly venomous thorns and sharp teeth. Lydia glared at him again. A smirk crossed Tim's face as he blurted out one sentence, "He said you are to marry a local rich man as a concubine." Lydia was furious, "Shut up!" Tim said, "It seems there's some truth in it. Who you marry as a second wife doesn't interest me. But I am a bit curious, why would your father suddenly bring this up with me? It seems like he's warning me to stay away from you. Did you say something to your father after you got home? Hm?" His eyes were filled with a playful smile, utterly infuriating. Lydia gritted her teeth. “It seems like I won't be able to know what you and your father discussed.” Lydia ignored him, shifting her gaze back to the front lobby. “If you don't want to be someone’s concubine, you can contact me. As a token of gratitude for your intention to save me, I am willing to provide the best psychological counseling for you." Lydia showed a slight change in expression but ignored and didn't look at him. When Tim turned his gaze back to the front lobby, Lydia looked at him. His side facial profile was very distinctive, even sharper-looking than his face when seen head-on. This was the first time Lydia had taken such a close look at him. She could see him very clearly. A moment later, she lowered her eyes to look down. Tim, fearing that she might run away, was clutching her tightly, so hard that it caused pain. The fight never stopped, with no signs of abating. Lydia let go of Tim's hand while he was not paying attention, then quickly ran toward the dangerous front. Tim wanted to fetch her back, but obviously, it was impossible now. The front hall was in chaos, like a murder scene with bodies everywhere and many familiar faces lying on the ground. Lydia didn't find her father in the front hall, but she saw Frank and Stanley killing each other, along with other relatives… Soon after her appearance, she became a target. The simplest way to stay alive in such family strife was to capture a hostage as a shield. Lydia quickly fled from this place of conflict. She headed towards her father's residence. Along the way, she met women and servants fleeing with their wealth. Lucas's people were looking for her father's subordinates everywhere. Those who were seen would be killed on sight. Frank shot Stanley's daughter and his two mistresses. Upon noticing Lydia, they pointed their guns at her. Lydia shot first, killing her cousin. She walked forward numbly with a gun, seeing countless familiar faces, some dead, some being trampled, some still fighting. As she walked through this large family she had lived in her entire life, she didn’t feel much. She just kept walking in one direction, as if driven by an obsession that nobody could stop. She finally arrived at her father’s residence but saw no trace of him. Where did he go? Was he hiding? Or did he leave her behind and run away? Lydia stood still, her mind alternating between chaos and clarity. In the moments of clarity, she thought of a place, so she continued to walk in that direction. The Callahan Clan was huge, built into the mountain, large enough to occupy the entire foothill. Lydia trudged towards the mountain. At the mountaintop was where her father kept his leopards, a place she was too petrified to visit. Each time her father forcibly escorted her up there, she was reduced to terrified screams and even bouts of debilitating physical distress, but her father merely deemed it as a mood spoiler. The excited growls of the leopards reached Lydia's ears. Her deeply embedded fear elicited an unintentional shiver, and her breathing pattern became erratic. Daunting flashes of her mother getting mauled by a leopard repeatedly appeared in her mind. Her face was as white as a sheet, yet she was unwavering and decided to press on. The menacing growls that got clearer and more frequent with every step forward almost induced a stress response within her. Braving her fear, she arrived at the mountainside where there were structures. She cast a glance at her father who was standing on the observation deck. Enzo felt a presence, he turned around and found Lydia. It seemed he could hardly recall that Lydia was terrified of leopards, and didn't have much of a reaction seeing her come alone. "You're here," he coldly stated. "After tonight, our clan will have suffered great losses. You have to get married off to help save it," as Enzo said these words, he gazed down at the Callahan Clan below his feet which was sporadically lit up by flames. He spoke to himself, planning out Lydia's life. Taking step by step forward, Lydia protested, "I won’t marry. I've made an appointment with a psychologist, I need treatment.” Only then did Enzo remember that Lydia had an illness. He was vexed,"Your illness really is bothersome. It should indeed be addressed. Otherwise, you will be despised by your husband." At this moment, Tim, along with a few of his followers, made their way up the mountain. Lydia braced herself against fear, moving continuously forward. "Father, you haven't answered my question," she said, her voice trembling. Enzo glanced at her, "What?" Lydia kept moving forward, "Do you... love my mother?" That same tedious question again. Enzo was impatient, "How could I possibly love a prostitute?" He even found the thought nauseating. Lydia stopped three meters away from Enzo. She was trembling all over, unable to take a step forward, because, under their feet, there were more than a dozen leopards. To fall meant to be gnawed to bones. Just thinking about it was making Lydia faint. "Not even for a moment? Do you love me, then?" She was so scared that her voice sounded like crying. She envisioned the horrific sight of her mother being torn apart. Enzo didn't want to deal with her, after a while, he reluctantly said, "If you're a good girl, I will naturally love you." Lydia stared at his retreating back, speechless for a long time, as the growls of the leopards came from below. Lydia moved her bloodless lips and suddenly responded to her father, "If you're a good father, I would also love you." The next moment, she didn't know where she got her strength from, but she suddenly ran toward Enzo. Enzo heard movement and turned around, but it was too late. In his astonished, despair-filled scream, he was knocked off by Lydia. "Lydia!" At that moment, Tim arrived just in time to witness how Lydia dragged down Enzo amidst the excited growls of the leopards.