139. Stunned
Aiden's chest felt as if it were being crushed. Every second without Marcelline's reply twisted his stomach tighter, fear gnawing at him like fire.
He whipped out his phone and began calling her — again, and again, and again.
RING. RING. RING.
RING. RING. RING.
Nothing.
> "Marcelline! Answer me! Please… please answer!"
He pounded the screen with desperation, his fingers trembling violently. His mind raced through every possible scenario. What if she had truly fallen ill? What if something worse had happened?
Aiden's voice broke as he shouted into the empty courtyard, drawing glances from nearby students.
> "Marcelline! Please! Pick up, I'm begging you!"
His calls were frantic, filled with the raw, unfiltered panic that Chloe had only seen a fraction of in him before. But Marcelline's phone was on silent. She didn't hear a single ring. She didn't know she was being summoned, her presence still oblivious to the storm she had left behind.
Aiden's heart pounded like a drum in his chest, each beat heavier than the last. He had called Marcelline's number again and again — over and over — but there was no answer.
> "Marcelline…! Pick up! Please… answer me!"
His voice was hoarse, cracking with panic. Chloe was beside him, equally frantic, her hands clutching her bag so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
Chloe (voice trembling): "Aiden… she's not picking up! What if something happened to her?"
Aiden's hands shook as he gripped his phone, rage and fear intertwining. His mind raced — the entity in Brooks Mansion, the one that had ruined their family's life and brought them unspeakable pain, the one they had feared for weeks — could it have somehow found her? Could she be in danger simply because she was close to them?
Aiden (voice raw, panicked): "We don't know where she is, Chloe! She could be anywhere… what if… what if the entity somehow…"
Chloe's face went pale, her breath quickening. She shivered, though the afternoon sun was warm.
Chloe: "Oh my God… Aiden… she's so close to us sometimes… what if it tries to harm her too?!"
The two of them froze for a moment, the panic sinking in like ice water. Marcelline had disappeared without a trace, leaving no clue. Every message, every call went unanswered.
Aiden's fingers flew over his phone again.
> "There has to be some way to find her… I need to find her!"
Chloe nodded, swallowing back tears, her own fear mirrored in his eyes.
Chloe: "Wait… maybe someone knows where she lives? Maybe… her address? Her place?"
Aiden's eyes widened.
Aiden: "Yeah… yeah! That's it! If we can get her address , we can go there right now!"
With urgency fueling every movement, they asked around, piecing together bits of information from acquaintances, the library staff, and whispers from fellow students who had glimpsed Marcelline's casual mentions in passing. Within what felt like an eternity compressed into minutes, they finally had it — the address of her villa.
Without wasting another second, they sprinted through the campus gates, jumped into Aiden's car, Chloe gripping the dashboard, and raced toward the outskirts of the city.
Their minds were a storm of fear and worry, every red light and honking horn a dagger in their nerves. Aiden's knuckles whitened around the steering wheel.
Aiden (gritted teeth, muttering): "Please… just be okay… please…"
Chloe's voice broke through in panicked whispers, clutching her seatbelt.
Chloe: "Don't… don't let anything happen to her… please…"
---
Finally, the villa appeared at the end of the tree-lined driveway — grand, imposing, elegant, almost unreal in the harsh sunlight. But nothing could have prepared them for what they saw next.
The gates were slightly ajar. The courtyard was empty, silent — but there was a presence there, one that made their hearts freeze.
Aiden and Chloe slowed to a halt, stepping out of the car, their eyes scanning the villa's grounds. Their breaths caught, and their bodies stiffened.
Chloe (whispering, horrified): "Oh my God… Aiden… what… what is happening…?"
Aiden's jaw went tight. He swallowed hard, his mind racing, stomach twisting with dread.
And then they saw it.
Something that made both of them mortified. Something that left them stunned. Something they couldn't comprehend…
Aiden and Chloe froze in place, their eyes wide, hearts hammering, as a single thought lodged itself in their minds....
---