Chapter 97: CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN

Winter’s POV

The air in the house felt thick with dread, a feeling that gnawed at me from the moment I hung up the phone with Trey. Cami was missing. The words echoed in my mind, a constant drumbeat of terror that I couldn’t escape.

I felt like I was sinking, like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I could do was hold onto the thread of hope that maybe, just maybe, this was some kind of misunderstanding.

But deep down, I knew better. Eric was a monster—calculating, cruel, and driven by desperation. And Cami, in her innocence, had become his next target.

I didn’t know where to go, who to turn to. Damon was still working with Trey to figure out our next steps, but there was nothing concrete yet. The pieces of the puzzle were scattered, the picture incomplete. We couldn’t move until we had a plan, but that didn’t make the waiting any easier.

The house was eerily quiet. Kai was asleep, unaware of the storm that was raging just outside his door. I envied him, in a way. His world was still simple. Mine, on the other hand, was crumbling.

My phone buzzed again, a message from Damon. “Stay strong. We’re closing in on Eric. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

But those words felt empty, like a promise made in the heat of the moment. How could anyone guarantee safety when dealing with someone like Eric? The truth was, we were playing a dangerous game, one where the stakes were higher than we’d ever imagined.

I pressed my palm to my forehead, trying to push the panic away, but it was relentless. I couldn’t sit idly by. I couldn’t wait any longer. My sister, the one person I could always count on, was out there, in the hands of someone who had no regard for human life. I needed to find her.

I stood up, pacing the room, my mind racing. The logical part of me told me to wait, to trust Damon and Trey, but the rest of me screamed for action. I grabbed my coat, determined to leave, but then I froze. Luisa.

I hadn’t spoken to her since Cami’s last visit, but that didn’t matter right now. She needed to know what was happening, what had happened to her daughter. I wasn’t sure how she’d react. She and I had barely spoken since everything had fallen apart between us, but this… this was different. Cami was in danger, and I knew I couldn’t handle this alone.

I picked up the phone and dialed her number. The line rang once, twice, and then she answered.

“What is it, Winter?” Her voice was as sharp as I remembered, but there was a tremor to it, an edge of worry that hadn’t been there before.

“It’s Cami,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “She’s gone. Eric has her. We don’t know where she is.”

There was a long pause on the other end, and for a moment, I thought she had hung up. But then she spoke, her voice brittle.

“What do you mean, gone? What happened?”

I could hear the panic rising in her tone, but there was no judgment, no anger. Only fear, and it unsettled me in ways I couldn’t explain.

“I don’t know. She went to meet someone, and then… we lost contact. Damon’s working on it, but I wanted you to know. I need you to be prepared, Luisa.”

“Prepared for what?” she snapped, but I heard the cracks in her voice. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Just be ready,” I said, my heart hammering. “We don’t know how this is going to go, but we need to be strong for her.”

Another silence stretched between us, and then, finally, Luisa’s voice came through, softer now, but still hard with emotion.

“Okay. Just… don’t let her go through this alone, Winter. Don’t let her be alone.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

I hung up, staring at the phone for a moment before I shoved it into my pocket. The conversation with Luisa left me with a strange sense of both comfort and dread. She was as terrified as I was, but we were both helpless right now. There was nothing we could do but wait for news. Wait for Damon and Trey to act.

I spent the next several hours in a haze, moving through the motions but not really feeling anything. I tried to call Damon again, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Anxiety gnawed at my gut. I tried to distract myself, tried to focus on anything other than the chaos swirling around me, but it was impossible.

Every knock at the door, every shadow outside the window, made me jump. Every time the phone buzzed, I prayed it was news of Cami’s whereabouts, but nothing came.

Night fell, and I sat on the edge of the bed, my legs tucked under me, waiting for some sign, some word that would bring her home. But with each passing moment, the fear only deepened. Cami was out there, and Eric was out there with her. I couldn’t help but wonder if I would ever see her again.

I thought about Luisa, how she’d reacted when I told her what had happened. I could feel the weight of our strained relationship pressing down on me, the unresolved tension from years of silence and distance. But this wasn’t the time for that. I needed her now, just as much as I needed Damon, just as much as I needed Cami to be okay.

I found myself standing in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I had to keep it together. For Cami. For Luisa. For Kai. But all I wanted to do was crumble, to give in to the fear and the grief that threatened to swallow me whole.

The phone rang again, and my breath caught in my throat. I grabbed it quickly, my hands trembling.

“Winter,” Trey’s voice was tight, his tone urgent. “We’ve found her. She’s been taken to a location outside the city. We’re heading there now. Stay put, and don’t make any moves until we can get you.”

I barely heard the rest of what he said. My heart raced as I tried to steady my breath. They’d found her. She was alive. I didn’t know if that meant she was safe, but at least she wasn’t gone.

What lies beneath the surface we wear,

A mask of smiles, pretending to care?

But behind the eyes, in the spaces unknown,

A storm is brewing, a seed has been sown.

You hold your heart in a chest locked tight,

Hiding the pieces of your endless fight.

Each breath is heavy, weighed down by fear,

A past that haunts you, so painfully near.

Still, you stand tall with courage unspoken,

Like a fragile mirror, barely broken.

I see the cracks, though you don’t know,

The depths of the wounds you refuse to show.

But here I am, watching in silence,

Waiting for the day you’ll drop your defiance.

For when you do, I’ll catch your fall,

And heal the wounds that make you crawl.

Underneath it all, we’re the same, you and I,

Two souls searching, reaching for the sky.

But will you let me in, or keep the door locked,

Afraid of the love you’ll find when it’s unlocked?