Claire was pacing in the kitchen, biting her nails and holding the phone in her hand. It had been two hours since the attack at the hospital, and there was no word from Jackie. Luke sat on the chair, trying to look up articles related to the attacks. "It's like it never happened," he said, typing in the words, "Romulus Veterans Hospital." The articles and news only told the story about the high stock prices. "They would never reveal it to the public." Claire said, finally sitting down, placing her hands on her head. She hadn't changed or taken off her makeup. "I just want to know if my baby is safe," she whispered, half praying, half hoping. Luke couldn't say anything to console her. It would be false hope, even he knew that the cursed ones were hard to kill. "Did you tell her about them?" he said, trying to take her mind away from Jackie.
"No. I never thought she needed to know." She looked up. Mascara had streaked her cheeks, giving her a mad look. The bell rang, and they both became alerted. Claire left her seat and rushed to the door. Without asking, she opened it with a smile on her face, which faltered upon seeing the faces of two men in red leather jackets. "Miss Claire Vandame?" the bald one asked. She nodded, her legs losing life. She steadied herself by gripping on the doorknob. "Yes, who are you?" She knew who they were. Slayers. Were they here to give her bad news? Did something bad happen to Jackie? Where was she? She looked past them, but only a gray Honda was in sight. "My name is Darius. We are from the Beta team. May we come inside?" she nodded and stepped aside to let them in. Luke was surprised by the visit.
"Who is this?" Darius asked, pointing to Luke.
"Oh, he's a friend of my daughter's, who is missing since the attack." She sat down on the sofa.
"This is family matter, Luke. Can we have some privacy?" He looked at him with unsmiling eyes. Basically telling him to get lost.
Luke exchanged a look with Claire, who nodded, and he went back into the kitchen.
"This is my partner, Jeremy. We have some questions for you to answer." Darius began once Luke was out of sight.
"What questions? Sir, is this about my daughter? Please tell me she is alright. I haven't heard from her since the attack."
"Maam, this isn't about your daughter, who I'm sure is OK because there weren't any casualties." Darius seemed impatient. "What happened in the attack? Can you recall the details and how did you escape?"
Claire sighed, closing her eyes and going back to when she was discussing the credibility of the new drug with the hospital director. "The buffet had just opened and a few seconds later I smelled something foul, like rotting meat. It was then someone screamed and pointed to the two cursed ones blocking the entrance. Everyone was stunned at first, but then the chaos started. It was some girl with long black hair who first attacked the cursed one and then led us towards the emergency exit. In a few moments, we were standing in front of the hospital building." Claire had been scratching her thumb with her nails. The pink skin had turned red.
"Thankyou, Miss vandame. I know your daughter will arrive soon. But first, I need you to sign this." Darius snapped his fingers and his partner produced a thin envelope.
"What is it?" Claire said.
"NDA. You will not speak of what occurred in the hospital with anyone, and once your daughter arrives, we will come back for her signature as well. You should know this is just to prevent something bad." Darius gave her a black and gold fountain pen. The tip was silver, and the cap had a small diamond embedded on it. Without hesitating, Claire signed the contract. The slayers shook hands with her, gave them their thanks and apologies, and walked away.
Luke came out of the kitchen, having heard everything. He sat down beside Claire, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You shouldn't have signed the NDA, Claire. That's how they cover up their messes," he said calmly. Claire looked up, "I don't care about anything, Luke, I just want my baby." With that, she grabbed her purse from the chair and took off her heels, going upstairs. The bell rang. It was Luke who rushed to the door and opened it, his taut face finally showing some emotions as he smiled and closed his eyes. "Look, who's back?" Claire ran to the door and hugged Jackie tightly. "Where were you?" she said, tearing up. "I am fine mom, can we come in?" she said. Claire wiped away her tears and asked, "we?" She looked behind Claire and under the streetlight, a few feet away from them, stood Alaric Vidarr. He raised his hand in an awkward wave and said, "Hi."