Selene pov~
I ended the call and felt my phone slip into my hand as the bass from the speakers pulsed through me. I was a little drunk, just enough for things to feel soft. It took me a moment longer than it should have to notice something was wrong.
"Ella?" I called out, raising my voice as I searched the dance floor. She had been right there. I was sure of it. I pushed through the crowd, my eyes scanning every face, looking for dark hair and that black dress.
Nothing....A slow sense of unease settled in my stomach.
"Ella?" I tried again, this time louder. The music engulfed my voice, booming loudly around. I moved more quickly, weaving between bodies, ignoring how people bumped into me and brushed against my arms. She wasn't near the DJ booth. Not at the bar. Not standing at the edge of the floor like she usually did when it got too crowded.
My heart began to race. She wouldn't just leave.
I headed toward the restroom, pushing the door open with enough force to make it bounce. It was empty. The mirrors showed my flushed face, my eyes bright, fear blooming behind them.
"No," I whispered. "No, no…"
I turned sharply and almost bumped into another girl. She looked annoyed, then frowned at my expression.
"Sorry, have you seen my friend?" I asked quickly, pulling up a photo on my phone. My fingers felt clumsy and unsteady. "She was just here. Dark hair. Black dress."
The girl studied the screen and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so."
Relief unfolded too quickly. "She was with a guy," the girl continued. "He carried her outside. Looked like she'd had too much."
The world tilted.
"What?" The word barely came out. "He—he carried her?"
"Yeah," she answered, sounding uncertain. "Like, in his arms."
My blood ran cold. "Did—did you see what he looked like?" My voice cracked. "Anything at all?"
She hesitated. "Tall. Handsome amber like beautiful eyes, I guess. Black leather jacket."
That was all I needed. "Thank you," I said automatically, though my hands were trembling. I backed away, my mind racing with bad thoughts crashing into me all at once. Ella wouldn't leave her phone. She wouldn't go with a stranger. She wouldn't—
I rushed back to our table. Her purse was still there. As I opened it. Her phone lay inside, like a punch to the chest.
"Oh my god," I breathed. Panic swallowed me inside. I grabbed the purse, my fingers slick with sweat, and stumbled toward the bar, demanding to see the manager, my words tumbling out too fast to follow.
Then I stepped outside. The cool night air hit me hard, and I dialed Alex.
Once. Twice. Three times. "Pick up," I whispered. "Please, pick up."
Finally-
"Selene?" he answered. "What's wrong?"
"Alex." My voice broke. "I—I can't find Ella."
Silence.
"What do you mean you can't find her?" he asked, worry evident in his tone.
"She was right next to me," I rushed out. "We were dancing, and I turned away to take a call. When I looked back, she was just—gone. Someone said a guy took her outside. Alex, her phone is still here."
"What?" His voice rose. "She what—Selene, slow down."
"I can't," I sobbed. "I think something happened. I think—"
Before I could finish, another voice interrupted, low, sharp, and terrifyingly calm.
"What did you say?"
My breath caught.
"Sylus?" I whispered.
"What. Do.You.Mean.She. Is.Missing?" His tone was cold, lacking warmth.
"Yes," I said, tears spilling over. "We're at the downtown Echo Club. I turned my back for one minute and—"
"Get me the cctv footage. Send it to me." He said his voice was distant, cold, and a strange sense of fear filled me. "Yes."
----
Sylus Pov~
The room erupted the moment Selene spoke.
"Missing?" The noise escaped me—raw, before I could stop it. The glass on the table shattered hard against the wall, breaking into shards.
"WHAT DOES SHE MEAN BY MISSING?"
Alex didn't flinch. He knew better. His jaw was tight, eyes sharp as he shoved his phone into my hand. "Selene sent this. Security footage from Echo."
The screen lit up. And there she was.
Ella.
Unsteady on her feet, head tilted, eyes unfocused—but still trying to walk on her own, still trusting herself.
My chest shrank bitterly.
Then the frame shifted. A man stepped into view—tall, confident, dressed in black leather as if he owned every shadow around him. He said something to her. I couldn't hear it, but I could see how her body responded.
The hesitation. The sway.
Then, His arm went around her.
Too familiar. Too practiced. He lifted her like she weighed nothing.
As if she belonged to him, something inside me snapped so violently it felt physical.
"That Motherfucker."
The phone slipped from my hand as I turned away, pacing like a trapped animal, breath coming fast, vision narrowing. My blood roared in my ears. Every instinct yelled the same name.
Ace.
"I told him," I growled. "I fucking told him."
Alex swallowed. "Sylus—"
"No." I turned to him, rage barely contained. "This wasn't random. This was planned. He waited. He watched and smirked at the camera as if he knew. And I let him walk away this morning."
The memory burned in my mind, Ace's smile, his voice in my ear.
"Keep an eye on that pretty little girlfriend of yours."
I laughed then. Low. Dangerous. Unsteady. "That was his slip-up," I said, my voice dropping into something cold and lethal.
"Fuck." The word flew out of me as my hand found the nearest glass and threw it against the wall. It shattered on impact, sending fragments raining down like ice. No one spoke. They didn't need to.
"Get me Ace's number," I snarled. "Now." Alex was already moving. Hyunwoo's fingers floated over the keyboard, screens lighting up the room with a cold blue glow. The air felt thick, charged.
The phone rang once.
Twice. Then—
"Well, well," His voice flowed through the line, amused, familiar, rotten. "Hello, Sylus."
Every muscle in my body locked.
"You fucking asshole,"
I said slowly, each word carved out of restraint.
"Where is Ella?"
A soft chuckle. Mocking. Delighted. "Ella?" he echoed. "Oh, she's fine."
My jaw clenched hard. "Not for long though." I lifted my hand slightly. Hyunwoo nodded. The signal was received. The trace started.
"How dare you touch her?" I snarled as the room seemed to shrink around me.
"How dare you-" Laughter erupted from the other end—loud, unhinged. "Hahaha"
"Touch her? Oh, Sylus… you always underestimated me."
My eyes met Alex's, then Hyunwoo's. They saw it—the shift. The moment the man like me becomes the monster.
"She's.in. My.bed," Ace continued, savoring every syllable.
"With me. Alone. Drunk. Drugged." A click of his tongue. "You should've guarded her better."
Something inside me went utterly still. The kind of stillness that comes before bloodshed.
"I will dismantle you, that fucking hand of yours that touched her, piece by piece."
"You will beg me. On knees. To end the suffering you are gonna go through. Pure HELL."
I said quietly. No shouting. No rage. Just a promise.
"Piece by piece. Bone by bone. You'll Regret Crossing Path with me again."
A pause. Then, my phone buzzed. I looked down. The picture loaded.
And my lungs forgot to take in the breathing, my heart felt stabbed the monsters I kept inside, buried surfaced thirsty for the blood.
Ella lay sprawled across unfamiliar sheets, lashes resting against flushed skin, lips parted like she was caught between dreams and fear, cheeks flushed. One thin strap had slipped off her shoulder, fabric twisted, hiked a little near her thighs, her body limp in a way that made something savage claw up my throat. Faint redish blue Mark On her ear like a bruise or, should I say Hickey.
She looked untouched. But taken.
I took a slow, controlled breath because losing control now would cost her everything.
Ace's voice returned, smug and toxic. "Pretty, isn't she? Thought you'd like a visual.
Call it… a reunion gift."
My fingers tightened around the phone until I heard the plastic creak.
"You just signed your death warrant," I said calmly. "And everyone you love will watch it happen."
Hyunwoo looked up. "Got him." My fingers ran through my hair, pushing it back. I would be lying if I felt someone knocked the air out of me. And for the first time in a while—
I welcomed the slaughter.As if demons were back alive, I was the same old monster just wearing a Human skin.
"You wanted the reaction, Ace. You will get a Perfect reaction you won't be able to forget."