A few days later, during a grueling journey home, Louis received a phone call from Eleanor, his mother. His phone vibrated on the airplane's tray table, breaking his reverie about the night of the awards.
"Louis, listen to me carefully!" His mother's voice sounded panicked and unstable.
Louis sat in his business class seat, feeling a cold sweat begin to dampen his forehead. Eleanor's breathless voice sent a signal of danger straight to his heart.
"Mother, tell me. What is happening at home? Why are you crying?!" Louis gripped his phone tightly, ignoring the gaze of a passing flight attendant.
"Regina is having a massive hemorrhage. She's gone into labor early!" Eleanor broke down in tears on the other end, creating a painful static in his ear.
"That's impossible! There are still several days left!" Louis's voice rose, filled with uncontrollable panic. "How could this happen? Have you taken her to the hospital?"
"Your father forbade it, because... ." Eleanor's voice was cut off abruptly by the sound of a new message notification on Louis's phone.
Louis opened the message with trembling hands. The words on the screen made his entire body freeze instantly. His world seemed to stop spinning as he read the short sentence that crushed his hopes.
"No, this is impossible," he whispered, his lips turning white.
The message on his screen read, "Louis, she didn't make it."
Louis immediately redialed his mother's number repeatedly with cold fingertips. However, all he received was the monotonous, heartless voice of a machine.
"The number you are calling is not active. Please try again in a few moments." The operator's voice greeted him like a death sentence.
***
The moment the airplane doors opened, Louis sprinted out toward the terminal. He ignored all baggage procedures, his fingers pressing one number after another on his contact list with frantic speed.
He tried calling Regina's number. "The number you have dialed is incorrect."
"Damn it! Regina's number has been deactivated!" Louis growled, immediately switching to his father's number.
The call ended in rejection after rejection. His phone screen only showed a continuous 'busy' status. Anger and fear blended into one, exploding in a hard kick against the airport corridor wall.
"Why can't I reach anyone?! What is actually happening at home?!" Louis screamed in the middle of the airport crowd, no longer caring about the image he had maintained for so long.
His last resort was the landline. After several rings that felt like an eternity, someone finally picked up the receiver.
"Good morning, Xander residence." The voice of Elsa, their senior housekeeper, sounded utterly exhausted.
"Elsa! It's me, Louis! Tell me right now, where are Regina and Mother?!" Louis demanded without giving her an opening. "Why can't I reach anyone on their cell phones?"
"Master Louis, forgive me. I cannot tell you anything." Elsa's voice trembled, full of palpable hesitation.
"Why not?! This is about Regina's life!" Louis snapped, his voice echoing in the pickup area. "You know what happened to her, don't you? Tell me!"
"Master Archibald ordered that no one is allowed to speak to you! I dare not break his command!" Elsa began to sob quietly at the other end of the line.
Louis took a sharp breath, digging for the final weapon he had to pressure the old woman. "Elsa, listen to me very carefully! If you don't speak now, I will tell Father that you have been taking food from the family refrigerator and hiding it in your room all this time!"
Elsa's voice instantly shifted into pure terror. "No! Please don't do that, Master Louis! I didn't mean to steal!"
"Tell me the truth first, Elsa!" Louis gave the ultimatum in a razor, sharp tone.
"Alright. Master Louis, Miss Regina suffered a massive hemorrhage about two hours ago." Elsa spoke very quickly, as if wanting to release the burden as fast as possible.
"Where is she now?" Louis's heart pounded, waiting for the certainty he feared.
"Master Archibald took her to a private facility, not a public hospital." Elsa whispered very faintly. "The situation is very bad, Master Louis. There was so much blood on her bedroom floor."
Louis hung up the phone without a word of thanks. He stood frozen in the middle of the crowd passing by. His secret now felt heavier than the ten thousand dollar suit he had boasted about that night. He knew his father was hiding something far darker than a mere premature birth.
He had to get to the Xander residence immediately. Louis took long strides toward the parking area, his eyes flashing with a cold fury. If his father dared to sacrifice Regina's life for the family reputation, Louis swore he would level the Xander business empire until nothing remained.
In the distance, black clouds began to gather in the city sky. A great storm was coming, not just for the weather, but for the four lives that had just been bound in a blood, soaked thread of fate.