12. Enthralled

“Please take your seats.” Reuel pointed towards the two couches and everyone noticed that his eyes lingered more on Elise than anyone else.

While the three men sat down, Elise stood still and watched the twins who were sitting like emperors on their throne-like chairs. She squinted her eyes when her eyes fell on Azael’s white sneakers.

Unlike his twin who was dressed prim and proper in a suit, minus the jacket now, Azael instead was dressed casually.

“Please take your seat as well, Elise.” Reuel gestured towards one of the chairs that was closer to them, forcing her to snap out of her thoughts.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” Elise smiled nonchalantly and moved her gaze away from the twins.

Taking the sudden silence as their cue, the two police officers started their interrogation.

“Mr. Azael, Mr. Reuel, Craig Tyrell was last seen in your club. Are we right?” Derek started.

“It might be. After all, the club is open to the public.” Azael shrugged as though it was not uncommon for Craig to come to their club.

“Isn’t it strange that he went missing right after he came here, especially when his warehouse was blown up into smithereens? Not only did he lose his empire, he lost his only family, his father in the blast.” Daniel stated his suspicions, not hiding from the twins that they were the first ones on their suspect list.

“Are you saying that we are the reason behind his disappearance?” Reuel narrowed his eyes and everyone felt the danger in the air. Elise folded her hands as she stood behind the three men. Her forehead creased as she looked at the two men who were esteemed and feared at the same time by everyone. She now understood why.

The Sephyr twins were handsome. She didn’t deny it. Besides their handsomeness, there was a dangerous aura around them. But at the same time, they held a wild charm that lured people to them and the contradiction surprised her. It was the first time she had experienced such a strange emotion.

‘What are you two hiding?’ She wondered as she scrutinized them.

“We have reasons to believe that you two might be behind his disappearance.” Derek didn’t deny it and glanced at Daniel who nodded at him.

“On what grounds?” Reuel’s voice was threateningly low. It was evident that he was pissed. “Just because he was in our club?”

“And the fact that he was your enemy,” Elise remarked all of a sudden, and the twins’ eyes shot to her instantly.

Oddly, the menacing aura around them subsided and their expressions softened.

“So? Just because we were enemies with him, doesn’t mean his disappearance is related to us,” Azael argued and Elise realized how good the brothers were with words.

“You’re right. That’s why we are here to investigate and not to arrest you two.”

This shut up the twins and Elise smirked at him.

‘She’s smart.’ Azael thought and crossed his legs. ’I like her. Elise, Elise, Elise, well done! You’ve successfully gained my attention now.”

Meanwhile, Reuel’s thoughts had gone somewhere else. “Were you here in the club earlier today?”

His question surprised everyone, including Elise and she looked askance at him.

“How did you know?” Elise didn’t deny it as she held his gaze and Azael looked back and forth between the two, wondering where this was going.

“Intuition.” Reuel gave her an imperious look and Elise rolled her eyes in return.

‘Darling, if you rolled your eyes at me like that in a different setting, you’d be lying face down on my lap.’ Reuel thought and recalled the fragrance he had smelt from her a few moments ago.

Lily of the Valley. He recognized the scent. ‘So it was you I collided with a few hours ago. Is this a coincidence?’ Again, his brother’s words flashed in his mind. ‘What if we find the perfect lady for us today?’

‘Perfect lady?’ Reuel didn’t know why but Elise fit the description perfectly well. He didn’t know where her interests lay but he just wanted her and the thought surprised him. All of a sudden, he started feeling restless.

Azael sensed the tension between them and his lips arched up knowingly. He understood his brother more than anyone else and he didn’t have to hear from him to find out what he wanted.

Reuel wanted Elise as much as he did and the thought surprised him as well. It had only been a few minutes since they met Elise and she had already drawn both of them to her. ‘What kind of a charm do you have, Elise? How did you end up fascinating us without doing anything?’

“Mr. Azael, Mr. Reuel, would you mind telling us where you were two hours ago?” Daniel forced everyone to return to their initial conversation. They were going off-topic and they had to get back before they got sidetracked completely.

“We haven’t left this place since we arrived two hours ago,” Reuel replied honestly.

“Did you meet Craig Tyrell?”

“No,” Reuel answered and from the twins’ faces, Elise couldn’t fathom anything. They were unreadable.

“May we see the CCTV footage of the club?” Daniel queried and Reuel quirked his brows at him.

“You’ll have to get a warrant, Officer. Do you have it?”

“No, not yet.”

“Please bring a warrant and we’ll cooperate with you.” Reuel left no room for discussion and the four people couldn’t force them even if they wanted. After all, it was against the law.

Elise felt helpless. The twins were not easy to deal with and she knew without proper preparation, they’d be getting nothing from them. They had hit a wall.

Pursing her lips, she lowered her head and started to survey the room they were in. However, the decorations were minimal and there was barely anything that caught her attention until her gaze fell on the red carpeted floor. Her keen eyes caught onto an anomaly and she walked around, gaining everyone’s attention to her.

Elise squatted and stared at the carpet where there was an obvious difference in color. It was impossible to grasp it at first glance. But to Elise who had a keen eyesight, she detected the difference in an instant. Moreover, the blemished spot seemed wet and...

Elise made sure to keep an Azael and Reuel as she swept her fingers over the wet spot. Her fingertips were stained red instantly and her lips curved on one side. Sniffing her fingers, Elise supported her weight on her legs.

“It’s blood. What do you two have to say now?”