“Kinslee, let me take you back. It’s dangerous out here.”
“‘Back’? Back where?” Kinslee asked, her voice tinged with childlike bewilderment.
“And who are you? I don’t know you, do I? Why do you know my name?”
She clung to Allison’s hand, her brows furrowing as she struggled to remember. Suddenly, she stopped and stared at Allison, her eyes widening as if some hidden memory had surfaced. Then, without warning, she pulled a vibrant flower from her basket and tucked it gently behind Allison’s ear.
“Oh, I know you!” Kinslee declared, clapping her hands with delight. “Lily, you look so pretty with a flower in your hair!”
Allison froze for a moment, her heart skipping a beat at the mention of that name.
Lily – it was her mother’s nickname, shared only with those closest to her.
The shock sent a tremor through her, but she quickly tightened her grip on the mask she held, forcing her expression to remain serene as she guided Kinslee across the uneven ground.
“You must be mistaken. How could I be Lily?” Allison’s voice was light, but her eyes sharpened with curiosity. “So, where is Lily now? Maybe I can help you find her.”
Kinslee’s brows knitted together, confusion clouding her gaze.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled hesitantly before suddenly snapping her fingers in enlightenment.
She then pointed at Allison and giggled with childlike excitement. “You’re lying! You’re Lily, right? I even made flower garlands for you before!”
A wave of emotion crashed over Allison, but she held Kinslee’s hand tightly, steadying herself. “Yes,” she whispered, nodding, “That’s me…”
Kinslee’s words confirmed what Allison had begun to suspect – this woman had known her mother, likely intimately.
But she couldn’t push too hard, not now, not with Kinslee’s fragile condition. Carefully, she guided Kinslee toward the car, easing her into the seat and fastening the seatbelt.
“When was the last time you saw me?” she asked, her voice low and soothing, as if trying to coax the truth from the haze of Kinslee’s memory.
But Kinslee just shook her head, her confusion deepening. “I can’t remember.”
The answer didn’t surprise Allison, but it didn’t stop the dull ache that spread through her chest. She sighed sorrowfully. Alzheimer’s had truly taken a toll on the poor woman.
Still, despite the sadness, a glimmer of hope flickered inside her.
She had been right about one thing – Kinslee had known her mother, and their bond must have been strong. Allison knew what she had to do now – she had to do what she could to pull Kinslee back to reality.
Glancing at the rough, winding mountain road ahead, Allison slipped on the mask she had been holding.
“Kinslee,” she said quietly, her tone more formal now, “I’m taking you back now.”
The Lloyd family was currently in a state of utter disarray. Kellan’s face darkened as soon as he learned that Kinslee had vanished from the care home, slipping right out of the surveillance footage without a trace. His eyes gleamed with fury, his expression like the calm before a violent storm.
“Have you found her yet?” Kellan demanded, his voice frigid as he glared at Sherman. “What are they even getting paid for at that ridiculous care home? An entire staff, and yet they somehow managed to lose an elderly woman – fire every last one of them!”
Sherman wiped the cold sweat gathering on his brow, nodding profusely. “I’ll get right on it, Mr. Lloyd.”
He had only just received the news himself – Kinslee was missing. The entire care home had erupted into chaos, a flurry of panic spreading through the staff. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened; kidnappers had targeted Kinslee in the past, using her as leverage against the Lloyd family.
But for the staff to be this careless again? Clearly, some hard lessons were long overdue.
“Mr. Lloyd, please rest assured. The surveillance shows that Mrs. Lloyd left on her own. There’s no sign of an abduction. In fact, it looks like she just wandered off. We’ve already dispatched everyone to search the grounds…”
Sherman’s eyes flicked to the updates streaming in on his phone. Suddenly, he let out a loud sigh of relief.
“Mr. Lloyd, we’ve found her.”
“Where?” Kellan’s eyes flickered.
“She’s… in bed,” Sherman stammered, barely able to believe the words coming out of his own mouth.
Their people had combed the entire facility, scouring every inch of the area, including the dangerous woods nearby – only for Kinslee to somehow reappear in her bed, safe and sound. It didn’t make sense, like something straight out of a ghost story.
Just then, the care home director burst into the room, bowing deeply before Kellan. His clothes were damp with sweat, and his voice trembled.
“Mr. Lloyd, someone brought Mrs. Lloyd back. We checked the surveillance footage.” The director quivered as he continued, “It was a masked man in black who took her back. He seemed determined to hide his identity, dodging the cameras at every turn. All we managed to capture was a blurry shot of his back.”
Kellan’s fury boiled over. He hurled the cup he was holding at the wall, the loud crash ringing through the room like a crack of thunder. His face remained stone-cold as he spat out, “You didn’t even notice she was missing, and now, you have no clue who brought her back. But when I pour millions into this place every year, suddenly you’re an expert on everything, is that it?!”
The director collapsed to his knees, breathing in short, panicked bursts. “We’re so sorry, Mr. Lloyd! I swear we’ll investigate immediately!”
Kellan’s voice turned to ice as he hissed, “Get my grandmother a full medical check-up and make sure the tests are all accurate. Once she’s stable, we’re moving her somewhere safe.”
Without waiting for a response, he fixed his eyes on the surveillance footage playing on his phone. The figure in black wore a silver mask that glinted in the darkness, his lean frame barely caught on camera. Kellan’s eyes narrowed. There was something about the way the man moved… something unsettlingly familiar.
“Find him,” Kellan demanded, his tone solid and unyielding. “I want every scrap of information-where he came from, where he went, everything. And double my grandmother’s security. I want her watched around the clock.”
This man hadn’t kidnapped Kinslee, but his skill set was terrifying. He had slipped past every layer of security like it was child’s play, and somehow, he had earned Kinslee’s trust enough to return her unharmed. The whole thing didn’t add up.
There was no way this mysterious man had risked so much just to bring Kinslee back.
Kellan’s eyes darkened as he turned to the director. His voice dropped dangerously low. “If this happens again, you know exactly what’s coming.”
The director, drenched in sweat, stammered, “Y-Yes, Mr. Lloyd! I swear it won’t happen again!”
Everyone knew what Kellan Lloyd was capable of. A single word from him, and this entire facility could be erased from existence-staff and all. Some might even find themselves sinking beneath the waves, nothing more than a distant memory.
After descending the winding mountain road, Allison steered her car back toward Muisvedo, her attention divided between driving and a phone conversation with the head of the MDH Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
“So, you’re telling me the drug is still in the experimental stage? How much longer are we looking at?” she asked, her voice sharp with impatience.
If Allison wanted to uncover the truth from Kinslee, she needed to find a way to treat his Alzheimer’s first.
“Miss Clarke, as you know, Alzheimer’s research is a challenging path. We’ve been working on it for years, but there are no quick fixes. That said, we’ve made progress. The drug is advancing through trials, but it requires more time,” the voice on the other end explained cautiously.
Allison knew there were no shortcuts – rushing things could lead to disastrous results. She couldn’t afford to use an unreliable treatment on Kinslee. After a brief exchange, she ended the call and refocused on the road.
When she finally arrived at Muisvedo, the warehouse housing the server loomed ahead, tucked away in a maze of alleys and parked cars. As she exited her vehicle, an oversized electronic billboard across the street caught her attention. Its colorful display advertised a range of comic books.
“Original comic artist Onyx Jimenez’s new series – out now!” Several young women with megaphones were enthusiastically promoting the latest releases.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.