Two Sides of the Same Coin

00 | Prologue

The clinking of metal against glass caught everyone's attention. All the backbiting and two-faced trophy wives had turned to look, so did the overly-wealthy men with a false sense of superiority.

A tall and broad individual stood upright in a tuxedo, at an end of the fundraiser venue. Gel coated his slicked back brown waves, just as boredom coated his eyes that were so dark they seemed black. He held a wine glass in one hand, and a fork in the other. The man continued to clink the two together until the murmurs had died down to his liking.

"I'll need your attention for a minute." He declared as he moved the utensil away.

"I want to thank you for the support you all continue to show me. This fundraiser will surely aid the opening of my first ever hotel chain, right here in this city."

Thunderous applause reverberated as a response, and the man raised his glass in the air with gratitude. He could spot a familiar middle aged man trudge towards him out of the corner of his eyes, and he barely suppressed a scoff of irritation.

"Ah, Ceasar." Mr. Wan slurred out when he slung an arm over said Caesar's shoulders, or tried to. He couldn't reach his height, which was why his limb wrapped awkwardly around the backside of the vexed man. It appeared to be that he was high on wine, or another one of the other drinks that were offered as refreshments.

The only reason Ceasar tolerated the man was because they were 'acquaintances'. He had used Mr. Wan for money, for a loan, and once he returned the amount he had borrowed, the dense bastard proclaimed himself to be Ceasar's good friend.

The younger man narrowed his eyes at Mr. Wan, before he handed him his glass of wine to free his hand. He had reached into his pocket to pull a notorious coin.

"Would you like heads, or tails?" He asked with hidden amusement, all traces of his previous annoyance now gone. Mr. Wan's interest was piqued, and he retracted his arm to face him.

"Tails."

Ceasar positioned his thumb underneath the metallic currency and flung it into the air, before he enclosed his fingers around it once the coin landed in the middle of his palm. He opened them up again to peek inside.

It was Tails.

"Ah, you got lucky today. Again." He murmured, and his eyes shifted to the fork in his hand. His hold had tightened as he observed it, before his chilling gaze moved to Mr. Wane. The middle aged man froze in the middle of his sip from the glass. Even in his drunken state, fear overtook him.

"No matter-" Caesar suddenly looked away and tucked the coin back into his pocket, before he strolled towards a circular table to take a seat. He had placed a hand on his so-called friend's shoulder, who was still very much shaken. The pair eventually settled on the chairs, and Mr. Wane's fright had toned down when they eased into casual discussions.

Everyone else had resumed what they were doing. All the attendees were conversing amongst one another.

Well, all except one.

A woman sat on one of the tables near the rear side of the hall, away from everyone else. Despite the beauty of her appearance due to a midnight blue dress, panic ate away at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide, with the mascara smeared from her bottom lash-line. Her dark circles were sunken, so had been the condition of her cheekbones due to a lack of appetite in the past few days.

Unable to keep herself sitting for any longer, she grabbed her clutch and shot up, her wobbly saunters carrying her towards one man and one man only.

"So I-" Ceasar's word had drowned out when he spotted the figure of a woman stop right nearby him, and both he and Mr. Wane glanced in that direction.

The woman trembled like a freezing breeze had hit her. Her palms felt clammy because of cold sweats, and her manic gaze was trained on Ceasar.

"Ma'am, can we help you?"

Mr. Wane's line of sight darted between the two, and he repeated his question once more. There was no reply. The odd woman continued to glare away at his friend, and the friend in question stared back with a completely indifferent expression.

"Do you two know each othe-"

"I need your help." Her sentence had rushed out, her words jumbled together. It was hard to understand her.

"We need to speak in private." She spoke again, this time louder and clearer, but a mental breakdown was on the verge of setting off. Or perhaps it had already started, and she just couldn't tell.

"I'm afraid you'll have to tell me here, whatever it is. Mr. Wane is very trustw-"

"Godamnit."

Her trembling hands barely managed to open her clutch, and she slipped out a black object that glistened underneath the venue's bright lights. Ceasar raised a brow when he caught sight of the weapon, but he said nothing, neither did the middle aged man who was clearly confused.

"You've already ruined my life and now you're- you're not- FUCK." She screamed all of a sudden. Her arm swung up and her finger pulled on the trigger, launching a bullet towards the ceiling and piercing its surface.

Shrieks of various kinds echoed from the guests when they heard the loud bang, and their frantic eyes moved about to look for the source.

As horrified as Mr. Wane was, the man beside him was entirely unfazed, his eyes still hooded with uninterest while he continued to assess the situation.

The woman breathed loudly and heavily, as if she was struggling to do so. Her unstable grip on the gun moved the nozzle to point it at something.

Her own chest.

"Motherfucker." She gritted out raggedly. Her eyelids clenched. The poor thing gave out one helpless cry then the sound of another gunshot resounded, eliciting even more shouts from the terrified members of the higher class.

Her life drained from her body in the matter of seconds before she crumpled to the ground, completely limp. The red-rimmed eyes were still pulled open, and her lips were parted. A thick and sticky liquid began seeping out of her wound, staining the pristine floor below.

Mr. Wane jumped out of his seat. He yelled for security over and over again.

As for Ceasar, he decided to finally stand up as well. His apathetic eyes were trained on the rivers of blood that once belonged to the woman.

And satisfaction pushed his mouth into an unnoticeable grin.