Smoke Screen

**…the hiding and seek of Fenis Castle..**

23:30 PM — Fenis Castle Garden, Aosta

Argento Blaze totally ignored the dilemma of Antonio and his brothers. He shouted, “The shooter is running away!” and ran out into the crowd. The shooter was wearing a black mask and black suit. The people made their way in terror. Halfway across, Argento drew a sword from one of the shields on the wall. The sword was incredibly heavy, but he handled it like a kitchen knife.

A party with so many millionaires had several security guards, but they all rushed to save their bosses. The shooter and Argento Blaze were the only ones rushing to the door. Valerio, Cassian, and Marcus Blaze soon joined the hunt.

“Call security,” roared Marcus Blaze. "Don't let him leave the castle!"

Argento Blaze's sword sliced through the air and reached the shooter. The marksman stumbled for a second and it was enough for Argento to catch his arm. The sniper stopped and pulled Argento Blaze forward.

"No!" shouted Valerio Blaze.

It was too late.

The shooter took out a knife and aimed it at Argento Blaze's neck. But Valerio was faster and shoved the man with his sheer brute strength forward.

Argento fell into Valerio's lap. There were tears of pain in his eyes and blood trickling down his neck. Valerio was crying, screaming “No, Argo. No! Someone call an ambulance!”

The sniper fell to the ground and Marcus jumped to lunge at him. The shooter threw a smoke bomb into Marcus Blaze's chest. The bomb exploded immediately and intoxicating smoke blurred the vision of all the brothers.

“Where is he?” shouted Cassian Blaze.

But when the smoke cleared, the shooter was gone

48 AGO: 15 PM — Plane en route from Milan to Aosta

The plane began to move on the runway and soon gained altitude. Catarina Blaze looked out the window and watched the clouds pass by. The sun was setting over the horizon, painting the sky orange, pink and purple.

“Make sure he doesn't leave that ball alive,” said Catarina Blaze.

“Yes, Mother,” replied Argento Blaze.

“But we still need a backup plan, Argo,” said the mother.

“What plan? I've already prepared my mourning clothes for Marcus. Look” said Argento Blaze showing a small dropper bottle “fake tears for Korean actors.”

Catarina Blaze laughed when she saw the bottle.

“Listen, son. We'll be the first suspects if anything happens to Marcus. If I were Antonio, I would definitely go after both of us.”

"Yes."

Catarina Blaze smiled and offered a white card with a phone.

"Who is he?"

“His name is Matsumoto Itaya. He will never miss his target.”

Argento rolled his eyes and spoke,

“Please, Mother. Shooting him standing on stage isn't that hard, you know? You don't need to find someone from the outside for that.”

"It is not. But does it look like an accident? Not just anyone can do it, my son.”

Argento Blaze frowned.

“What do you mean by that, Mom?” he asked.

The wrinkles around Catarina Blaze stood out as she smiled.

“Make sure he hurts you. Make it look like he missed a fatal wound. Only then will you and I be the only ones removed from the suspect list?

“And Thiago will definitely be expelled after that” commented Argento Blaze. “He is the only one who would do such a thing.”

“It's a one-for-one promotion, you're next in line and Antonio will *never* trust Thiago again,” said Catarina Blaze. She lifted a glass of champagne and toasted, "*Salute!*"

"*Salute!*"

BACK TO THE PRESENT, at Fenis Castle,

As everyone scrambled to save their lives and to save Antonio and Marcus, Nanci Esposito waved at Otto Blaze. Frightened, the child left the stage and ran towards Nanci. Neither of them expected people to be running around. However, Otto did not deviate from the path. It was like that scene where the soldier runs across the battlefield in the movie 1917. Only instead of soldiers, it was men and women in their evening clothes running in panic from a terrorist attack. But what about Otto? Otto continued straight ahead.

Otto Blaze was almost reaching Nanci Esposito when a man in a suit and cape stopped him midway. The cloaked man put a cloth over the boy's mouth which made his body go limp in a few seconds. Nanci screamed upon seeing the scene, but everyone around was too busy trying to save their lives to listen to her. Her screams and attempts to stop the cloaked man mingled with the terror of the crowd.

Sunny Hirsch saw it all from a distance. She tried to catch up with Otto, but being short and wearing high heels was no advantage.

"NO! LET HIM" cried Sunny Hirsch in desperation. “RELEASE HIM. OTTO! OTTO!"

Sunny Hirsch realized that she would never reach the man in the crowd. She devised a plan that was ridiculous and risky, but it was her only chance.

Sunny Hirsch went up the same stairs that Nanci and Otto used to go upstairs to the bathroom. The second floor of Fenis Castle had several corridors with rooms and windows. The window where Nanci Esposito had hanged Sunny faced the front of the castle.

Sunny Hirsch frowned. There was thick smoke making it impossible to see her in the place. But the worst: there was no one in the least similar to the man in the cape.

Sunny Hirsch then remembered what Thiago told her when Alessandro appeared behind her while the three of them were having sex. She dismissed the thought at first because it felt stupid to remember a sexual memory at that moment, but Thiago Blaze's voice seemed to scream in her mind,

“No one expects to come in from the rear.”

Sunny Hirsch brightened.

“From the back!” she said aloud.

Sunny Hirsch came back, turned around in the hall, and ran to the back of the castle. Her white dress billowed out behind her. The adrenaline was so intense that she didn't even feel her feet hurt in those heels that were definitely not made for running.

Sunny Hirsch came to the back window of Fenis Castle. For a second, she almost misses seeing the man in the cape holding the unconscious body of Otto Blaze. He left the castle by crossing the wall through a small stone passageway.

Sunny Hirsch looked around the second floor, hoping to find another way down. She knew she couldn't go back to the first floor and looking for another exit would take too long. Sunny saw a window that looked out onto the back garden. She opened the window and leaned out. She saw a large tree with thick branches near the window.

Sunny Hirsch didn't think. There was no time to think. She took a deep breath and jumped into the tree. She grabbed the thickest branch she could see. She felt a twinge of pain in her arms and legs.

*Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down.*

The tree's thorns scratched her skin. She landed on her feet like a cat, and graceful as a Doberman on a smooth floor. She looked around and saw no one, but the sound of the distant, startled screams of the ball guests filled the cool night air.

Sunny Hirsch walked across the lawn in the dark. She went through a small door and saw a car crossing the road. She ran as if her life depended on it. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, like a drum in her ears. She feels the sweat running down her face, salty on her lips.

*Otto...* thought Sunny Hirsch in despair. *And now what do I do? What do I do?*

Sunny Hirsch felt fear in her stomach like a ball of fire burning her insides. She lost hope of catching up with the black car. She was defeated and empty inside... until she saw a delivery boy's bicycle abandoned on the sidewalk.

“Thank you, Lord,” Sunny Hirsch said to the dark night sky.

Sunny Hirsch took off her high-heeled red Louboutins and left them in place on her bike, like an uneven exchange. She got on the bike and pedaled as hard as she could. Her bare feet nearly slipped off the pedal.

The white tulle dress fluttered in the wind, like a light cloud. She looked like a runaway bride in the middle of the night, following a car down a dark, deserted road. She couldn't let those criminals torture or kill Otto Blaze. She had to save him at any cost.

The road behind Fenis Castle was close to a gloomy forest, full of tall, sinister trees. There was the smell of damp earth and the sound of leaves swaying in the wind. Sunny Hirsch saw the shadows moving between the trees, like lurking ghosts. Forget the kidnappers, she had an irrational fear of ghosts or werewolves or whatever else might lurk in that darkness.

Sunny Hirsch pedaled as fast as she could, but the car was faster and more powerful. She thought of something risky but possible. She saw a bend in the road that led into the forest. Instead of following the car, Sunny decided to go into the forest and use the trees as cover.

Before entering the forest, Sunny Hirsch thought, *Mr. Blaze, hurry up, please. Please, Mr. Blaze.*