Chapter 138 Not Now

Chapter 138 Not Now
Christian’s Point of View
Elizabeth feels, speaks, smells, and talks like Lana.
I just can’t pass it off as some random similarity, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions either. The red hair is the only thing that confuses me. When I pulled her scarf off, it seemed completely authentic. It didn’t look dyed, and it certainly didn’t look like a disguise.
But when I held her body, it felt so fucking familiar in my hands. I’ve touched Lana’s body too many times to forget how she feels. I measured the ratio between her waist and hips with my fingers, and it matched perfectly.
Her body tells me she’s the same fucking person.
If only I could undress her, I could confirm with my own eyes what my body already knows. But she would never let me get that far, I was only to look like a pervert, and I didn’t need that added to my PR.
My phone rang again, and my gaze darted toward the screen.
Xavier.
“I thought you said you’d come earlier,” I reminded him the moment I answered. I heard him sigh heavily on the other end.
“I think my fucking map isn’t working. I’m lost.” I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself out of the sling chair. “I would’ve come to pick you up, but as you know, I’m not exactly in good condition.”
  I reached for my cocktail and took a slow sip. “Ask someone for directions, but be careful. There are plenty of thieves and pickpockets around here.”
“Ugh!” he groaned, frustration thick in his voice. Then, after a brief pause, he asked, “Did she come today?”
I knew exactly who he meant.
Elizabeth.
“Yes.”
“Did you confirm?”
“It’s complicated,” I admitted. “She’s just like Lana, except for the red hair. Everything else tells me she’s the one.”
I paused. “And she already fucking hates me.”
Just as I was about to say something else, a scream tore through the phone, followed by the screech of tires and a deafening thud.
I jolted upright, my entire body tensing.
That sounded like an accident.
“Xavier!” I shouted into the phone. “What the hell was that? Are you all right?”
“I think I hit someone.” His voice came through the phone, followed by a muffled groan. “A kid just ran into the road. I’ll call you back.”
Before I could respond, the call ended.
I immediately got to my feet. Maybe I should go check on him before he actually kills someone or himself. I limped to my room to get changed. I couldn’t drive in my current condition—not because I was incapable of it, but because my physiotherapist had specifically advised me not to.
I was halfway through getting dressed when Xavier called again.
“Christian.” There was a note of panic in his voice, and it immediately put me on edge.
“Don’t tell me you killed the boy,” I complained. “You’re definitely going to jail.”
“No, it’s not that.” His voice was more urgent now. “I think I found Lana.”
Silence settled between us.
I didn’t believe him.
It couldn’t possibly be that easy.
  We had been searching for her for five years. Five fucking years. I had dreamed countless times of waking up one morning and finally knowing where she was.
And now that Xavier was telling me he had found her, it sounded too good to be true.
“I’m really not in the mood for your jokes,” I said, shrugging on my jacket. “Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up.”
“I’m not joking, Chris.” His voice hardened. “I was just thrown out of her house.”
“Give me the address. I’m coming.”

“Are you certain you saw her?” I asked the moment I reached Xavier.
He nodded, frustration written all over his face. My gaze shifted toward the small, rundown apartment behind him. It looked no better than a chicken coop. “That’s the house?”
He nodded again.
I immediately moved toward it, but Xavier caught my arm and pulled me back.
“I don’t think now is the best time to go after her,” he said, shaking his head.
I struggled against his grip, trying to push past him.
“What do you mean, it’s not the best time?” I demanded. “She’s right inside.”
“She doesn’t want to see us.”
“I don’t give a fuck whether she wants to see us or not,” I yelled back.
Before Xavier could respond, a loud crash came from inside the house.
“Help!” A teenage boy burst through the front door. He started running away from us, but the moment he spotted Xavier, he froze before changing direction and rushing toward us instead.
“Please, help!” he begged, his terrified eyes darting toward the car.
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Who the fuck is this?” I demanded. I was confused about why a boy had just come running out of the house Xavier claimed belonged to Lana.
“This is her brother,” Xavier explained before turning to the trembling boy. “What happened?”
“It’s Lana—” The boy swallowed hard. “I mean Elizabeth.”
My gaze snapped toward the house.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
He said Lana.
He said it was Lana.
After five years of searching, she was finally within my reach. I sprinted toward the house, completely forgetting the injury in my leg.
I barely made it through the doorway before I saw him.
Another teenage boy was crouched over the body of a woman lying on the floor.
Her eyes were rolled back, her limbs twisting uncontrollably as violent tremors shook her body.
“Lana, please…”
“Move!” I shoved the boy aside and dropped to my knees beside her. I pulled her into my arms, her fragile body collapsing against my chest.
“We need to get her to a hospital!” the boy shouted. I barely heard him.
None of it mattered.
I had found her.
And as long as she was in my arms, I was going to keep her safe.
I scooped her off the floor and carried her outside, where Xavier was already waiting by the door.
“Start the fucking car!” Xavier rushed ahead.
“Lana…” I whispered, clutching her small, fragile body against my chest.
She was freezing.
So fucking cold.
Her eyelids were heavy, her face deathly pale. The trembling had stopped, but that somehow frightened me more. Her breathing was faint, barely moving her chest.
I pressed my fingers against her neck.
Her pulse was weak.
Fuck.
“You can't die on me.” My throat tightened as I held her closer. “Not now.”
Not after five years.
Not after I had finally found her.
“You definitely cannot die now.” I pulled one of her hands, her palm pressed against my cheeks, it was too cold.
She was dying.
“Please, go faster,” I begged. Xavier glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “Her pulse is getting weaker.”