CHAPTER NINE
970 Words
THE EMPTY ROOM
Vincent stared at his father.
“Lila?”
His father didn't answer.
For the first time that evening, the calm expression on the old man's face disappeared. He turned away from Vincent and walked toward the window, his hands trembling slightly.
“Where is she?” Vincent asked again.
“I don't know.”
“You just said she was gone.”
“I said someone told me she was gone.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“Who called you?”
His father remained silent.
Vincent's patience was running out.
“Dad.”
The older man finally turned around.
“Go home, Vincent.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the only answer you're getting tonight.”
Vincent watched him for a few seconds. His father had always been difficult to read, but this was different.
He looked scared.
And Vincent had never seen his father scared before.
Across town, Lila opened her eyes.
The first thing she noticed was the silence.
No traffic.
No voices.
No sound from the television downstairs.
She slowly sat up.
The room was dark.
She couldn't remember falling asleep.
“Brian?”
Nothing.
Lila reached for her phone.
The screen was dead.
She frowned and pressed the power button again.
Nothing.
She looked around.
The room was not hers.
The curtains were different.
The bed was different.
Even the faint smell in the air was unfamiliar.
Her heart began beating faster.
She got off the bed and walked toward the door.
It was locked.
Lila tried the handle again.
Nothing.
“Hello?”
Her voice sounded small in the quiet room.
She knocked.
“Is anyone there?”
No answer.
She stepped back from the door.
Then she noticed something on the small table beside the bed.
A glass of water.
And beside it was a folded piece of paper.
Lila stared at it.
She didn't want to touch it.
But curiosity won.
She picked it up and slowly unfolded it.
There were only four words written inside.
You should have listened.
Lila's fingers tightened around the paper.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside.
Someone was coming.
She quickly moved away from the door.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then the lock turned.
Lila held her breath.
The door opened.
A man stood outside.
She couldn't see his face clearly.
He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
Lila backed away.
“Who are you?”
The man said nothing.
He simply looked at her.
Then he placed something on the table.
A photograph.
Lila stared at it.
Her stomach dropped.
It was an old photograph of her parents.
But there was something she had never seen before.
Standing beside them was a much younger Vincent Kane.
Lila looked up at the man.
“What does this mean?”
The man finally spoke.
“It means your brother lied to you.”
At Ivy College, Vincent sat alone in his car.
He had been staring at his phone for nearly ten minutes.
No calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
He hated not knowing what was happening.
He finally started the engine.
He wasn't sure where he was going.
But he knew one thing.
He needed to find Lila.
Not because his father had told him to stay away from her.
Not because of the strange photographs.
Not because of the questions surrounding their families.
He simply couldn't ignore the feeling that something was wrong.
His phone suddenly rang.
Vincent looked at the screen.
An unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?”
For a few seconds, there was only silence.
Then a voice spoke.
“If you want to see her again, come alone.”
Vincent's grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“Where?”
The caller gave him an address.
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
He knew the place.
It was an old warehouse on the edge of the city.
Before he could ask anything else, the call ended.
Vincent stared at the phone.
Then he looked through the windshield.
For once, he didn't think about the consequences.
He simply drove.
Brian was standing in the middle of Lila's bedroom.
His face was pale.
The room was empty.
Her bag was still there.
Her shoes were still beside the bed.
Her books were still on the desk.
But Lila was gone.
Brian clenched his fists.
“No…”
He checked the house again.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something on the floor beside her bed.
A small silver button.
The same kind he had found after the break-in.
Brian picked it up.
His expression changed.
He knew where it came from.
He immediately reached for his phone.
There was one message waiting.
Stop looking for her.
Brian stared at it.
Another message arrived.
Or you will lose more than your sister.
Brian's jaw tightened.
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
Then he picked up his jacket.
Whoever had taken Lila had made one mistake.
They had given Brian a reason to stop being careful.
Vincent's car disappeared into the darkness.
He didn't notice the black vehicle that had been following him from a distance.
Inside it, someone watched Vincent turn toward the old warehouse.
The person smiled.
Then picked up a phone.
“He's coming.”
A pause.
“Good.”
The call ended.
Inside the warehouse, Lila was still staring at the photograph.
Her hands were shaking.
She looked at the man standing across from her.
“Why was Vincent with my parents?”
The man smiled slightly.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
Lila frowned.
“What question should I ask?”
He stepped closer.
“Ask yourself why Vincent was there the night they died.”
Lila froze.
Before she could say another word, the lights suddenly went out.
And somewhere outside the room...
a door slammed shut.
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