Chereads / Charis Institute / Chapter 14 - Chapter 13

Chapter 14 - Chapter 13

Kaiden and Angelique walked through the garden, looking for Victoria Collins.

Angelique glanced at Kaiden, waiting for him to say something, yet he never does. She's starting to doubt that he has feelings for her at all.

And, let me tell you a secret, he does not have feelings for her. Kaiden knew of his feelings very well and he knows that he doesn't like Angelique in that way, he never did.

But Angelique had interpreted it differently, maybe it's the fact that he's always so nice, maybe it's how he doesn't say no to anything she asks and just goes along with everything, making him her perfect type. But she feels something for him and she thinks he does too.

"Kaiden?" Angelique called.

He hummed in response, looking at her with those soft eyes that she loves about him.

"How's it going with the song?" Angelique asked, feeling nervous.

"The song? Oh, you mean the one I'll be performing on your birthday. Yeah, it's alright, I guess. Not done though, your brother, he marched out at the first meeting.

Angelique furrowed her eyebrows, "Why?"

"I'm not sure. He said something about me liking you, weird right?" Kaiden laughed and Angelique joined him, nervously.

'This is it. I'm gonna tell him,' she thought.

"Well, do you?" Angelique stopped walking.

"Do I what?"

"Have feelings for me," She answered.

"Oh, uh, n-no. Angelique, I don't," Kaiden laughed nervously, not liking where this is going.

"C'mon, Key. You can tell me if you do," She pressed.

"I don't have feelings for you that way, Angelique. I'm sorry if you and your brother think that, but I don't," He stated. He waited for her to say something. When she didn't, he continued, "And I don't know what I did to make you think that I do, but I'm sorry if I made you think that way. I just want to be friends, that's all."

Yikes, did that hurt Angelique? Yes, it did and his words replayed through her mind as her smile faded slowly.

'I don't have feelings for you that way.' 'I just want to be friends.'

Angelique scoffed, "Like I'll ever like someone as pathetic as you."

Kaiden furrowed his eyebrows, confused about her sudden change in attitude, "What?"

"Go away, Kaiden!" Angelique shouted, walking towards the other side of the garden.

"What the fucking hell was that?"

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"Zach!" Moniqua called him from the other side of the parking lot.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"There's a car missing!" Leonora shouted as he started walking towards them.

"No, there isn't," He denied.

"Yes, there is," Moniqua stated, pointing to an empty parking space.

Zach rolled his eyes, "No, that's Arthur's parking space."

He remembered the old man to be the one who found him crying when he was 13, they had grown very close since.

"Well, where is he?" Leonora asked.

Zach recalled a conversation he had with Arthur a few days ago, when he had asked for advice about Caroline.

"He's out, with his husband. They went on a vacation, remember?"

"No, I don't," Moniqua said.

Zach shook his head, getting annoyed, "Well, they did. Look somewhere else."

Moniqua grunted in annoyance as she turned around, her dress sparkling as she did.

"You didn't have to be so rude, you know," Leonora said to him as he was about to walk back.

"I wasn't."

Leonora shook her head, looking at him in disbelief, "Yes, you were. You made her feel stupid for not knowing that."

"Alright, I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now," He said, putting his hands up.

"Well, don't take it out on her!" She shouted at him as he's walking away.

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"Hello, dear sister," Crystal smiled at her, with teeth that glisten and send shivers down your back.

Scarlett took deep and shaky breaths as she protected the old woman behind her.

"Oh, don't be scared, Scarlett," She barked out. "Sit down, I want to talk," She ordered.

Scarlett took a seat as Crystal followed quietly, that bone curling smile still evident on her lips.

"What are you doing here?" Scarlett asked, her voice shaky and her fearless facade long gone.

Crystal shrugged, "I wanted to be here for my little sister, is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," She answered quickly.

"Look, Scarlett, I know that we don't have a good past with each other. But I want to fix that. We can be actual sisters now," She said, reaching for Scarlett's hand but she pulled away as soon as Crystal's fingers brushed against hers. Her touch made her feel more scared than she'd ever been.

Crystal looked somewhat hurt by that but quickly masked it up, "I want to fix things, and this is the first step, right?"

Scarlett looked back to Ms. Jones, the elderly woman breathing steadily as she slept.

"Please, Crystal, just go away," She pleaded, not looking her sister in the eyes.

"V," Crystal started, bringing out her old nickname.

"Don't call me that," Scarlett snapped.

Crystal sighed, "Scarlett, I just wanna go back to the way we used to be."

"What?" Scarlett laughed, as she regained her herself, her fear not as evident now, "Like the way we used to be? With you terrorizing me, ruining everything for me, taking everything I love? Yeah, no thanks."

"Scarlett, I love you. You're my sister," Crystal reasoned.

Scarlett laughed again, more mockingly this time as she looked Crystal in the eye, "You and I were never sisters. Get out of my home before I tell them that you're the one who's been killing people."

"Home?" Crystal scoffed, "Home is back in Greece, with our family."

"That's yours. I have my family right here," She said confidently.

"Do what you want, Scarlett. I'll have you know that you're not getting anything from Mom and Dad," Crystal stood up.

"Oh yeah? Isn't that what August said to you 5 years ago?" She mentioned their eldest sibling, the current owner of Viper Inc.

"Bitch," Crystal said, walking out.

"Thanks!" Scarlett called to her.

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"Isaac! Are you okay?" Marcel called.

"There's someone here," He whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Dominique asked him once they neared him.

"There's another dead body!" Isaac shouted.

Marcel and Dominique looked down at a man, with bruises, blood, and dirt covering him.

"There was someone else here," Isaac looked at them. "Dom, the guy went that way," He pointed deeper into the forest and Dominique took off leaving Isaac and Marcel.

"We need to tell the detective," Marcel said.

"She's looking for Victoria Collins in the main building, remember? We can't carry the body all the way there, it'll ruin evidence," Isaac explained.

"Well, how about I go after her then?" Marcel suggested.

"Yeah, I'll stay here in case Victoria comes here," Isaac agreed.

With that Marcel took off to the main building, leaving Isaac with a dead body.

"Fuck," He sighed.

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Lucifer followed Detective Bassi quietly, glancing at her from time to time.

"Detective, where are we going?" He asked, watching her as she pulled a gun out from her belt.

"Here, take this," Lucifer looked at the item she gave him, a gun.

"I'm not gonna kill anyone! Take it back!" He exclaimed, pushing the gun back.

Bassi looked at him with disbelief, "It's for self-defense, in case she's armed."

Lucifer sighed, holding the gun firmly is he dropped his hands beside him.

Soon, they reached the rooms in the back of the building, the most secluded area in the school. Mostly because the maids stay here.

Lucifer's mind crept to a time when he was 5 and playing hide-n-seek with Scarlett, Isaac, and Caroline.

"Would all maids please come out of your rooms? I repeat, all maids out!" The detective exclaimed from the middle of the hall and soon, tens of maids came out of their rooms.

"Is something going on, detective?" One of the older maids, Madam Humpfrey, as Lucifer recognized from his childhood came up to her.

"Yes, we are looking for Victoria Collins, do you know where she is?" Bassi asked Madam Humpfrey as Lucifer glanced around, from face to face, looking for Victoria.

Lucifer saw her, cowered in the back, behind countless maids, looking around for an exit.

He tapped Bassi's shoulder frantically, "There she is!"

Victoria's eyes widened, and she quickly ran out the back of the building.

"Excuse me! Victoria Collins!" The Detective called after her.

"Luca! Detective!" A voice called from behind them.

Though he didn't look back, Lucifer knew that it was Marcel calling them. In his head, he contemplated for stopping but then he ran faster to catch up with Victoria.

Marcel's footsteps rose as he neared Lucifer and Detective Bassi.

Leaving them behind, Lucifer made it out of the building and straight to the forest, following behind Victoria.

"Victoria!" Lucifer called. "Victoria, it's okay! You're not under arrest, the cops just need to ask you some questions!" He shouted after her, looking around frantically as he seemed to forget to bring a flashlight.

Pulling out his phone and turning the flashlight on, he searched for her again. Soon, he saw her emerge from behind one of the trees, breathing heavily.

"Please, Mr. Williams. Don't let them take me, I didn't kill them," She pleaded.

"I know, just come with me, alright?" He approached her gently.

She nodded, calming down and following him behind the school.

Lucifer was in the doorway when suddenly, bang, he collapsed from a gunshot.

"Mr. Williams?! MR. WILLIAMS!" Victoria called him as his vision went blurry.

And everything was dark and silent. Nothingness consumed him as he saw a figure approaching him, a bright light emerging from that person. Someone who felt like home at a place of horror.

"Mom?"

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