Chapter 389: Anxious and relief

After returning from the rift site, they decided to spend the night resting in the temple and figure out their next move in the morning.

With Arthur gone, Guhang would undoubtedly be thrown into turmoil. Too many things depended on the man, from the connections he had built over the years to the secrets he had gathered about people in positions of authority. His disappearance was not something the city could simply overlook.

Even while they remained outside the temple, Veronica’s phone had barely stopped vibrating. She received more than fifteen calls and messages, some people demanding answers while others were simply passing along information.

One message came from the Headmaster.

He warned her that things would become troublesome for her if she knew anything about the cadet’s whereabouts and chose to withhold that information from the authorities.

Veronica, naturally, ignored the threat.

That did not mean it failed to anger her.

"What are we going to do about the Headmaster?" she asked, her eyes turning icy cold.

Kyle glanced at her before answering with a question of his own.

"What do you want to do, Veronica? If you leave it to me, I’ll bring his life to an end."

Veronica was taken aback by the bluntness of his words.

"Is... is it because of Blake?"

"That too," Kyle replied. "But primarily because he used you."

Kyle had become remarkably good at keeping his emotions from showing on his face. Yet Veronica could still see the anger burning in his golden eyes. It was not wild or impulsive. It was colder than that, sharpened into absolute certainty.

Amanda scoffed.

"I thought that man was noble and kind. Turns out he’s just another rotten bastard."

She exhaled slowly before looking at Kyle.

"Kyle... I won’t tell you not to do anything. But there was a time when the Headmaster stood by my side as a mentor and a guardian."

"And that’s exactly why he’s still alive," Kyle replied.

He knew what Christopher had done for Veronica when she was still a student. Whatever else the man had become, their past was not something Kyle could simply erase.

There was also a reason Christopher had chosen to place his trust in Veronica despite having countless other options. He knew she would help him. He had relied on the bond they shared, and Kyle was well aware of just how deep that bond ran.

That was why Kyle made his decision.

"We’ll have his authority stripped and have him imprisoned for the rest of his life."

Veronica looked at him silently.

"Arthur has enough evidence against him to make that possible," Kyle continued. "So it shouldn’t be a problem."

Veronica nodded.

This was better.

Christopher would have to live with the consequences of what he had done, stripped of the position he had once wielded and forced to spend the remainder of his life remembering the trust he had betrayed.

"Aah... I’m heartbroken. Kyle, won’t you comfort me?" Amanda suddenly complained, leaning against him with an exaggerated sigh.

Kyle chuckled. "Why heartbroken? One failure shouldn’t discourage you."

He knew exactly what she was looking for, but he couldn’t simply indulge her when Veronica was sitting right there. Still, the playful glint in Amanda’s eyes made it obvious she had no intention of letting the matter go.

Veronica, meanwhile, was beginning to feel increasingly out of place.

"Um, I think I have some work to—"

"Oh, zip it. You just said you don’t have any work and can stay with us."

Before Veronica could finish, Amanda interrupted her and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her toward the couch.

Veronica’s face immediately flushed.

"A-Amanda... just so you know, I haven’t done anything with Kyle until now, so I don’t know why you’re thinking of something so inappropriate with all three of us involved."

Amanda tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled.

"Whatever you might be thinking, Commander, I was talking about cooking. Or maybe watching something together."

Veronica froze.

For a moment, her mind simply stopped working.

Then her head began to spin as she slowly glanced toward Kyle, desperately hoping that, somehow, he had not understood what she had been implying.

The amusement in his golden eyes told her otherwise.

Veronica’s embarrassment surged.

She immediately tried to dash away, only for Kyle’s hand to catch her wrist before she could take more than a step.

"Aren’t you reading too many novels these days, love?"

Veronica’s entire neck turned red.

"I... I..."

The words refused to come.

Kyle watched her struggle for another moment before his expression softened.

"I understand. I won’t tease you. Come here."

He gently pulled her back toward him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Too ashamed to meet either of their eyes, Veronica buried her face against his chest. Her ears, left completely exposed, remained bright red and burning with embarrassment.

Amanda watched the scene with a satisfied smile, clearly enjoying herself seeing this new side of the Commander.

....

"Sir?"

"Ah."

Seraph jolted awake at the sound of the voice and slowly lifted his head before turning toward his secretary.

The man in the black suit stood beside the desk, concern evident in his expression.

"Are you feeling well? You haven’t slept in forty hours."

Seraph let out a weary sigh, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.

"Not knowing where my daughter is, how she is, or whether she’s even al..." His voice faltered.

He closed his eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath, forcing himself to remain composed.

"Even closing my eyes feels like I’m wasting time I should be using to search for her."

Elena had vanished two days ago, and there had not been a single word from anyone since. Neither the base nor the agents working under him had been able to provide an answer.

The night before yesterday, Elena had been caught in an ambush and suffered a serious blow while protecting her roommate. Only a few minutes later, both Elena and her roommate had disappeared from the base.

So had Arthur.

Seraph’s anger toward Arthur remained, but even that had been pushed aside by the uncertainty surrounding his daughter’s disappearance. He couldn’t understand what connection the three of them could possibly share, nor why whoever was responsible would go to such lengths to make all three vanish at the same time.

Could Arthur really have been spiteful enough to target his daughter over that brief conversation they had shared?

Seraph had no way of knowing.

He had spent the past two days searching for answers, turning over every possibility he could think of, but each path led to another dead end.

In the end, there was only one thought he could hold on to.

His daughter.

Wherever Elena was, whatever had happened to her, he had to find her.

He was about to call someone and have them search the eastern district, where Arthur’s home was located, when his phone suddenly rang.

Not his usual phone.

The one reserved for calls from home.

Seraph was already on his feet when he answered.

{Sir, Madam has collapsed in the kitchen!}

The maid’s panicked voice came through the receiver.

Seraph’s expression tightened.

He was already striding out of his office as he ordered, "Take her to the bedroom and call the healer immediately."

He had known this might happen.

His wife had already collapsed once from the stress when they first received the news about Elena. Now, after two days of silence with no word about their daughter, it seemed the uncertainty had finally pushed her past her limit again.

A knot of anxiety tightened in Seraph’s chest as he hurried toward his car.

He had barely reached it when another call came through.

An unknown number.

He almost rejected it.

He was already in a hurry, and with Elena missing and his wife unconscious, he had no patience for an irrelevant call. Yet his finger hesitated over the screen.

With so many agents operating across the country, even an unfamiliar number could carry information he desperately needed.

Seraph stopped with the car door open and answered.

"Hello? Who is this?"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then came a trembling voice he had spent the past two days desperate to hear.

{D-Dad... it’s me. Elena.}

Seraph nearly collapsed.

For a moment, the tension that had kept his body rigid for the past forty hours simply vanished, leaving his knees dangerously weak.

He gripped the car door tightly to steady himself.

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice suddenly strained with emotion. "Tell me. I’ll come and pick you up right now."

{Umm... I’m actually with Layena in Montclair.}

Seraph froze.

"..."

For several seconds, he could only stare blankly ahead, his mind struggling to process the words.

Montclair.

His daughter was alive.

She was safe.

And somehow, she had ended up in Montclair... And was with Layena for some reasons

°°°

AN:- Thanks for reading. Drop a review or comment. The story is being quite down these days.