"Should we help our dear Dionne speed up her search?" Lucas questioned Ben who stood by his side and as usual, his hands joined in front of him.
"I'll get right on it sir!"
…
It's been two days now and Dionne still hasn't stopped the search for her 67th. She has searched everywhere she thought he would be, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"A letter came for you honey!" Mrs McCurry yelled from the door. Dionne came down to get her letter while wondering who sent a letter in this age and time when electronics were more easier and accessible. She collected the letter from her mum and after saying thank you she headed to her room.
"if you want to meet Lucas, come to the light gate by 6pm" Dionne read the letter out loud. 'How did this person know she was looking for Lucas? Did he know where Lucas was?' Dionne thought.
The only way to find out was by going there. Light gate was a famous spot in Greenville, mostly for couples. But many came there just to enjoy the scenery. She has been there a few times with one of her numerous boyfriends. She knew if the person had ill intentions, he wouldn't pick a crowded place such as light gate. Thus, she was going to show up by 5pm.
Dionne was already done preparing. She was nervous about meeting the person who could give her information about Lucas. Donned in a casual blue jeans, white top and a sandals, she set to go out. Before leaving, she texted Mr. mask,
'hey, someone sent a letter to me asking me to come to light gate by 6pm. The person claims to know where Lucas is. Wish me luck'. She sent the message. She sighed when she didn't get a reply and put the phone in her bag. 'he must be busy' she thought.
She hailed a taxi when she got to the main road. "light gate" she told the driver when she entered the car. The man nodded and sped off immediately.
"Off to see your boyfriend?" the driver started small talks.
"No" Dionne said with a light chuckle. She couldn't really blame him for thinking that way, light gate was indeed a spot for lovers.
"Your husband then?" the man insisted."No sir. I'm single" old Dionne would have snapped already at the nosy driver but she held it in behind light chuckles. Besides, she was grateful to the man for easing her nervousness.
"we are here!" the man announced when they arrived at the said destination. Dionne removed a few bills from her purse and handed it to the man,
"you can keep the change" she smiled and alighted the car. She stood before Ytall gate in front of her which was adorned in Christmas lights of many colors. The gate was wide open revealing a flock of people, mostly couples as you already know. It was getting pretty dark outside but indoors illuminated a soft glow of mostly yellow and orange neon lights with red, green and blue lights flickering momentarily. There were lots to see and many stalls to visit, but sadly Dionne couldn't do any as she had to wait at the entrance of the gate so that she'll not miss who she was here to see.
Meanwhile, Mr. mask had just come out of the shower. He strolled to the table where his phone was. 'One message from Dionne' was the first the first thing he saw.
"What the fuck!" He gritted through his teeth as he immediately rushed to put something on. Soon he was running through the streets of Greenville as he was unable to find a cab. Ten minutes into the run, he luckily found a ride.
"Where to sir?" The driver asked,
"Light gate , please hurry" he said tensely.
...
"Are you miss Dionne?" A man walked up to Dionne. She was sitting on a bench in front of the fountain just outside the gate.
"Yes and you are?"
"Get her boys," Ben immediately ordered and Dionne was dragged by her arms by two bulky men. She tried screaming to get people's attention, but they just stood and watched with wide eyes as she was been dragged into the van.
"Dionne!" Mr mask screamed once he saw the scene before him. He just arrived and the first thing he saw was Dionne been dragged by some men.
And that was the last thing Dionne saw— Mr mask running towards her.
The next time her eyes saw light, she was in a luxurious bedroom. The bed was so soft that she didn't even want to wake up. She snuggled comfortably into the quilt as she yawned. When it dawned on her that this was not her room, she sprang up immediately.
"Where am I?" She muttered.
Immediately, all the memories from when she was at light gate dawned on her. She was kidnapped by some men and Mr Mask was running towards her. She remembered being hit on the head and eventually blacking out. Now that she thought of it, her head hurt like crazy.
She walked to the door expecting to bang on it while yelling for her kidnappers to let her out, but surprisingly, it was open.
She strutted out of the room and if she thought the room was beautiful, then this place was heaven. Every where her eyes met screamed elegance. She walked slowly down the stairs, afraid she'll fall and hurt herself on the long flight of stairs that was before her. She wondered how high up she was that the stairs was this long.
Just then, she looked down wards. That was her biggest mistake ever. Seeing how high up she was, her acrophobia kicked in and she went into panic. Her breathing was labored and before she knew it, she started screaming.
...
Lucas watched from the CCTV monitor in his study. This beautiful house that could pass for a mansion was not actually his main house, though it was one of his. He built it when the world most renowned architect offered to design this building for him. The building was located in a serene area on top of a hill which was surrounded by the sea. The architect saw the area and thought only a magnificent house will be left to make this look more picturesque. And since Lucas owned the area, the architect did it for free.
Back to the study, Lucas watched Dionne from the moment she woke up to the moment she was having a panic attack. This was the first step of getting back at her. He knew she was scared of heights, so he gave her a dose of her own medicine. Using people's fears against them.