For a moment, the castle fell silent after the gunshot. Then, more shots rang out, each one chipping away at the crowd''sposure.


    A man, trembling, slowly raised his hands and stood up. "I''m a member of the Illuminati."


    Others scrambled to follow. "Me too."


    Within moments, nearly 70 to 80 percent of the people in the room were on their feet.


    The ones who stayed seated were mostly the "merchandise"-people the Illuminati had prepared. They quickly stood as well.


    "Mr. Houston, have mercy," one of them begged. "We were just hired. We don''t even know who''s in charge."


    The men and women, who had beenughing and flirting with the wealthy elites, were now shaking in fear.


    Barely covered, they huddled together, terrified that Marion would kill them.


    Marion leaned back in his chair, ncing at the crowd. "Words don''t count. Prove it."


    His men raised their rifles, aiming at the heads of the so-called members.


    "I have proof," said one of them, pulling out a badge. "Here. Look. This is the Illuminati emblem."


    That set off a chain reaction. More people reached into their pockets, pulling out identical badges.


    Each one was emzoned with a sun symbol. Marion''s men gathered them all, but he barely nced at them.


    "Where were you two nights ago?"


    "What?"


    "I don''t repeat myself."


    Marion casually tossed the badges to the side and loaded bullets into his gun. Everyone gasped in fear.


    "We didn''t go anywhere. We were just at home."


    The fear in their voices made it obvious that they were telling the truth.


    Marion smirked, realizing they weren''t the real members but just rich suckers funding the Illuminati.


    One man stumbled forward. "Mr. Houston, we''re members, but our work is only attending such parties In the local social circles, joining the Illuminati is a status symbol. Once you''re in, you can climb the socialdder in no time. We''re only after money. We haven''t done anything bad. Please, have mercy."


    These people were wealthy and influential in their own right, but against someone


    like Marion, they stood no chance.


    Everyone there was aware of


    Marion''s infamous reputation.


    Messing with a man like that


    different from courting death.


    Wa


    no


    Marion raised his gun and pressed the barrel against the man''s chin.


    "Who are the real core members?"


    "We don''t know." The man''s breath hitched as he stammered, "We''re just low-level members. There''s an unspoken rule. If you sacrifice


    yourself to the Illuminati, they line


    promise to make you rich, powerful, and untouchable. Every month, they host banquets like this one. We just show up and donate money. We don''t do anything else."