Chapter 115 Find her! – Cassis

  Cassis had a bad feeling. It was already eleven and Arianna still hadn’t texted him. He was already dressed — shoes on, car key in hand — just waiting for her to tell him she was on her way.

  Was she just having fun with Faith and had forgotten the time? Arianna at the beginning of the first wave might have done that, but now she knew he’d worry. She usually let him know where she was, just to ease his mind.

  Could she still be angry?

  But she’d kissed him and said she loved him. She wouldn’t worry him like this deliberately.

  He knew he was a bit much right now — but you were only paranoid if nobody was actually out to get you. And Cassis knew people wanted them, either to use as pawns or to dispose of if they proved too difficult.

  He stared at his phone. Even if she laughed at him, he’d call her now.

  Just before he hit the call button, a text came in. Arianna.

  Something came up. I’ll stay the night at Faith’s.

  Alarm bells rang in his head.

  She knew he’d worry. She knew — so why wouldn’t she add a joke, or even send a voice message? Something was wrong.

  But… what?

  Was it his worst nightmare? Considering Faith’s connection to Bryce, it could very well be. In that case, Arianna wouldn’t be able to communicate freely.

  Or was he just overthinking again?

  No. Arianna wouldn’t worry him like this. She liked to make fun of his almost compulsive need to know where she was and what she was doing — but she understood why he needed to know. She wouldn’t just send a message like that.

  So where was she?

  He needed help. But first, he needed to tell her he understood.

  He wrote back:

  Alright. Have fun. See you tomorrow.

  She’d know what he meant with that… wouldn’t she?

  Decision made, he left the house.

  “What’s wrong?” were the first words Helen said when she opened the door.

  Cassis took a moment to gather his thoughts. It had been a long time since he’d felt this panicked — his head completely blank.

  “Arianna…”

  Helen’s expression sharpened immediately. “Come in and tell me.” She practically dragged him inside, her hand on his arm grounding him, giving him an anchor. She guided him to the sofa and, with a quick gesture, sent Samuel away.

  Thankfully, the man understood at once. “I’ll take the children over to my house,” he said, and disappeared with them.

  Cassis waited until everyone was out of earshot. Then he told Helen everything — everything he knew, everything he feared.

  Helen listened in silence, serious, not laughing at him for his paranoia. When he finished, she nodded.

  “I agree. We need to find out where she is. It would be good if we’re just worrying too much — but the alternative is too terrible not to take action.”

  Cassis nodded. Helen understood.

  “Can Samuel track her?”

  Helen thought for a moment. “Probably. He’ll have to hack into the city’s surveillance system — and then we’ll see where this leads. How much do you want to tell him?”

  “Only the basics for now. Let him think I’m controlling and overprotective — but this needs to happen now.”

  Helen pulled out her phone. “Come back over. We need your expertise. Bring your laptop.”

  Soon Samuel came back in. Cassis was pacing the living room. He let Helen explain; he no longer had the calm to do it himself. While they were standing here talking, who knew what was happening to Arianna?

  He should have stopped her from going. They had both had a bad feeling. But he’d decided to trust her and her ability to keep herself safe.

  Especially after their big fight, he hadn’t dared question it. And she had been doing well in that regard lately. So he’d thought it would be alright.

  But Bryce … He could still see the dictator from the other timeline. He’d killed so many, tortured so many. Cassis just hadn’t thought it was possible for him to already have a slave collar.

  He should have killed Bryce. That’s what he got for being soft-hearted.

  Not again.

  He wouldn’t show mercy again, only to have it come back to bite him.

  Cassis kept pacing while Samuel silently did… something… on the laptop. Cassis had no idea what, and he had no interest in the particulars. He just needed to know where Arianna was.

  After a few more minutes of oppressive silence, Samuel finally said, “There.”

  Cassis was at his side immediately.

  Arianna appeared on the screen. She and Faith were walking and talking along a sidewalk. The timestamp read 10:00. They were smiling, seemingly having a good time.

  But that was more than an hour before he’d received the text.

  He recognised the street they were on. It led to the subway. He watched as they went down the stairs.

  “And next?” Cassis asked.

  Samuel typed a little more, then shook his head. “There was no surveillance inside the subway station. For some reason, the feed was cut.” His voice had lost its earlier calm; now he sounded worried, too. Maybe a moment ago, he’d thought Cassis was overreacting, but a conveniently missing feed at exactly that time wasn’t normal.

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  “Let me try something else.” He began typing furiously, switching between different windows.

  Cassis didn’t dare move, as if stillness alone might help Samuel find something.

  Finally, another video appeared. It showed a different subway entrance from the street.

  Faith, Arianna … and Bryce were walking up the stairs.

  No talking. No smiling.

  Cassis leaned closer, trying to see Arianna’s neck. Was she wearing a collar? That was the only reason he could think of that she would willingly walk ahead of Bryce with him at her back. Faith looked like she was about to cry.

  Helplessly, he watched as all three of them got into a black SUV. The timestamp read 10:45.

  A hand settled on his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake, then rubbing his upper arm.

  “Don’t shake. She needs you now,” Helen said softly, her expression deadly serious. She understood, something was very wrong.

  Samuel was typing again. Then he stopped and shook his head.

  “I lost the car. The driver used the citywide surveillance dead zones and storefront blind spots on purpose.”

  He exchanged a loaded look with Helen.

  “They’re professionals.”

  Cassis stared at the screen in disbelief. “You need to find her. Find her!” His voice rose into a shout before he forced himself to breathe, long, slow breaths in and out. He had to stay calm. He had to save her.

  “I’ll try locating her phone,” Samuel said. He didn’t comment on the outburst, didn’t judge him, just kept working.

  Ten agonising minutes passed before Samuel exhaled sharply and shook his head again. “No chance. Try sending her another message.”

  Cassis typed quickly: Miss you. Love you. Good night.

  It went through, meaning Arianna, or whoever had her phone, had received it. A moment later, a reply appeared.

  Good night.

  “It has a signal,” Samuel muttered as he continued typing. But after a while, he hit the table in frustration. “Damn professionals. The phone is on and working, but the signal is being encoded, rerouted through multiple countries, and they’re alternating networks. If I do anything more, they’ll notice I’m snooping.”

  Cassis didn’t understand the technical details, but he understood one thing clearly:

  They couldn’t find Arianna that way.

  With that realisation, the world shrank around Cassis. The walls seemed to close in; Helen and Samuel sounded distant, like they were speaking from underwater. They were talking, he could feel a hand still resting on his upper arm, but the ceiling started pressing down on him.

  Why was everything shaking?

  An earthquake…? No, only his body trembled. Helen and Samuel didn’t react. He couldn’t hear them anymore. Just a single, shrill tone.

  Arianna.

  Arianna was gone.

  He had to find her. Breathe in. He had to find her. Breathe out. The walls closed in tighter. He needed to find Arianna.

  He shut his eyes and forced himself to breathe in and out. In… and out. In—

  —and out.

  “Cassis!”

  Sound crashed back in. He opened his eyes to find Helen standing in front of him, gripping his shoulders somehow. She looked worried.

  He nodded, and only then realised:

  He’d had a panic attack.

  He hadn’t had one since Arianna had become his Patron. She’d always been there. And now she was gone, he couldn’t find her.

  No. Not gone.

  Taken.

  Bryce had taken her.

  The embers of his rage flickered to life.

  No one took her from him. If Arianna chose to leave, that was her right, but someone else stealing her away?

  Never.

  Heat flooded through him, slow, molten, unstoppable. Rage burned through his veins like lava, and this time he didn’t want to smother it. He needed it. Just like the first time Arianna had disappeared, the rage had made him stronger, faster.

  He would find her.

  He would hunt her down.

  Hunt… hunter.

  Joseph was a Hunter. He had the Hunting skill.

  Suddenly, the rage receded, leaving his mind clear again. Helen had stepped back a few paces, her hand hidden behind her back. She looked tense. And Samuel, somehow, had manoeuvred his wheelchair beside her without Cassis noticing.

  But Cassis only said, “Joseph. Hunting skill.”

  Helen exhaled in relief and nodded. “That’s a good idea. But before we involve him, we need to talk about who probably has Arianna.”

  Cassis looked at her sharply, and saw that Samuel was doing the same.

  “Does he know?” Samuel asked.

  Helen gave a small, wry smile. “He’s my nephew. My blood-related nephew. He and Arianna both know.”

  Samuel regarded Cassis thoughtfully. “Alright. Then let’s discuss this calmly. Sit, both of you.”

  Helen and Cassis sat, while Samuel positioned his wheelchair opposite them, the table between them. He had just opened his mouth to speak when Helen interrupted:

  “Cassis, do you have the privacy sphere, and a mana contract?”

  Of course. He should have thought of that sooner.

  He nodded. Thankfully, his paranoia had paid off. He’d asked Arianna to prepare another privacy sphere and several blank mana contracts before the E-rank dungeon, just in case they were separated and needed them. He retrieved them from his inventory and activated the privacy sphere.

  Then he remembered the Ring of Veritas.

  He still had it from his confession in the dungeon. Arianna hadn’t taken it back, and he’d forgotten about it. At least now, it would help. Even if Helen trusted Samuel, they could never be too careful, not when Arianna’s safety was at stake.

  And from Samuel’s perspective, this would also prove he could trust them with his secrets.

  Because Cassis had suspected for a while:

  Samuel’s identity was not merely a “wealthy recluse.”

  There was more, much more, and it was tied to Helen’s past.

  And judging by the looks the two of them had exchanged, it was more than likely that Arianna had been taken by the Shadows of Avaria.

  Cassis remained silent while Helen explained the privacy sphere, the mana contract, and the Ring of Veritas. She only paused to ask whether they could share his and Arianna’s story as well. Cassis nodded. He and Arianna had already given each other permission, written into the mana contract they had with Helen later on, to share their story without the other’s consent in cases of emergency.

  This counted as an emergency.

  They each signed a contract to keep one anothers’ secrets. Helen slipped on the ring and repeated her story to Cassis.

  “As you know, I was a Shadow with the Hand. It took me ten years of careful planning to fake my death and escape that organisation. And without Samuel, it wouldn’t have been possible. He wanted out, same as me. So we faked our deaths together, got out, and then never saw each other again until recently. It was too dangerous to stay in contact in case one of us was found.”

  Helen delivered the explanation matter-of-factly, without emotion, only concise, precise information. Then she looked at Samuel.

  “Your turn.”

  Samuel took the ring, eyeing it with curiosity before slipping it on.

  “I am the same as Helen, raised by the Shadows. When I was young, I served with the Hand as one of its numbered operatives. After countless successful missions, I was injured. The injuries were so severe that I ended up in a wheelchair. Normally, the Shadows dispose of you if you’re no longer useful. We all know the score.”

  He was silent for a bit, then continued. “But I was excellent, not only at combat but also with computers. Before my deployment with Hand, they’d actually given me the choice of where to go: Hand or Brain.”

  Samuel didn’t sound proud when he said “excellent”. Like it wasn’t something good, just a fact. Then he smiled self-depreciatingly. “I was young back then, fully brainwashed. I believed in the greater good and wanted to be at the frontline. So I chose Hand.”

  “After my injury, Brain still wanted me. I was lucky.”

  Another short pause. “All my contacts were monitored. The Shadows try to keep the divisions isolated. And you can see why. Look at what Helen and I achieved by working together. We actually escaped them. We’d been friends in school, and later we ran missions together in the Hand. We both wanted out, and I knew my life was already hanging by a thread. So I took the risk. Now I know why Helen did too.”

  He smiled at her.

  “She’d found her family.”

  Then his expression hardened again.

  “The way the surveillance was cut off, the way the blind spots were used, it screams Shadows. And the encryption on the smartphone signal… that’s something I learned in Brain. I’m fairly certain Arianna was taken by the Shadows.”

  He slipped off the ring and handed it to Cassis.

  “Your turn.”

  Cassis put on the ring quietly, then told Samuel everything, about himself and Arianna, the other timeline, their goals, and the slave collars. Samuel didn’t interrupt, didn’t react, only studied him, analysing every word. When Cassis finished, Samuel finally nodded.

  “That explains a lot. I suspected you and Arianna might be like Helen and me, but that didn’t quite fit either. This… this makes sense. Fascinating.”

  Cassis replied, voice firm. “We can talk about it later. Our first goal is to rescue Arianna. The second is to destroy the slave collars, if that’s what’s happening here.”

  Samuel agreed at once.

  “Those collars are exactly what the Shadow leadership would want. Right now, they rely on brainwashing children and tightly controlling the adults. But there will always be problematic members like us. With collars, with an entire organisation enslaved, they could rule the world.”

  “They did rule the world once,” Cassis said quietly. “And it was hell. That can never happen again.”

  Helen rose to her feet.

  “Alright. Now that everything is out in the open, we can combine our abilities and knowledge to find Arianna. Let’s go and wake Joseph.”