Chapter 55 Missing (II)
SOMA
I try not to panic, but my heart races.
Even if Jade wants space, she’ll tell me. We’ve grown close enough for it to feel like we’re friends rather than a lady and her maid.
What if she’s sick?
I drag myself out of bed and head to the bathroom, sliding under the shower instead of drawing a bath. The water is cold at first, then too hot. I almost laugh.
It’s ridiculous how spoiled I’ve become in the last two weeks. Jade always draws the bath, sorts out the laundry, and ensures I’m fed.
Now, standing here with a towel slipping from my chest and steam fogging the mirror, I feel helpless. I don’t bother drying my hair properly. I pull on my uniform, grab my backpack, and head out without having breakfast.
A pit of unease grows in my stomach as I approach the dorm. I charge straight to the lobby, where the dorm matron, Mrs. Clove, sits behind a counter, reading a novel with a sickle on the cover.
“Excuse me. Is Jade here?” I ask, trying to sound calm. Mrs. Clove peers up from her glasses with a frown. “My maid. Is she here? Can I get her room number?”
“If you insist, my lady, I can direct you to her room.”
At my nod, she takes me to the second floor and to a room whose door is locked. We knock a few times and give up.
“Now that I think of it,” Mrs. Clove says as we walk back to the lobby. “I don’t recall her coming in yesterday.”
My heart skips. “Can you check the cameras? Please?”
Mrs. Clove studies me for a moment and sighs. “Give me a minute,” she says and disappears into the side office.
The wait feels like an eternity. I stand near the desk, tapping my foot against the floor and trying to convince myself I’m overreacting. Maybe she had to run an errand with Dianna. But deep down, I know that’s not true. Sienna would have told me if she required Jade to do anything with her maid.
When Mrs. Clove returns, her expression is one of remorse. “I checked,” she says. “She didn’t come back last night.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper.
She nods. “Quite. Maybe she stayed elsewhere?”
Like where? I walk out without an answer and hurry to class. The lecturer is late, so everyone busies themselves on their phones. Dianna sits alone at the back, poring over a textbook. Sienna isn’t here.
“Hey, Dianna. Have you seen Jade?” I ask.
Dianna looks up, startled. “No, my lady. I thought she was with you,” she tells me. A few heads turn to us. I catch Maeve’s scowl before she looks away. “She didn’t come to the dorm last night.”
My throat goes dry. I nod shakily and rush back to the house. Still empty. Where can she be? I pull out my phone and text three words to Helga.
Jade is missing.
She doesn’t reply, but about ten minutes later, she bursts through the front door. Her chest heaves, and she bends to catch her breath.
“Was in a class,” she says between pants. I rise from the couch slowly, relief at seeing her warring with the fear of Jade being hurt. “But I got out as soon as I saw your text. What do you mean she’s missing?”
“She didn’t come here last night,” I explain. “The dorm matron checked the footage. I asked Dianna. Nothing.”
Helga rakes a hand through her hair. Her braids are gone. “Maybe she went to get something outside the campus. Did you ask the security at the gate?”
“No?”
She makes a move for the door, and I follow, filling her in as we head there. I’m not sure what hour of the day it is, but the campus looks empty with most students in their classes. The guards stationed at the gate look confused when I describe Jade.
“No one saw her leave,” one of them says after checking the records. “There’s no name logged or exit recorded.”
I’m supposed to be a lady, but the moment we leave the guards, I almost crumple to the floor. Helga catches me, her arms tight around me in silent comfort. I sniff, wiping the tears on my cheeks as I pull away from the hug. She’s my maid. I should have protected her, but I didn’t.
“Let’s go to the administrative office,” Helga suggests. She dabs at my cheeks, flashing a smile that’s too fake to reassure me. “Ms. Peterson can access the entire security system.”
“Are you sure she’ll help?” I croak.
“If you demand it as Lady Soma? Maybe.”
Bile rushes to my throat at the thought of using my title to threaten our chancellor, but it’s the only option left.
The administration building is empty when we arrive. Heather beams at the sight of us. We ignore her and head for Ms. Peterson’s office. But it’s locked. With a collective sigh, we head back to the front desk and approach Heather.
“Heather,” Helga says in a polite tone. “We need access to the security footage. Lady Soma’s maid is missing. She was supposed to be waiting for her in the house, but we haven’t seen her since she left class yesterday morning.”
Heather looks up, her glossy lips curving into a small smile. “You know students aren’t allowed to check that.”
“But she’s not an ordinary student. She will be our—”
“Can you please just check it?” I cut in.
Heather tilts her head. “I can. But I still don’t have the selfie I requested.” I blink, and she shrugs. “Chancellor Peterson wouldn’t be too happy to know I let students—”
“Seriously?” I mutter.
Helga gives me a discreet nod, her expression saying, Just do it.
“Fine,” I mutter.
Heather smiles and drags her chair, making space for me beside her. She’s crazier than Helga described her to be. I rush over, and she raises her phone to take the picture. Once that’s done, she makes a big show of hitting the share button to send to whomever.
“Perfect,” she says sweetly, then clicks through the system. “Let’s see… yesterday morning… ah, here.”
Heather taps on the monitor’s screen, and I forget all about her weirdness. The footage shows Jade walking into the house with her tote bag dangling from her hand.
Jade enters the house and shuts the door, but the footage doesn’t show the interior. I’m not sure if I should feel relieved because there are no cameras inside the house. Heather fast forwards the video, and I see Brynne, Kade, Tristan, and even me enter, but Jade never comes out.
“She entered the house,” I whisper. “But she never left.”
Helga and I stare at each other. The air in the room thickens, every sound outside fading into static.
Something is very wrong.