Chapter 33: Cinderella

**Bianca**

I fixed the seatbelt as we drove out of the courtyard and onto the road. “She actually said that?”

“Yeah, it surprised me too,” Avery said. “It’s like she didn’t give two shits. Jasmine was more concerned that the attention wasn’t on her rather than reassuring Conroy. You should have seen it. Sometimes I doubt my own eyes.”

The car slowed to a stop. I looked at him in confusion. Then we leaned over and adjusted my seatbelt for me. He planted a kiss on the corner of my eye before starting the car back up. My cheeks darkened. “Thanks.”

“No problem. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I couldn’t even fix a seatbelt?”

“A crappy one.” I responded to his question even though I knew he didn’t need an answer. “When he told me stories about her, I always found her to be a little protective, but caring. Yet what you’re telling me goes beyond that.”

“I felt the same way.” He turned left. “But what can I say to him? ‘Hey man, I know you just got your sister back from the dead and all but she’s creeping me out. Maybe you should investigate her’. Our friendship would be over right there and then.”

I raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk. “And let me guess. You decided that you would investigate her instead.”

“You’re right on the money, Princess.”

He reached over to the backseat without looking and handed me two similar folders. I started sorting through them.

“When I visited Conroy for the first time after she came back, I hired two private detectives I know pretty well to look into what she’d been doing for the last five years. I told them everything that I knew and continued to feed them information as soon as Conroy mentioned something. Strangely enough, she was telling the truth.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “She was?!”

“Yeah. A couple found her and made sure she was well fed and her injuries were taken care of. She worked odd jobs here and there until a craftsman took her in as his apprentice. Of course he didn’t know she was. She worked for him until just a year ago when she started working from home. Doing repairs for furniture as well as some jewelry, making selves, and stuff like that. That’s the thing. It’s weird how quickly she bought that house. The records said she bought it with cash. From what I know an apprentice job doesn’t pay that much, especially with today’s economy.”

“And there's no telling where she got the money from,” I said. From what I could gather from the files, it’s a complete mystery.

“Right, but it’s not exactly a crime. I followed my gut before and I’ve been wrong.” Avery gazed in my direction with eyes full of regret. “So I want to make sure I know what I’m talking about before I jump to any conclusions. Besides that, Conroy and I visited Cinderella’s place. No one has seen her for days.”

My brows furrowed. “How long are we talking?”

“Like, the night the two of you fought in that restaurant. No calls, no texts, nothing. Her parents are planning on reporting her missing. They said that when the maid knocked on her bedroom door, it was open and her bed hadn’t been slept in.”

“So she most likely didn’t come back that night.” I covered my mouth, slowly stroking my chin as I became lost in thought. “Are you thinking that she figured us out and skipped town without anyone knowing?”

Avery slowly shook his head. “Her passport and money were there, along with her credit and debit cards. She would have at least taken her cash with her. The whole thing screamed fishy to me so I bribed someone in the police force to track down her phone.”

He chuckled. “Don’t give me that look.”

I feigned ignorance. “What look?”

“The ‘am I sleeping with a criminal’ look.”

“Oh, that look. No, I’m keeping that on.”

He chuckled. “We managed to find out exactly where the phone was. It’s out of town, and you won’t believe where.”

“Is that where we’re taking us? On the phone, you only said that we would be going somewhere important. If I knew I might be seeing her I would have dressed for the occasion.”

“Yes.” Avery nodded. “I called him before coming to your house. The phone hasn’t moved locations so she should still be there by the time we arrive.” Slowing down, he took one look at me and smirked. “You look pretty good in that outfit to me, Princess. You’re hot enough to kill her on sight.”

I rolled my eyes, unable to hide my smile. “Did you make flirting with me every five seconds your new life mission?”

“No, but that’s a good idea.” He leaned closer to the dashboard. “Siri, create a daily reminder.”

I laughed and shook my head when Siri responded. Despite Avery trying to keep the mood light, one thing remained on my mind. Jasmine returning the same time Cinderella disappeared is no coincidence.

But how is it all connected?

________

We pulled up outside a modest two-story house with a white picket fence. “This is the place,” Avery said.

I leaned out the window to check out the exterior. I couldn’t see anything out of place.

I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Is the signal still there?”

“Based on the last update? Absolutely.”

“Let’s go then.” I got out of the car.

We entered the yard without any issues. The sun was beginning to set, seeing as it was late in the afternoon. Avery pointed to the garage. “That’s the spot.”

“Does anyone live here now?”

“No. It’s still owned by her.”

I cracked my knuckles. “Guess it’s time for a little breaking and entering.”

It’s not every day that I get a chance to use my lycan strength. Breaking the lock on the garage was a piece of cake. The first thing we noticed was the strong stench of blood.

Yet there was none to be seen. Avery and I shared a look. Without saying anything, we went inside.

Different kinds of electric equipment were either neatly placed on shelves or close to the walls. Avery walked up to a desk and searched the drawers. After shuffling around while I checked out the shelves, Avery called me over.

Cinderella’s phone rested between his fingers.

“Could she be staying here?” Avery asked.

I shook my head, unsure. “Who can say? But I don’t think a single person in this day and age goes anywhere without their phone.” Not only that, but whose blood were we smelling?

We came up with a strategy. We would separate and search the rest of the house. Nothing seemed out of place in my eyes. There weren’t many decorations, not even a single photo. I tried room after room, but there weren’t many places where something could hide.

We met again upstairs. To my disappointment, he didn’t find anything either.

“Did you look at this room?” He gestured with his thumb to the wooden door we stood in front of.

I turned the knob and opened it. Avery followed me inside. I heard him gasp. It didn’t take long to figure out that this was Jasmine’s bedroom.

And what we found changed our whole perspective.