Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty Seven

Eros

I had no idea how Mr. Colton had managed to secure a private office for himself instead of sharing with Latham and Ambrose, but that was a matter for another time. As I strode into the head of security's office, my expression dark with determination, I hoped he wasn't about to leave.

Mr. Colton, a graying man in his late fifties, looked up from his desk, startled by my unannounced visit. Exactly the reaction I’d been aiming for. His expression was priceless. It was 5:30 PM, and the school was almost deserted except for the students in the study hall. 

My gaze sharpened as I watched him hurriedly drop something into his desk drawer and slam it shut.

"Eros Belmonte," he greeted me hesitantly, his tone laced with wariness. "What brings you here at this hour?"

I stepped farther into the room, stopping in front of his desk. The faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air, though it seemed like it had been at least half an hour since he'd last smoked.

"Isn't smoking prohibited on school grounds?" I asked coolly.

"It's not from a cigarette," he replied curtly. "I burned something."

"Something illegal you don’t want me to find out about?" I asked, arching a brow. "Although I’m not sure why you’d even bother. You do realize I know enough about you to put you away for quite some time, right?"

His jaw tightened, but he kept his composure. "Is there a specific reason you’re here?" he demanded, his tone clipped.

"I need answers about the missing CCTV footage from last Tuesday," I replied evenly. "Your puppets told me it’s gone. I want to know why it’s missing and how it happened. They suggested it might have been erased."

Colton's expression darkened, irritation flickering in his eyes. "As they've already said, the cameras weren’t working that day. Technical malfunction."

I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief. I raised a hand to stop him from continuing. "That’s not what they told me. They claimed the footage was deliberately erased—and that you had access to it."

Leaning forward, I lowered my voice, letting the weight of my words hang in the air. "Convenient, isn’t it? Out of all the days, the cameras just happened to fail on that one? And none of your staff can explain why?"

Colton shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding my piercing gaze. “I understand your frustration, but these things happen. Equipment fails—it’s not unusual,” he said, his tone measured, attempting to placate me.

“Not unusual?” I countered, my voice turning cold. “Then explain why none of the other footage from that week shows any sign of malfunction. Everything before and after that day is perfectly intact, Colton. Explain that.”

His jaw tightened, and his expression hardened. “Look, I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but there’s no conspiracy here. The cameras stopped working, and that’s all there is to it,” he snapped. “What more do you want from us?”

I leaned back slightly, studying him, my eyes narrowing. “And yet, when I questioned your staff, no one could provide a straight answer. In fact, one of them seemed… nervous, like they knew more than they were willing to admit.” I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “Oh, and Ambrose? He implicated you.”

Colton’s face drained of color for a moment, but he recovered quickly, frowning. “What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice low and defensive.

“I mean,” I said slowly, letting my words hang in the air. “I’m talking about your extracurricular activities, Mr. Colton. I know about them. But even I didn’t think you’d stoop low enough to ruin a girl’s life.”

His reaction was immediate—he shot to his feet, his face a mix of indignation and outrage. “That’s absurd! How dare you accuse me of something so ridiculous!”

I raised an eyebrow, my expression unreadable. “Is it? I’m sorry if you’re offended, but I wasn’t the one pointing fingers. Take it up with Ambrose.”

Colton exhaled sharply, his hands clenching at his sides as though trying to rein in his temper. “You’re overthinking this, Eros. We’ve already investigated. There’s nothing else to find.”

I allowed a grim smile to spread across my face. “You know, Mr. Colton, I’ve dealt with enough liars in my life to know when someone’s hiding something. And right now? You’re hiding something.”

I was done dancing around the issue and went straight for the accusation. “You tampered with the CCTV footage, didn’t you?” My tone was sharp, leaving no room for doubt. It was as clear as day that he was hiding something, but Colton stubbornly clung to his so-called integrity.

His fist slammed against the table, making the items on it rattle. If he thought that would intimidate me, he was sorely mistaken. “I don’t appreciate these accusations,” he said, his voice tight with barely restrained anger. “If you have a problem, take it up with the school administration.”

I stepped closer, lowering my voice to a dangerous whisper. “Oh, I will. But let me make one thing clear: if I find out you’re involved in this, you’ll regret it.”

Colton’s bravado wavered, though he tried to mask it with silence.

“So, we’re calling this bad luck, are we?” I asked, breaking the tension with a bitter smirk.

“That’s what it seems like, Eros. Just a case of bad luck,” Colton replied, his tone laced with feigned calmness.

A frustrated laugh escaped me as I ran a hand through my hair. His smugness made my blood boil, and it took everything in me not to wipe that look off his face. Instead, I began pacing, my thoughts spinning like a storm.

“This isn’t a coincidence,” I muttered to myself, barely aware of how loud I was. “Someone made sure those cameras didn’t capture anything. Someone in this school is covering up what happened to Athena.”

I was completely convinced this was a deliberate conspiracy to conceal the person responsible for Athena's disappearance.

Colton cleared his throat, his attempt to interrupt my thoughts grating on my nerves. “Eros, I assure you—”

I spun around, cutting him off with a glare that could pierce steel. “Assure me of what? That you’ve done your job? Because from where I’m standing, it sure doesn’t look like it. Someone manipulated the security system. Either you’re incompetent, or you’re complicit.” My words came out like venom.

His face flushed red, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. It was his responsibility to ensure the cameras worked, and he knew he had no excuse for their failure.

I sighed deeply, trying to rein in my frustration. My hands pressed against my face as I forced myself to think rationally. “I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, Mr. Colton,” I said, forcing calm into my voice. “Did you see or hear anything—anything at all—that might explain why the cameras conveniently failed that day?”

Colton’s response came quickly, but it was hollow, offering no real answers. “No, Eros. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

I studied him, searching for any crack in his armor, but he remained as obstinate as ever. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew more than he let on.

"Of course, you didn’t notice anything. How could you?" I muttered under my breath, my frustration barely contained. I strode toward the door, pausing with my hand on the doorknob. Turning back to Colton, I fixed him with a cold, unwavering gaze. “I’ll figure this out myself. But mark my words—if I find out you’re hiding something, you’ll regret it.”

Without waiting for a response, I spun on my heel and walked out of the office, my mind churning with unanswered questions. The missing footage, the nervous staff, Colton’s evasive answers—it all felt like pieces of a larger, more sinister puzzle.

As I crossed the campus toward the parking lot, my thoughts shifted to Serena. She had been so quick to dismiss Athena’s disappearance, brushing it off as her running away. But the more I replayed her words in my mind, the less sense they made.

What if Serena’s lying? And Colton?

The possibility burned in my chest, a mixture of anger and dread. If Athena had been kidnapped and Serena was covering it up, it meant Athena’s life was in even greater danger than I’d feared.

A strange, unshakable emotion tightened in my chest, one I couldn’t name but refused to ignore. I couldn’t rest, not until I uncovered the truth. Athena deserved her miracle, just as I’d been given mine. My father had called off his marriage to Vivienne. Now, it was Athena’s turn to be saved.