Lucian leaned back in his car seat, exhaling sharply as he shook his head.
“Let’s leave that for now, Max,” he muttered in his mind, the debate wearing him down.
Max didn’t respond.
Lucian sat in silence, the hum of the car the only sound in his head, but Max’s words still buzzed at the edges of his thoughts.
After a few more moments of quiet, Lucian sighed, his patience running thin. He was done thinking for the time being.
“Whatever… I should ask about her health. See if she’s okay. If she’s not, I’ll just go straight to her,” he thought, his mind reluctantly turning toward the uncomfortable truth.
“I should call Celly. She has to know something about Avey’s condition.”
Without hesitating, Lucian reached into his pocket and dialed a number.
Ring, ring… connected.
“Umm, hello?” Cassandra’s voice came through the line, sleepiness still lingering in her tone.
“Hey, it’s me,” Lucian exhaled, feeling a bit of nostalgia creep in, remembering the events of the night before.
Her tone sharpened as she recognized him. “Wait this voice… you’re Lucian?.”
“Uh, yeah, well…” Lucian trailed off, unsure how to start.
“So, you finally called, Mr. Heartbroken. Tell me, what exactly have you done to Avey?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “Don’t tell me you’re looking for my help to get back together with her after that messed-up cat-and-mouse game you two played.”
“Wait, where did you get my phone number?” A barrage of questions followed, each one sharp. The force of her words almost made Lucian’s ears ring.
The barrage of questions hit him like a wave, her voice laced with disgust and frustration. Lucian winced, the sharpness of her tone making his ears ring.
“Uh… Actually, I wanted to ask about Avey…” He deliberately dodged the question about her number. That wasn’t important. What mattered was Avey.
“Wait” Cassandra cut him off, her voice rising. “Don’t tell me you haven’t even gone to check on her all week? Are you kidding me right now?!”
Lucian flinched. “I… I did… well, umm yeah. I didn’t.” He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “That’s kind of why I called.”
A long, heavy silence followed. Then, Cassandra let out a loud, frustrated sigh. “You’re unbelievable, Lucian. After all this time, you finally realize you should care?”
“It’s not that… Well, leave that. Tell me how she’s doing. Is she alright? Did you go see her? Did she even allow you to meet her?” Lucian pressed, his voice carrying an edge of urgency.
A brief silence. Then Cassandra’s voice came back, suspicious. “Huh? Wait how do you know she refused to see me? I never told anyone.”
Lucian’s stomach dropped. He’d slipped up.
“Ahh no, I just… I could guess. Knowing Avey, she’d do something like that,” he covered hastily. “Anyway, just tell me already is she okay?”
i don’t know no wait actually… suddenly her voice went silent in middle of words
Lucian frowned. “Hello? You there?”
After a tense two seconds, Cassandra’s voice finally came through again this time trembling. “She’s… she’s with me. I stopped her. She was about to do something bad.”
Lucian’s breath caught. “Huh? Avey is with you? Stopped her? What do you mean ‘something bad’?!”
Cassandra hesitated, then exhaled shakily. “I’m sending you a location. Come fast don’t ask anything else right now. We… we tried to hide it, but… she tried to she tried to” Her voice wavered, almost breaking. “She tried to end her life, Lucian. I don’t know why, but maybe maybe it’s best that you called now. Maybe it’s not too late.”
Lucian’s world tilted.
“What WHAT?!” He shot up so fast he slammed his head against the car ceiling, the pain barely registering over the deafening roar in his ears. His heart pounded, hammering against his ribs like it wanted to break free.
“You’re joking, right? Avey! she wouldn’t… she can’t” His voice cracked, horror creeping into his bones. “Wait, what happened?! Is she okay?! Give her the phone! Let me talk to her!”
He barely registered the unease creeping into Cassandra’s voice, a small part of him catching the odd shift in her tone. But logic drowned under the weight of sheer panic.
“Just come to the location I sent wait, she’s ahh, damn it” Cassandra’s voice cut off in a sharp breath. “Come. Fast. I can’t talk now”
The call went dead.
Lucian stared at his phone, his mind blank, his hands ice-cold. His pulse hammered against his skull.
Max… is this true? What happened to her? He yelled in his mind, hurriedly calling Max.
No response.
“Max? You there?” His voice came out hoarse.
Still nothing.
“This damn system” He gritted his teeth, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “Ahh! It’s an emergency, you idiot!” His anxious breath came fast and uneven.
His eyes flicked back to the location Cassandra had sent.
Kaliara Street? His brows furrowed. That’s a deserted area… A strange unease crawled up his spine. Cassandra had no reason to lie to him, right?
But… Avey.
That thought alone was enough. Without wasting another second, he turned to the taxi driver in front of him.
“Sir, U-turn fast. I have an emergency. Take me to Kaliara Street!”
The driver, an older Indian man, glanced back at him with a skeptical look. “Huh? Kaliara Street? Brotherrrr, that is too far away! I charge extra for that, you know. And it counts!” His thick accent carried an amused tone.
“Yes, yes, whatever just drive! As fast as you can!” Lucian snapped, his patience worn thin.
The driver rubbed his chin, considering. “Depends. How big is this emergency? Can I break red lights?”
Lucian’s jaw clenched. “Yes! Yes! I’ll pay triple the fine—in advance!” His knee bounced with restless energy.
The driver’s lips curled into a smirk. “Alright then! No need to drive yourself. Sit back, seatbelt on watch magic happen.”
Then boom.
The taxi shot forward, weaving between cars like a madman.
Lucian barely noticed. His fingers kept tapping against his phone as he redialed Cassandra.
No answer.
Again.
Still nothing.
“Why isn’t she picking up…?” A cold dread settled in his stomach. His instincts screamed at him.
Something wasn’t right.
—
15 minutes later
Lucian barely had time to process as the taxi screeched to a halt.
The driver let out a low whistle, fanning himself with the cash Lucian had handed over. “Rich customer, ah? Hope you find whoever you’re looking for, brother.” With a final shake of the notes, the driver sped off, leaving Lucian standing before a rundown building.
His frown deepened.
The location matched… but why here?
The place was far from luxurious old, worn-down, the kind of building that looked forgotten by time.
Why the hell would Avey or Cassandra come here?
His gut twisted. He didn’t like this.
But there was no time to think.
Shoving aside the nagging doubts, Lucian sprinted inside.
The entrance was deserted. The hallways, eerily silent. Not a single soul in sight.
His heart pounded harder.
Third floor.
He took the stairs two at a time, his breath ragged. Then, finally
He skidded to a stop.
Lucian narrowed his eyes, his breath still uneven from the frantic sprint.
Cassandra stood there, her posture tense, her fingers twitching as they scratched at her arm. Something about her stance was… off. The way her eyes flickered between him and the dimly lit hallway behind her made his gut clench.
“You’re here,” she murmured, her voice oddly flat.
Lucian took a step closer, scanning her expression. Her lips parted like she wanted to say more, but then she hesitated. That hesitation rang alarm bells in his head.
“Where’s Avey?” he demanded, trying to steady his voice, though the frantic thrum of his pulse betrayed him.
Cassandra blinked too slow. Too deliberate. “She’s… inside,” she said, nodding toward the half-open door behind her.
Lucian’s eyes followed her movement. A sickly yellow light seeped out from the crack in the door. The air smelled stale, a mix of dust and something metallic.
“Why are you standing out here?” he asked sharply.
Cassandra swallowed. “She’s… upset. I thought I should let you go in alone.”
That wasn’t right. Not with how she had sounded on the phone. Desperate. Panicked. If Avey had really just tried to…
Lucian clenched his fists. Something was wrong.
“Move,” he ordered, pushing past her before she could react.
The door creaked as he shoved it open. His stomach knotted instantly.
The room was nearly empty just an old wooden table, a single flickering bulb, and a metal chair in the middle. But no sign of Avey. No sign of anyone at all.
Lucian whipped around. Cassandra was still in the doorway, her hand tightening around the doorknob.
“Where is she?” he growled, his patience snapping.
Cassandra’s lips twitched not quite a smile, not quite anything he could understand. Her eyes were complicated, shadowed by something he couldn’t place.
“Lucian…” she murmured, her voice softer, almost coaxing. “Why don’t you calm down first?”
A slow, creeping dread slithered up his spine. His instincts screamed at him.
This was a trap.
“Cassandra, where. Is. Avey? Why did you invite me here?” Lucian narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp, searching for any crack in her demeanor.
She exhaled, a slow breath that sent a shiver down his spine. Then, without another word, she reached behind her.
Click.
Lucian’s stomach dropped. The sound was too familiar. Too deliberate.
Cassandra met his gaze, and this time, her eyes were colder. There was no hesitation, only the finality of a decision made.
“I’m sorry, Avey,” she whispered softly to herself, so quietly that Lucian almost didn’t catch it. Her breath was shaky, but there was something final in it, as if she had given up on a choice she never wanted to make.
Then, in one swift motion, her hand emerged from behind her. A small, dark pistol gleamed under the dim light, its cold metal now trained on Lucian.
—