Chapter 103 Ch. 73
He flew out of bed in an instant, the back of his foot hitting the edge of the bed but he barely felt it. The energy wasn’t really there— he felt weak in ways he had never felt before but he had to fight to brush it off.
He took the stairs two at a time, gripping the rail once when his balance slipped.
When he got there, door of his fathers study was locked— per usual. He went back to his room, got some pins and returned to unlock the door. When the lock finally click open, he grabbed the handle and turned gently, careful not to make any sound.
The room was dark.
So dark that despite trying to focus he couldn’t see the desk at first.
Something was going terribly wrong.
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, then stood there for a second, still trying to let his eyes adjust.
The study had the same smell as always; blood and old pages.
He moved forward slowly, one hand stretched out in front of him. His fingers brushed the edge of the desk, then slid across its surface until he found the lamp. He clicked it on and reduced the brightness. He didn’t turn on the overhead lights in order not to attract anyone.
His fathers desk was large and brown, made with extremely polished mahogany wood that it reflected the light. A few pens were arranged neatly in a holder, all facing the same direction. A stack of papers sat on one side, squared perfectly. A small satellite device rested near the edge, its screen dark and a laptop sat in the center, also perfectly squared. Other than that, the surface was clear.
His father hated clutter.
Ethan moved around the desk and sat in the chair, the leather cool under his hands. The laptop was already there, closed but clearly used recently. He opened it and the screen lit up, asking for a password.
He didn’t hesitate.
His father changed passwords often. Every few months, sometimes more, but the pattern never really changed. They always circled the same things. Names, dates or places that mattered too much to let go of. Of course his father wasn’t sentimental, things that mattered to him had to do with the progress of the clan or his business.
Ethan typed the first one.
It didn’t work.
He tried another, his fingers moving quickly even though his hands were still shaking.
Wrong again.
He exhaled slowly through his nose, leaned back slightly, then typed a third password, one he hadn’t used in a while, one he almost forgot about.
The screen unlocked.
Ethan leaned forward, his shoulders relaxing just a little. He opened the first folder he saw sitting at the center of the laptop screen as a shortcut.
Files filled the screen, stacked and labeled neatly. Names, locations, dates. He clicked one, skimmed it, then closed it and opened another. His eyes moved faster than his thoughts, scanning for something he didn’t have a clear picture of yet.
The lamp cast a small circle of light over the desk, leaving the corners of the room in shadow. The rest of the office stayed quiet. No footsteps outside, no voices… Just the soft sound of the laptop fan and his own breathing.
He opened another folder.
Photos appeared.
Some were taken from far away while some were from closer. They were all the same thing; people caught mid-step, mid-conversation, mid-turn. Ethan scrolled through them, barely slowing down, his jaw grinding together as his thumb moved over the trackpad in short, quick motions.
He didn’t know how long he sat there.
Minutes, maybe more.
Then he stopped on one image that filled the screen.
It was that of a man’s face.
He stared at the screen, his eyes tracing the man’s features slowly as his brain was trying to place him somewhere it hadn’t fully remembered yet. The man wasn’t looking at the camera. His head was turned slightly and he looked almost bored.
Ethan’s chest began to pound.
He swallowed and leaned closer, his elbows resting on the desk. The image felt familiar but he couldn’t explain why.
His head started to throb lightly.
The flashes came back just then, a face appearing and disappearing.
“This is him,” Ethan said under his breath.
He clicked into the file and skimmed the information below the photo. A name, affiliation and all what not. He read some of it, missed the rest, his focus slipping every time his chest would hurt suddenly.
“Eureka!” He gasped softly.
He rummaged the drawers for a flash drive. When he found one, he copied the information, heart pounding as he hoped not to get caught. After that, he closed the laptop and stood up, the chair squeaking on the floor. He winced abd paused, listening to see if anyone had heard him. It was quiet so he turned off the lamp and left the study the way he found it, shutting the door quietly, then back upstairs.
He grabbed his phone immediately and texted Dylan and Jace.
We need to go tonight. I found something.
He didn’t wait for a reply.
He opened Noah’s contact next.
We might know where Zara is. We will bring her back, I promise.
A message from Noah came in almost immediately.
Ethan stared at the screen for a second, then locked the phone and dropped it onto the bed without reading it. He pressed his palms into his eyes and held them there, breathing slowly, trying to steady himself.
When his phone beeped again, he looked at it dejectedly, his heart shaking.
"Not tonight," came the reply from Dylan. "We can't just rush into it, but you can come over, so we make plans for tomorrow night."
"What do you mean, not tonight?" he asked. "Dylan, you don't understand, I can feel her screaming for me. I can just feel that everything is wrong. What if something happens to her?"
"Ethan, going in blindly means we can't save her. We will either be killed or trapped. And they need her because they know what she is. They will not kill her yet."
"I can't wait."
"You will," Dylan replied again. "I'm telling you, Ethan, if you want her alive and safe, you will listen."
He took a screenshot and sent it to Jace. "What do you think?"
"Dylan is right. But yeah, I guess we should meet up. I'm downstairs."
"Why are you always everywhere?" Ethan asked Jace.
Jace replied with a shrugging emoji.
Ethan sighed and threw on his coat, walking down the stairs again through the pain he felt. The grandfathers clock in the living room glinted faintly. It was around two-thirty am.
He smiled sadly— no one could sleep.
“Hi!”
“Fucking hell,” he cursed, whipping around to see Jace. He hadn’t even noticed his presence. “Who let you in?”
Jace shrugged. “Your father saw me when I came to return your car earlier. He said I could spend the night.”
“Does he know why you were with my car?”
“Of course not,” snorted Jace.
Ethan heaved a sigh of relief. They walked out of the house together, closing the door softly behind them.
There were vampires— men from their clan roaming the outside of the house. Stationed there to guard.
Ethan knew these nightwalkers wished they where everywhere but here. Most of them enjoyed overnight clubbing and drinking off of unsuspecting humans.
He ignored them just like they did with him.
“Did you talk to your coach yet?” Jace asked as they entered the parking lot with fleet of cars.
Ethan stopped. “Why?”
“You’re like the worst athlete he has,” Jace shook his head. “Here you are, pining over his daughter but you can’t think to check on the man who gave her life?”
Guilt flooded him in an instant as he opened the passenger door and got in. He glanced at his phone and then unlocked it, finally replying Noah.
Nah, till tomorrow. We have to make plans.
“What should I send?” He asked, searching his coach’s number.
Jace shrugged, reversing the car. “I don’t know. How are you holding up?”
He did as Jace said and then leaned to the side, looking out the window.
A night walker was at the gate and he stopped them by knocking on the window. “Where the fuck are you two going? It’s almost three a.m. does yiur father know?”
“Piss off, fucker.” Ethan snapped, rolling down his window. “It’s the time of fucking life.”