Chapter 26: A good friend

Hazel's home seemed quiet when Leo arrived. However, the damage to the entrance gave signs of something untoward happening. Leo examined the ruins of the door carefully, trying to figure out what could have happened.

"Someone must have opened this door by force. Is there a thief?" thought Leo, as his eyes took in every detail.

"Sarah!" he called out, trying to call out in the hope of getting an answer.

However, excruciating silence was all he faced. There was no answer.

Leo hurried to explore every corner of the house, looking for traces of Sarah's presence. But, the room felt empty, like a canvas bereft of color.

His gaze then fell on the wide-open closet door. He cautiously approached and closed it slowly, trying to understand what might have happened.

However, when trying to get help from the CCTV to unravel this mystery, she found something even more puzzling - the CCTV was broken, with a black screen with no images.

"Who did this?" she wondered in confusion, "Does Sarah have a problem with someone? Or does Hazel have an enemy we don't know about?"

Leo continued to ponder, trying to piece together the clues he found like a detective trying to solve a complicated puzzle.

"But, why is the CCTV broken? Was it an intentional act?"

The police arrived at Hazel's residence, and Leo greeted them with a tense face. "Thank you for coming so quickly," he said.

"What happened?" a policeman asked with concern.

Leo quickly explained, "My friend asked me to look after someone. But, when I came here, the house was already strange. The door was broken. It looked like someone had forced their way in. I also couldn't find where my friends were."

The police nodded seriously, "Were you able to contact him?"

Leo shook his head. He asked the police to trace Hazel's last known whereabouts, "I can't contact her. But, can you trace her last known whereabouts?"

"Alright, our team will help you," said the police.

Hearing that, Leo calmed down a little.

Meanwhile, Daniel sat by Hazel's bedside in the hospital's patient room with a worried face. When he saw Hazel start to wake up, he immediately called the doctor.

"Hazel, are you okay?" he asked softly.

Hazel squirmed softly, her vision still blurry. "What happened?" she whispered.

Daniel touched her shoulder gently. "You fainted this morning, Hazel. But now you're in the hospital. The doctor will be here any minute."

"Just fainted? So, what about your project?"

"That's not important, Hazel. Right now, the most important thing is your safety," he said.

Hazel felt a twinge of anxiety as she looked at her cell phone, noticing several missed calls from Leo. Her intuition kicked in immediately, telling her that something might be wrong. Immediately, she dialed Leo's number on her cell phone screen, her heart pounding as she waited for Leo to pick up.

Leo finally answered after what seemed like ages of waiting; his voice strained with panic. "What happened?" he hurriedly asked before Hazel could speak.

Relieved to hear his voice, Hazel replied, "I was going to ask the same thing."

Their voices overlapped briefly as both tried to explain their concerns. Finally, they managed to calm down enough to speak clearly.

Leo took a deep breath, his words coming out hastily. "I've tried to contact you many times. I thought something bad had happened."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to worry you. I'm at the hospital right now."

Leo grew even more worried hearing what Hazel had just said. He immediately asked for the hospital's address, "Hazel, which hospital are you in now? I have something important to tell you."

After meeting Hazel at the hospital, Leo immediately hugged her. Leo was at a loss to explain what happened at Hazel's house.

"Who brought you to the hospital?" Leo asked.

"Daniel. He took good care of me."

"Thank goodness. But why did you faint? What happened?"

"Daniel said, I suddenly fainted just like that when I was going to help Daniel to make a new project."

Daniel appeared in front of Leo. Leo was suspicious of Daniel. Leo immediately said something bad to him in a high tone, "You made Hazel faint. You planned all this?"

Hazel, who saw this, immediately broke up Leo's actions, "What are you saying, Leo? Daniel is a good guy, so don't be noisy. Is a hospital."

"Go away, let me look after Hazel now," he said in a lower tone.

Daniel, feeling guilty, quickly left the hospital. Hazel tried to chase after him, but Leo stopped Hazel from doing so.

"Leo, why are you so cruel to her?"

"Sooner or later, you'll find out, Hazel."

Hazel realized that Leo had gone to the hospital alone. She asked Leo about Sarah's whereabouts, "By the way, where is Sarah?"

"Sarah..."

Leo stammered. He didn't know where Sarah was either. Hazel continued to ask.

"Why are you so nervous? What happened to Sarah? Something happened to her, right?"

"Sarah, you rest here for a few days. You look pale."

"Don't change the subject, Leo! After all, I just fainted. I'm awake now. I feel very well already. I'm going back to my house now," he said.

"Don't!"

Hazel frowned. She was getting suspicious that something bad was happening to her best friend. Hazel hurried away. Leo chased after her.

"Alright, I'll take you home in my car," Leo offered as he opened the car door.

Hazel sat in the back seat of the car with a worried look. "Leo, please tell me what happened to Sarah. I'm worried."

Leo drove the car with a serious look but didn't answer Hazel's question.

"Leo, this is no time for jokes. Please tell me where we're going; this isn't the way to my house!" urged Hazel in a worried tone.

Leo turned his head briefly towards Hazel, "I'll take you to a safe place, Hazel."

"A safe place? You mean my house isn't safe?" Hazel asked.

"I'll explain to you later. Please, don't talk too much," said Leo.

With an anxious heart, Sarah decided to find out how Hazel was doing. With hesitant steps, she approached Lucian's bedroom door and knocked lightly.

"Come in," Lucian's voice came from behind the door.

After entering the room, Sarah carefully expressed her concern, "I wonder how Hazel is doing now. Is she okay?"

Lucian looked at her with a sharp gaze, making Sarah feel anxious. "If you want to know about your best friend, do as I ask now," he said coldly.

Sarah swallowed, "What should I do?"

"Get the room we'll be using tonight upstairs in order," Lucian ordered as he threw the room key at Sarah.

With a racing heart, Sarah immediately took the key and went upstairs to complete Lucian's task. It felt like a heavy weight was on her shoulders, and the fear of Hazel's fate filled her mind even more.

Sarah daydreamed as she cleaned up the room. After that, she went to the balcony. Lucian was behind Sarah. He whispered, "Do you want to feel the fall from here?"