"How is he doing?" Max questioned when he saw Ava walking down the stairs. "He's asleep." She replied as she took a seat on the couch, next to Felix. "Thank you, Ava. We don't know what would happen if you weren't here."
"You need to do something from now on. I'm not coming here again."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Aaron furrowed his eyebrows.
"It's exactly as what I say. I'm not coming here again just to help you guys pacify that big baby."
Ava let out a heavy sigh when they stared at her in silence. They had to know that she had her own life to manage. Taking care of Alex was not her responsibility. She didn't ask to become the Cobra King's woman. She didn't want any of it. She had enough of living like an emotionless robot, having no reason to live and no reason to die. After losing contact with Clarissa, she achieved a reason. A reason for her existence in the world.
They tried to give Ava something, a reason for her to keep staying next to Alex but it was all rejected by her. "Is there really no other way to keep you here besides using brute force?" Max asked, although it almost sounds like he was begging. "Are you going to use force on her?"
"Of course not. We're not jerks." .
"Well, what can I say? You're in gangs." Ava answered casually as she shrugged her shoulders. She stood up from the couch and made her way to the front door. Felix followed right behind her, still not giving up on making her stay for his dear brother. "I'm not going to change my mind, Felix."
"Just do me one favor. When that grumpy baby wakes up, tell him to snap back to his senses and own up to his own responsibilities. He's the King, after all."
Felix nodded his head in response, assuring her that Alex would receive that message. She left the premises after making sure that Alex would be taken good care of in her absence. She's not that heartless, after all. She slipped both of her hands into the front pockets of her jeans, strolling leisure on the pavement. Her mind started to wander off, worrying about the man she just left at the massive mansion. She shook her head to snap herself back to reality, refusing to surrender to the temptation.
She took out her phone and dialed a number. The line rang for a few times before the person on the other line accepted the call. "It's me. I need some help. You need to find someone for me. Her name is Clarissa Maximillian. I need you to find her as soon as possible. Thanks." Ava hung up quickly, trying to avoid from being asked any annoying and useless questions.
"Let's hope Wayne can find her soon." She spoke to herself, deep in her own thoughts. A black van stopped right in front of her, blocking her from taking any more steps on the pavement. Two well-build men stepped out of the van, asking her to follow them quietly. "I thought I told you that no one will return back to the headquarters in one piece if you dare to look for me again."
"But, Young Miss. The Master demands us to bring you to him or he'll kill all of us. Please, we're begging you."
Ava heaved a long and heavy sigh as she knew she would be disappointed in herself again. She knew that there would be no way, she'd ignore the pleas of her own family. She might hate her parents but the people there took a very good care of her. She got into the van and the men in the van let out a small sigh of relief. "How is it going back at home? Did you guys ran into any problems?"
"Everything's fine, Young Miss. It's just that…" the one that was sitting next to her spoke but stopped in the middle of his sentence. "Is it about the Mistress?" she questioned. There was a moment of silence but the man eventually nodded his head. "Just say it."
"Her temper is getting worse after you left, Young Miss. Everyday, someone will get hurt whether they did something wrong or not."
"What about Lana? Is she okay?" Ava's eyebrows furrowed as she began to worry about her childhood friend. They went silent again at the mention of Lana's name. She ushered them to speak again but they kept their mouth shut. Ava's patience ran out as she elbowed the guy next to her right at the jaw, snatching the gun from his waist in the process. She aimed the gun at the man sitting in front of her and told him to speak up.
When the man that was sitting next to her recovered from the hit, he tried to attack her from behind but ended up being kicked at the same spot on his face. Ava placed her foot at the man's throat, preventing him from doing anything stupid. The man who was driving started to get relentless in his seat. "Keep driving. One wrong move, these guys are dead and you'll be next. You, speak."
"T-the Mistress's precious vase collection. Lana broke one of them. For punishment, she was taken to 'that room' for one whole week."
The colors on her face disappeared almost immediately at the mention of 'that room'. The memories she had when she was in that room flashed by her eyes. That cruel and disgusting punishment. How is that innocent and kind-hearted girl going to survive?
"What did you do when she was taken there? Don't you guys know what happens in there?" Ava shouted as she pushed the tip of the gun into his mouth. "M-miss, please. There's nothing we can do. We'll just end up dead if we stood up for Lana." The driving one spoke, his voice laced with fear.
"Where is she now? I need to see her."
"The Mistress locked her up in her room. It's been four days."
Ava took a long, deep breath before retracting her foot and her hand, returning the gun back to its owner. "You should keep it well. It's too easy for me to snatch it from you." She advised before taking her seat, leaning back against it.
"I'm going to see Lana first." She notified them, not caring about any of their opinion. They were about to protest when she continued her sentence. "And, no objection."