"Ella."
Ella glanced up from her phone and her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her brother’s voice. A shiver ran down her spine as her eyes t Aiden’s cold, unwavering stare. He stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the dim hallway light, his presence heavy in the silence of the room.
"What... What are you doing here?" she stamred, her voice barely above a whisper. "It’s the middle of the night."
Aiden’s lips curled into a slow, unsettling smile as he took a step inside. His movents were deliberate, each one asured, and Ella felt herself tremble. He had always been the gentle brother to her, ignoring her mistakes, but this ti, he didn’t seem to be like that. The closer he ca, the tighter Ella clutched her phone, her knuckles white, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Ella," he repeated, his voice soft yet dripping with nace, "Where is Serena?"
Her breath hitched, panic swelling in her chest. She didn’t know where Serena was—or at least, she couldn’t even guess.
"I-I don’t know." she stuttered, her voice shaking as much as her hands. She tried to shrug, to feign indifference, but the movent was jerky, unconvincing.
Aiden took another step forward, his eyes never leaving hers, the smile on his face growing colder with every inch that closed between them.
"You’re lying. She went to the mall with you and then she disappeared."
She shook her head vehently and denied," I don’t know. I really don’t. She just left in the mall. I thought she was angry and would go ho but she didn’t return."
"And why would she be angry with you? Shopping doesn’t make her angry." Aiden asked her as he pulled a chair opposite her and raised an eyebrow in question.
Ella gulped. She could not tell him about contacting Sidney. He would probably go ballistic and could even probably throw her out of the house like he did Dad... No no. She couldn’t let that happen.
So, she gulped and started talking," She t soone there. I don’t know who, okay?I only saw the man’s back. It looked like she had already arranged a eting with soone. She was gone for a long while. And then when she returned, just like that, she stord off. She left there at the mall, like she was in so kind of hurry."
"You expect to believe that?" Aiden asked her and she quickly nodded before adding,"I think... I think I know that man."
This ti, he leaned forward with interest. He knew of course they had gone to the mall together and to the top floor as well. He’d already checked the surveillance caras at the mall. However, all the caras on that floor had sohow malfunctioned so that there was no footage of anyone So, the only person who had been on the top floor, was probably Serena, Ella and this ’man’.
"You know that man?" he asked. If she knew this man, then why did she not co to him directly?
"He was waiting there for us,I think. I went inside, looking around and when I returned, I saw them talking privately. I was curious so I tried to see who the person was- maybe he was a celebrity or sothing.. But then Serena left in a hurry so I went to see... She was talking to Sidney."
Aiden stilled as he heard the na. He had been having a bad feeling since the mont he received that cryptic ssage from Serena earlier in the evening. Sothing had been off. And now, hearing Sidney’s na co from Ella’s lips, the unease that had gnawed at him all night flared into a sharp, piercing feeling of discomfort...
"They seed like they were talking about sothing important. Maybe they’re old friends or sothing. I don’t know how long they’ve known each other, but they looked... familiar. Like they had t before. And then, when Serena left in such a hurry, he left too. I—I thought they might have left together. I couldn’t keep up."
Without another word, Aiden pushed back from the table, standing up so abruptly that the chair nearly toppled over. The determination in his face was clear—he was going after Serena. He didn’t know where she was, but he would find her. Like hell, he was going to let Serena go to Sidney.
Ella watched him, relief flooding through her veins as he moved to leave. He believed her. At least for now, he believed her story. She could breathe again, just for a mont. As soon as Aiden was gone, she quickly started typing back to Sidney," Aiden doesn’t know where she is either. I told him that she might be with you so.."
Before she could hit send, a hand snatched the phone from her grip.
Ella gasped, her breath catching in her throat as she looked up, her eyes wide with shock. Aiden stood there, holding her phone, his face hard and unreadable. His eyes flicked to the screen, and a chilling silence fell over the room.
"Well," Aiden said slowly, his voice eerily calm. "It seems you’ve been busier than I thought."
She lunged for her phone, panic flashing in her eyes. "Aiden, give it back! That’s private!"
Without even looking up, Aiden raised his free hand, palm out, his voice as cold as steel. "I suggest you calm yourself, Ella. You’re not in any position to make demands right now."
His words froze her in place. She felt helpless, like a child being reprimanded and clenched her hands. Fine! He wanted to check, he could. It wouldn’t help him find Serena anyway.
Aiden’s gaze was fixed on the screen of Ella’s phone as he scrolled through her ssages until he stopped where she had shared a picture of Serena with Sidney and arranged a eting.
"Ella... I think you won’t be needing this phone for now." Aiden said as he pushed the phone into his pocket and turned to walk away.
"Aiden! You can’t take my phone! I have rights! I...."
"Of course you have rights, Ella. I am sure you can fight for them. No one’s stopping you. Go... "
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