Chapter 5

"S-Son." When I held him, he began to cry. I picked him up, and he hugged me tightly.

"I'm afraid."

"Please forgive me for my carelessness, Miss Shian." Cayer turned on the flashlight he always carried thoughtfully. I glared at him as he handed it to me.

"Nash, when was the last time you saw Ashy?"

"I saw him in the library." Nash sobbed even more. "I went to the bathroom to pee, but when I returned, Ashy had vanished."

Cayer pulled out another flashlight and switched it on. He carried Nash, who was still crying.

"Take him somewhere safe," I said. "I'll track down Ashy."

"But it's risky!" he protested.

"Does it matter?" I almost burst out in anger. The shouts of people, unsure what to do, could be heard everywhere.

"My son has gone missing, Cayer!" I gritted my teeth, and I wanted to scream, but my son was looking at me. I inhaled deeply and approached my son. I held his head gently and kissed his hair. Fortunately, no one noticed us because they were too preoccupied with saving themselves.

"Mommy will return. And I promise Ashy will be with me."

"Please take care." Nash sobbed, and all I could do was smile. I turned away from them, but not before asking Cayer where the library and playground were. He also stated that the playground was on the fifth floor, while the library was on the second. I went to the library first and nearly tripped on the stairs due to my high heels. I came to a halt and quickly removed my sandals. I tossed them somewhere and went back up to the second floor. The library was easy to find because each room was labeled above the door.

"ASHY?" I aimed my flashlight at the couches, but my daughter was nowhere to be found in the library. Because I knew the stairs were there, I went straight to the end of the second floor. The building had twenty-five floors, and the first and second floors were designed in a house style. The third floor, up to the top floor, was designed like a hotel.

I slammed the stairwell door shut. A staff member met me along the way, which I ignored. I ran up the stairs to the fifth floor until I was out of breath. When I found the playground, a woman dressed entirely in black emerged. An outfit commonly seen on spies.

"Hey!" When she suddenly ran, I yelled. My body spontaneously moved to chase her so I couldn't look inside the playground.

"You, lady! Don't let me catch you, or else!" I accelerated my pace while she looked at me. I couldn't recognize her because her face was obscured by a black piece of cloth.

The woman ran straight to the stairs, and we chased each other down there. I took a deep breath and ran up the stairs as fast as possible.

"I'm going to kill you!" I almost froze when I saw her enter the seventh floor and throw something. But I couldn't stop because I was running so fast.

"Give me my child, you scumbag!" When I saw smoke coming out of what she threw, my eyes widened. I screamed in shock and threw my flashlight at her with all my might. I saw it directly hit her head before the surroundings went completely dark. I heard her groan, and we kept chasing, although I no longer had a light.

"It's an emergency! This mission will be canceled." While running out of breath, I overheard the woman say. "I'm requesting assistance!"

"THERE IS NO WAY OUT. YOU FUCKER!!" I grabbed what I was holding and hurled it at her. I grabbed something else and was about to throw it at her when the room brightened. Because of the glare, I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again, I saw the woman in front of an elevator that had opened.

"Hey! WAIT!" I chased her down, but she had already entered the elevator. Its door was closing when I caught up. I looked at the woman through the remaining gap in the door. As I saw her take off her face mask, my world almost shook.

Impossible!

"It's been a long time, Miss Shianna." Ms. Ybañez grinned as we exchanged stares. She pointed upstairs just as the elevator door closed. I went straight to the second elevator and pushed the button. My knees suddenly became weak, and I stumbled into the floor.

Ashy…

Even though I was only on the 23rd floor, the elevator opened. I attempted to close the elevator, but it was inoperable. I swallowed and looked out of the lift. When I noticed the dimmed lights, I swallowed once more.

Tell me; I was not in a horror film right now.

I bravely exited the elevator and dashed to the end of the floor. I nearly froze in fear when I noticed the lights going out one by one as I passed them.

I slammed the door leading to the stairs open, only to be stopped when the entire area went dark again. There was no more light!

Shaking, I grabbed the stairwell handle and dashed to the top of the building. I came to a halt again after hearing a bang.

Oh shit! I had to go faster!

"ASHY!" A violent wind greeted me as I opened the door to the rooftop. When I looked up, I saw a helicopter slowly rising. Ms. Ybañez and I exchanged glances. Ybañez leaned back in her chair. She smirked at me, and the vehicle took off. I wasted no time and went straight to Ashy. When I saw her standing near the rooftop's edge, I breathed a sigh of relief. She was holding one of the children's hands, and the others were standing behind them. They looked up at the sky, watching the helicopter take off.

"Ashy!" When I approached her, she slowly turned around. I almost came to a halt when I saw her blank expression.

"Mommy." Slowly, she blinked. "This place is dangerous."

When I heard what Ashy said, I was utterly taken aback. I approached her with tears in my eyes. She let go of the child and turned to face me.

We remained silent for a long time before she spoke again. Ashy burst into tears.

"M-Mommy."

"Don't be worried. Mommy has arrived." I was about to carry Ashy when someone yelled.

"Shianna!" Mom appeared with a heavy chest because she was short of breath from running. My hands stopped in the air, and Ashy and I looked at each other. I was shocked and turned to the girl with her. I carried the other child while Ashy looked at me innocently. She held back tears while looking at me.

The guests appeared one by one. They were also accompanied by media members checking what happened. For a brief moment, I looked at the unknown child, who had lost consciousness.

"Are the kids okay?" the other inquired, pretending to be concerned. He even covered his mouth to appear credible.

"Drop the act, lady." While the reporters' cameras were focused on me, I gave her a cold stare. I sauntered towards them, a bitter smile on my face.

"We all know you don't care about the kids, which is why this all happened. Didn't you notice that? While the kids were separated from you all, you were having a party. They didn't even have security. I know they haven't eaten yet because no one is looking after them. "I pointed out one of the children crying and saying he was hungry.

"That is not true!" A woman took a deep breath and tried to be brave. She froze when she saw the camera.

"True or false? Then tell me what happened to the few guards here. Are you all on a tight budget, or do you not care?"

"Are you referring to the guards, Miss Shianna?" a reporter inquired. "If I'm not mistaken, I saw them guarding the guests' expensive cars."

People gasped and looked around guiltily. Meanwhile, Mom, who I know was innocent, sighed.

"See? So stop acting as if you're concerned—"

"Shut up!" yelled a woman approaching me. She grabbed my arm firmly. "What's the big deal? At least we're not like you who suddenly appeared—"

"What the hell is going on here?"

Everyone stopped when the voice I knew so well boomed.

My clan was here.