Lauren locked her gaze on him before turning to find herself encircled by vampires.
"I would rather die than go with you vile vampires," she declared, defiance in her voice as she opened fire.
Swift and agile, these vampires proved to be even faster than the one she had encountered months ago at LUX. They dodged some of the bullets, while the wounds inflicted on others healed instantaneously.
Discarding her now-empty gun onto the floor, Lauren attempted to tap into her latent powers. With little training, she struggled to grasp control, unsure of what to do. Nonetheless, she realized she had to take action.
As they brandished their deadly talons, attempting to close in on her, she locked her gaze onto one of them and willed him to impale himself with his own talons, ripping out his own heart. To her astonishment, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably, moving against his own volition.
"What's happening? I can't control my hands!" he exclaimed in a panic, his free hand futilely attempting to halt his own self-inflicted actions.
As his companions tried to aid him, they, too, were rendered powerless. With a resounding thud, he fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Get her!" their leader commanded, and eight of the vampires lunged towards her.
Though Lauren managed to inflict damage upon the vampires using her telekinetic abilities, her powers eventually waned, depleting her energy until she succumbed to unconsciousness. The remaining vampires seized her and swiftly departed, leaving behind her fallen phone that had slipped from her pocket.
"Lauren! Lauren!" Chloe's concerned voice resounded through the phone, met only by the eerie silence of the night.
She stared at her phone, which had been disconnected, unable to utter a word or move a muscle. Her mind spiraled into chaos for a brief moment.
"What should I do? What should I do?" she murmured to herself, pacing anxiously in her lavishly appointed study. Then, it dawned on her—the Benneths. Suddenly, her fingers gripped the phone, dialing Alanna's number. After two rings, Alanna answered.
"Hello, Chloe," Alanna greeted, awaiting a response. Instead, she heard faint sobbing from the other end.
"Chloe, where are you? What's happened?" Alanna's voice was filled with concern.
"It's Lauren. I fear something dreadful has befallen her," Chloe managed to convey through her tears.
"What do you mean?" Alanna's voice trembled, her silence stretching for a few minutes after receiving the shocking news. Finally, Chloe began to explain, recounting the events from her call to the distressing sounds she had heard during the altercation.
"Stay where you are. Our team of security detial will arrive promptly to bring you home," Alanna assured Chloe before ending the call.
A short while later, Chloe was accompanied by the security detail from the Benneths. Together, they made their way through the exclusive elevator in her company building, descending to the underground parking lot.
Returning to the grandeur of the Benneths' mansion, Chloe's eyes widened with surprise at the sight of parked police vehicles on the premises. What astounded her even more was seeing every member of the Benneth family and their relatives assembled in the lavish living room, engaged in conversations with the police.
"Chloe!" Mr. Turner's voice called out as soon as he spotted her entering the room. With tears streaming down her face, she rushed into his embrace, seeking solace in his arms. Mr. Turner had been like a father to her since her own father's passing. It had been far too long since she had seen him, and the current circumstances only intensified her emotional state as she sobbed softly in his comforting presence.
Once she had regained some composure, Chloe provided the police with a detailed account of what little she had overheard through the phone before Lauren was taken away.
The police attentively recorded her statement and assured the Benneth family that they would exhaust every effort to locate her.
A few minutes elapsed after the departure of the police, and Marcel Bruce, accompanied by some members of his coven, entered the premises, carrying a small briefcase. Recognizing Chloe's human nature and her lack of understanding regarding the situation, Marcel took the briefcase directly to Madam Veronica's study.
Madame Veronica approached the bewildered Chloe, who sat silently on the sofa, completely unaware of the unfolding events. Offering a comforting presence, Madam Veronica took a seat beside her.
"For now, you will stay with us until we locate Lauren," she said, gently patting Chloe on the back, attempting to alleviate her concerns. Chloe merely nodded, her mind consumed by worry for her friend, Lauren.
"We will find her and bring her home, alright? Why don't you get some rest?" Madam Veronica suggested, motioning for the head staff to escort Chloe to her room.
Upon reaching her room, Chloe swiftly retrieved her phone from her bag and dialed a number she never anticipated dialing so soon.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Director Chloe Woldorf?" a deep, masculine voice greeted her through the phone.
"Damon, please help us," Chloe pleaded, her voice strained with worry.
Damon's brows furrowed as he sat up, alert and attentive upon hearing her distressed voice.
"What's wrong?" he inquired.
"Some men took Lauren," Chloe replied, her voice faltering.
"What do you mean 'took'?" He needed clarification, making sure he understood correctly.
He listened intently as Chloe narrated the entirety of what had transpired.
"Alright, calm down, do not cry. I promise you, we will find her," Damon reassured her, doing his best to soothe her troubled heart.
Meanwhile inside Veronica Benneth study.
"My team managed to remove some parts of the video before the police obtained the CCTV footage. Otherwise, how could anyone explain to the mere humans that Lauren utilized her telekinetic abilities to rip out a vampire's heart?" Marcel stated matter-of-factly.
Veronica Benneth, her teeth clenched with a mix of anger and concern, posed a question to the room without a specific target. Her gaze remained fixed on the screen, witnessing her niece valiantly fighting for her life through the recorded footage.
"Who are these vampires?" she inquired, her voice laden with an undeniable tension.
"Based on our findings, they belong to a separate sect of vampires. They serve a self-proclaimed vampire king by the name of Vladimir Nabokov, but his whereabouts remain unknown," Marcel replied, attempting to provide some insight.
"Mum, it appears that they are employing an incredibly powerful dark magic to cloak their location," Alanna interjected, observing the disturbing events unfolding on the screen.
"In that case, we should consult our grandmother's ancient grimoire. Surely, there must be a spell that can unveil their hidden whereabouts," suggested Ariana, offering a potential solution.
"Countering dark magic with more dark magic is strictly forbidden," Veronica Benneth countered, her tone laced with a firm resolve.
"And yet, Mum, what other choice do we have? Lauren may be enduring unspeakable torment as we speak," Alanna countered, her voice tinged with a mix of desperation and determination.
"We will find another way. Our coven does not dabble in the practice of dark magic," Veronica Benneth declared assuredly, her voice carrying the conviction of her position as the high priestess.
Veronica Benneth's eyes blazed with intensity as she fixed her gaze upon Marcel, her trusted ally.
"Marcel," she spoke with unwavering conviction, "send a message to the Vampire Council at once. Attach this cctv footage and convey, without hesitation, that the Benneth coven demands the immediate release of my dear niece. They have until this time tomorrow to comply, or they shall witness the wrath of fire and brimstone from me, as they have flagrantly breached the sacred accord by this act from one of them."
Marcel, understanding the gravity of the situation, nodded solemnly. The weight of their collective anger and determination rested heavily on his shoulders as he prepared to carry out this crucial mission.
With each step he took, he embraced the formidable responsibility of delivering the Benneth coven's ultimatum to the Vampire Council—a pivotal confrontation that could tip the scales in the delicate balance between witches and vampires, shaping the destiny of not only Lauren, but the very essence of their supernatural world.
Tension filled the room as the Benneth coven diligently attempted various locator spells, striving to uncover the whereabouts of Lauren, their collective focus fixated on rescuing her from the vampires.