Chapter 208 CHAPTER 208
The sound of approaching engines broke through the controlled stillness of Lunaris like a distant storm rolling in.
Students who had been confined to their classrooms shifted uneasily, some daring to glance out of the windows as the sleek line of black vehicles entered the school grounds, guarded and deliberate in their movement. The presence of the royal motorcade carried weight even without announcement, and within moments, word began to ripple quietly through the corridors.
The king had arrived.
By the time Ethan stepped out of the vehicle, the air itself seemed to hold its breath. His expression was composed, but there was something sharper beneath it, something tightly controlled, as he moved swiftly toward the infirmary without pausing for formalities.
The guards stationed outside straightened immediately.
“Your Majesty.”
Ethan did not stop.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Lisa was seated on the bed, speaking quietly with Isabel when the door opened, and the moment her eyes landed on him, she stilled slightly.
“Ethan…”
He crossed the room in a few quick strides, his gaze scanning her from head to toe before settling on her face.
“Are you hurt?” Ethan asked, his voice low but firm as his eyes moved over her, searching for anything that might have been missed.
Lisa gave a small smile, though there was a faint trace of lingering emotion in her eyes. “I’m okay,” she said gently. “Really.”
His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, as if weighing her words against what he could see for himself, before something in his expression hardened slightly.
“Where is the guard who was assigned to you?” he asked, his tone sharpening. “How did he allow you to leave the class alone?”
Lisa’s smile faded just a little, and she shook her head quickly.
“No, Ethan… it’s not his fault,” she said, her voice soft but urgent. “I told him I needed a moment by myself.”
Ethan’s brows drew together, his displeasure not easing.
“You should not be moving alone, especially with everything happening now,” he said.
“I know,” Lisa replied quietly, holding his gaze. “But I thought Isabel was having a breakdown. She sounded… really upset. I didn’t want to bring a guard with me and make things worse for her.”
There was a brief pause before she added more gently, “I didn’t think it was a trap.”
Ethan said nothing, but the tension in his jaw remained.
“Please don’t punish him,” Lisa continued, her voice softening further as she reached for him, but with quiet sincerity. “He was only doing what I asked.”
For a moment, Ethan did not respond.
Then his jaw tightened slightly, and after a brief pause, he gave a single nod.
Behind him, Liam stepped forward, his expression more controlled now, though the strain from earlier still lingered faintly in his features.
“We need to talk,” Liam said.
Ethan glanced at him, then back at Lisa.
“I’ll be back,” he said quietly.
Lisa nodded.
“Don’t worry too much,” she added softly.
Ethan did not respond to that.
He turned and walked out with Liam.
The locker room felt colder than it had before.
Not physically.
But in the way a place feels when something has gone wrong inside it and left something unseen behind.
Ethan stepped in slowly, his gaze moving across the space, taking in every detail—the lockers, the tiled floor, the quiet stillness that now seemed heavier than it should have been.
“This is where it happened?” he asked.
“Yes,” Liam replied.
They stood there for a moment, the silence stretching between them.
Then Ethan turned slightly.
“You said you don’t believe it was her.”
It wasn’t a question.
Liam exhaled slowly.
“No,” he said. “I don’t.”
Ethan’s gaze sharpened.
“She admitted it,” he said. “She took the phone. She sent the message.”
“Yes,” Liam agreed. “She did.”
Ethan frowned slightly.
“Then what are you saying?”
Liam stepped forward, his eyes scanning the room as if trying to piece together something invisible.
“I’m saying that’s not the whole story.”
Ethan watched him carefully.
“Explain.”
Liam paused for a moment, then spoke.
“If she’s capable of what happened here,” he said, gesturing lightly around the locker room, “then she’s capable of doing a clean job.”
Ethan’s brows drew together slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Liam continued, turning to face him fully now, “whoever attacked Lisa erased their presence. The cameras were tampered with. There’s no scent, no trace, nothing left behind. That takes planning. Control.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“And?”
“And yet,” Liam went on, “when it comes to the phone, it’s sloppy. She takes it in plain sight. On camera. Leaves a clear trail.”
Ethan was silent for a moment.
Then his expression shifted.
“You’re saying the two don’t match.”
“I’m saying they can’t be the same person,” Liam replied.
The realization settled quietly between them.
Ethan’s gaze moved back across the room, his thoughts turning.
“Then she’s being used,” he said.
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Liam’s jaw tightened slightly.
“To set the trap,” he said. “To make sure Lisa came here.”
Ethan’s expression darkened.
“And the attacker?”
Liam did not answer immediately.
Instead, he stepped further into the room and closed his eyes.
“Wait,” Ethan said, his tone sharpening slightly. “What are you doing?”
Liam didn’t respond.
He lifted his hand slightly, his focus narrowing as something within him shifted.
“I want to see it,” he said quietly.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Liam…”
But it was already happening.
The air in the room seemed to tighten subtly, as if something unseen had been stirred. Liam’s breathing slowed, his concentration deepening as he reached for something beyond the physical - something buried in the space itself.
“Show me,” he murmured to himself.
For a moment….
Nothing.
Then something flickered.
A faint pull.
A trace of something that almost formed…
And then….
It was gone.
Liam’s brows furrowed.
“No…”
He tried again, his focus sharpening further, pushing deeper this time.
“Come on,” he muttered under his breath. “There’s something here.”
The pressure built quickly.
Too quickly.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Liam, stop.”
But Liam pushed harder.
And then….
His body jerked slightly.
A sharp breath escaped him as a thin line of blood slipped from his nose, his balance faltering for a brief moment.
Ethan caught his arm immediately.
“That’s enough,” Ethan said firmly. “Stop.”
Liam blinked, his focus breaking as the tension in the room snapped back to normal.
He exhaled sharply, wiping the blood away with the back of his hand.
“It’s sealed,” he said quietly.
Ethan’s grip tightened slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I can’t access it,” Liam replied, his voice steadier now, though the strain still lingered. “It’s not just gone. It’s blocked. Deliberately.”
Ethan’s expression darkened.
“So someone knew you would try.”
“Yes.”
Silence fell again.
He looked back at the room, his mind already moving.
“Blackwood didn’t do this,” Liam said.
Ethan didn’t argue this time.
Instead, he asked, “Then why involve her at all?”
Liam’s gaze hardened slightly.
“Because she’s easy to control.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
Liam hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, “Do you remember what Sarah did in Silverpine?”
Ethan’s expression shifted.
“…The Leonards.”
Liam nodded.
“She didn’t just manipulate Sebastian,” he said. “She controlled the Leonards by taking something from them. Their son.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“You think this is the same thing.”
“I think Blackwood is being forced,” Liam said. “Someone is holding something over her. Someone she cares about.”
Ethan exhaled slowly.
“And you’re certain?”
Liam met his gaze.
“Her words didn’t match her fear,” he said. “She was defiant—but she was terrified. Those two don’t belong together unless something is wrong.”
Ethan was quiet for a moment.
“Should we release her?” he said.
Liam shook his head immediately.
“No.”
Ethan frowned.
“No?”
“If someone is using her,” Liam said, his voice firm now, “then they’re watching her. Controlling her. If we let her go, we’re not helping her - we’re endangering whoever they’re holding over her. The perpetrator will realize that we figured them out and probably cut their losses.”
Ethan’s expression hardened slightly.
“And keeping her locked up is better?”
Liam didn’t look away.
“It’s safer,” he said. “For now.”
Silence settled between them again.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
But real.
Ethan exhaled slowly, his gaze drifting briefly before returning to Liam.
“…Then we find who’s behind it,” he said.
Liam nodded.
“Yes.”
And this time…
There was no doubt.
Because whatever they were dealing with…
It was far from over.