The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy!-Chapter 619: The Public Execution II

Minutes before the show begins...

"Ugh..." Scarlet grunted as her head throbbed painfully. She clutched her temple, forcing one eye open.

"Hmm?" she hummed, realizing everything around her was bathed in dark red light.

She frowned deeply and forced herself to sit up, confusion written all over her face. Reaching out, her fingers brushed against the carpet covering the cage. She tugged at it, but each end was clipped securely to something solid.

"Damn it," she breathed, massaging her head as the pounding continued.

Earlier — when Haji had been beaten so savagely — they had thrown a canister into the room. Scarlet and the squad had braced for the worst, but instead, it had only knocked them out. It took a while before they realized the canister contained an anesthetic potent enough to incapacitate anyone who inhaled a sufficient amount.

When her headache eased slightly, her brows twitched. She snapped her eyes open and looked toward the cage’s coverings. A faint buzzing sound filled the air.

"Where in the world are we...?" she muttered, turning her head to the side.

Seeing the other three still unconscious, she reached out and shook Tyga.

"Hey," she called, her grip tightening. "Hey!"

Tyga grunted, his nose scrunching as he stirred. When he finally opened his eyes and saw Scarlet, everything that had happened came rushing back.

"Hah!" He jolted upright, only to wince as dizziness and pain slammed into him. "Ah—"

He pressed a hand to the side of his head, hissing. "God damn it. It’s a stun grenade. That’s even more powerful than the one they’re developing in the Order’s lab." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The pain lingered but quickly dulled after a few steady breaths. When he opened his eyes again, Scarlet came into focus along with the strange covers surrounding them.

"What in the world is this...?" he trailed off as the ambient noises finally registered. "Scar, where are we?"

"I have no idea, but—" She paused as she noticed Kean moving awake. "But wherever this is... I have a bad feeling about it."

"Ugh..." Like the others, Kean clutched his head as he sat up. When his vision cleared, he saw Scarlet and Tyga staring back at him, and panic flooded his chest. "Shit, what—"

"Someone wake that fool," Scarlet ordered, jerking her chin toward Chuck as she tried to stand.

But alas, she couldn’t.

Her eyes widened as she struck her leg.

Nothing.

"What is it?" Tyga asked, instinctively attempting to stand. The moment he tried, he froze. His expression darkened as realization hit. "I can’t... feel my legs."

"Shit, shit—" Kean pinched his thighs repeatedly, but there was no response. When it sank in that he, too, was paralyzed from the hips down, his breath hitched.

Lifting his gaze to meet theirs, dread filled his expression. "That stun grenade is extremely advanced. It doesn’t just knock people out, it temporarily paralyzes them."

Tyga’s assessment made sense.

The contents of that canister were far stronger than anything the Order was officially developing. Kean knew this firsthand. He had connections at the lab and occasionally worked with the researchers there. Their version was far more controlled, with lower risk.

"Are you sure it’s only temporary?" Tyga asked.

Kean nodded. "It has to be. From what I learned, it’s impossible to create a stun grenade that permanently paralyzes someone—unless it’s inhaled over an extremely long period. Months. Maybe even years."

"Hey—" Tyga suddenly slapped Chuck awake.

The force made Chuck jolt upright immediately.

"Hah!" His legs kicked up before dropping back down as he sat there, stunned.

The three of them froze.

They instinctively tried lifting their legs again, but nothing.

Chuck rubbed his cheek and glanced around, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. "Who slapped me?!" he barked, darting his gaze between Tyga and Kean—the only two who’d have the nerve.

Instead of an answer, Kean asked, "How did you do that?"

"Huh?"

"You lifted your feet just now," Tyga said slowly. "You moved."

Chuck frowned, glancing down at his legs. He folded them casually. "Of course I can move my feet. What about it?"

Silence fell on their shoulders, eyes on him.

None of them knew whether to feel angry that Chuck was miraculously fine—or terrified that something else was going on.

Chuck noticed their expressions and frowned. "Why? Can’t you move your legs?"

No one answered, but that was enough.

"Really?!" He slapped a hand over his mouth. "You guys can’t feel your legs? You’re paralyzed?!"

"And you’re not?" Scarlet shot back.

Chuck rotated his ankles, then pushed himself upright until he was standing.

"No?"

"How?" they asked in unison.

Of all people... why him again?

Chuck rubbed his chin, staring down at the three seated helplessly inside the cage. Before he could speak, Kean suddenly blurted out,

"He ate."

"Huh?" The others turned to him.

"Chuck ate a lot before we arrived in Ravah," Kean said quietly, glancing at him.

Chuck scowled. "I was stressed," he muttered. "Can you blame me?"

Everything about this mission had been stressful. No proper briefing. Sitting across from Atlas. He hadn’t been able to eat the entire time Atlas was around. So when he finally had the chance, he ate out of pure stress.

"Did either of you eat properly before the mission?" Kean ignored him and turned to the others. "I only had a few bites."

"I didn’t have the appetite," Scarlet admitted.

"I was trying to stay light," Tyga added. "For mobility."

They all had strict dietary habits during missions. Just enough energy without feeling weighed down. It had always worked before.

"You think that’s why we’re paralyzed?" Scarlet asked.

Before Tyga could respond, a loud voice boomed through hidden speakers.

"Good evening, my fellow Gehranians..."

They stiffened, listening to the voice that dripped with narcissism.

A moment later, the red covers around the cage released all at once, flooding them with blinding white light. They squeezed their eyes shut, shielding them with their hands.

Scarlet peeked through one eye, only to see a massive crowd spread out before her. Her other eye widened, her mouth falling open, when she spotted another cage on the opposite side of theirs. Inside it was an old, haggard woman, frantically looking around before throwing herself against the bars and crying out loudly;

"Haha!"