Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 134: _ Gone With The Darkness

"L— locate them?" Cora stuttered, her eyes dancing in her eyes.

Rhett smirked to himself. Ninety-five percent.

He didn’t know whatever Cora could be hiding but if she was involved in this missing person’s case and knew more than she was letting on, then it’d be so sad that the fey– supposedly creatures of light were indeed capable of such darkness.

Not to mention how easily she had fooled him before with her false story. Hold up. Now, Rhett had no idea if that story of hers was false.

Before Rhett could analyze her reaction further, "Yes, locate them." Farkas barked at her with suspicion filling his voice.

Cora jumped, clearly caught in a corner where she knew not where to turn to next. Her gaze darted between the photo and Rhett’s watchful eyes.

Finally, she nodded slowly. "Yes, Lady Aceco. I’ll see what I can find." She moved towards a small bedroom at the back of the apartment.

As if being controlled by an invisible force, Cora turned back immediately. While Rhett wondered if she was about to run away, she bit her lip, her gaze darting around the room before landing on a small bookshelf tucked away in the corner. She moved towards it slowly.

Rhett watched her closely, his suspicion still simmering inside of him. What was she hiding? What could Cora possibly be hiding regarding this family’s case?

He was sure Farkas had seen it too and they were just both standing there, reading her and trying to figure it out. It stunned Rhett that Aceco didn’t notice this.

Cora knelt on the floor and reached behind a stack of well-loved books. Pulling out a small wooden box, she turned and held it out to Aceco.

"This belonged to little Lily," Cora whispered. "A music box her father carved for her."

"Should do." Aceco took the box gently, her fingertips tracing the detailed carvings on its lid.

A faint melody seemed to emanate from within it which sounded in Rhett’s ears like a bittersweet reminder of a life cut short. Even though there was a high chance that the family members could just be alive.

Right now, all answers lay with Aceco. His shoulders tensed as he turned to her, waiting in anticipation. She closed her eyes, focusing on the object held in her hand.

The room held its breath while Aceco did her thing, the only sound audible enough was the faint ticking of a clock on the wall. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes and Rhett saw sadness replacing the initial hope in usually in them.

Bad news; he already knew.

"I can’t feel her," Aceco said softly, eyes glistening.

Farkas gasped with his hand flying to his mouth simultaneously. "Does that mean she is Dead?" he croaked.

Aceco nodded slowly and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Yes, the girl— little Lily is gone."

Cora, who had been fidgeting nervously at the edge of the room, suddenly erupted into a fit of sobs. Tears streamed down her face, her shoulders shaking with grief. "Oh, poor Lily! Those wicked vampires! How could they do such a thing? Her voice hitched with a sob. "They took your light, they took your laughter... how can they be so cruel?"

Rhett watched her closely. He couldn’t deny the genuine pain in her voice, but something about her demeanor felt off. Her sobs, while intense, lacked a certain rawness– a depth of grief one would expect for a lost friend’s child. He also noticed a flicker of something else in her eyes – not surprised at the news, but a weird sense of confirmation.

It was as though this wasn’t new to her ears. So, she knew that Lily was dead as just wasn’t sure, how? She also seemed genuinely sad to hear it.

So what was her deal?

Rhett cleared his throat, cutting through Cora’s theatrics. "Enough," he said sharply. "We need the other items. Find them, now."

Crying won’t bring the child back anyway.

Cora flinched at his sharp tone, wiping away the tears with a trembling hand. "Y-yes, Gamma Rhett. Of course." She scurried towards a small dresser tucked into a corner of the room, her movements jerky and distraught.

Farkas cleared his throat. "We need something from the father too, something with his essence."

Argh. Rhett fought back the urge to give a roll of his eyes. Farkas just always wanted to have something to say even though it was the same as ’stating the obvious’.

Cora rummaged through the drawers, pulling out clothes and trinkets but each movement she made seemed to take a herculean effort. As if she was being forced to do this because she was left with no choice.

So, she was sad to find out about their death but not surprised and also unwilling to help find them?

Hm.

Finally, she emerged with a worn leather pouch. "This— this belonged to Aella’s husband."

Aceco took the pouch with her gaze filled with compassion. She closed her eyes once more, focusing her magic on the item. Moments later, a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

"He’s gone too," she said softly. "Taken by the same darkness."

Rhett gritted his teeth. Damn the vampires for taking them hostage, using them to lift the veil, and killing them. _{no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m}

Cora crumpled back to the floor so loudly, that it distracted Rhett’s thoughts. "No! Not him too! He was so kind, so good! Why would they..." Her voice trailed off into another torrent of sobs.

Rhett watched her closely. This time, the grief seemed more pronounced, the tears flowing more freely. He couldn’t be sure, but there was a hint of desperation creeping into her performance. As if she was overdoing this to try to convince them that she really was sad about the deaths.

Farkas interjected. "Just the mother’s belongings left. Oh, wait. We need to find the last child as well."

Cora, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, nodded numbly. She shuffled towards a small chest tucked away beneath a pile of blankets. Inside, snuggled amongst soft silks, lay a silky scarf, embroidered with rosy flowers.

Aceco accepted the scarf, her expression grave. A tense silence filled the room as she focused once more. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with a deep sadness.

"Gone," she whispered. "The mother too, lost to the darkness."

Cora dissolved into another bout of tearful sobs, her body shaking with grief. But this time, Rhett saw a flicker of something else in her tear-filled eyes - a spark of fear.

She was getting more fearful by the minute. Meant they were on the right path and getting closer.

Farkas, with his gaze fixed on Cora, spoke with a gruff thoughtfulness. "If all the adults are gone, then the child— could they have lifted the veil?"

Aceco pondered this for a moment. "It depends, General Farkas. The strength of the child’s magic would determine that." She turned to Cora. "Do you have something belonging to the little boy, Cora?"

Cora looked up from her hands, her gaze flickering nervously between Aceco and Rhett.

What now? Rhett wondered.

Her face was pale and drawn and seemed to be etched with a deep fear that went beyond the performance of grief.

"I— I don’t know," she stammered. "There wasn’t anything left after..." Her voice trailed off.

Hm, Rhett gave a half smirk. "This is their house, Cora. It looks so untouched too and all of their belongings are home, so go get it already."

He was tired of watching her waste time. Whose time did she think she was wasting?