Triggers ⚠- Contains abusive language and mention of harassment.

"Unhand me! I am the Lord Classico! How dare you hurl such accusations over the prestigious likes of me!" Dino yelled in outrage.

He stood in a small darkened room, the candles blown off with the wind that whipped through the air as the door banged open.

"Relax Dino it's us. We brought you here instead of the cell." Dali commented in a low drawl, stepping into the light that spilt in from the doorway.

The Lord Delico leaned against the table with folded arms, crossing his booted feet at the ankle.

Dali lifted a brow, taking in the harsh way that the guards held down Dino. He huffed out a frustrated breath and glanced venomously at them.

Just as he was about to speak, the Lorca clan leader directed his haughty words to them.

"Unhand the Lord, treat him with repect. He's only a suspect, not the perpetrator."
Henrique ordered stepping forward. His firm clipped tone, elicited an immediate brisk reaction.

The guards released their hard grip, leaving bunched creases on his cape from where they roughly held his arms.

Dino brushed off his shoulders and squared them, striding in. The security melted away, hoping to dodge the instigated Lord.

"Shut the door on your way out." Dali called in a bored, lackluster voice.

Henrique relit some of the lamps, brightening the small room once again. A yellow light gave the room form once more, showing Dino, Dali and Henrique lean over the square wooden table in the dingy, dusty old room.

"What is this? Was this some kind of sick prank?" Dino growled angrily.

"No, this is us saving your life. Your reputation." Dali quipped dryly.

Henrique piped up, explaining the situation clearly.

"You've been pinned down as a suspect by the council after Lady Catherine was abducted earlier on today." Those very words socked Dino in the chest.

Dread and fear warring in his head. His eyes widened, golden-sapphire irises largening with horror and then disbelief.

"What!?" He bellowed.

"Someone in the agency passionately motivated the idea of you being a suspect after Lady Catherine was taken hostage a little outside of your estate." Dali explained, stretching his forearms out as he leaned on the desk.

"How did you find out?" Dino whispered in despair.

"Her driver." Dali replied to the point.

Dino's eyes dilated to narrow slits, his face stunned, lost in his own fear.

"I-I saw her off... I made sure..." He mumbled to himself.

"The order was issued to arrest everyone who was a suspect. When we caught wind of that, we gave the guards fake orders to bring you here. I know Lord Johannes will understand." Henrique continued, a small sheepish grin lifting his mouth.

"I am not concerned about me. I'll prove them wrong. What happened to my Catherine!? Where is she!?" Dino demanded, rushing his words out.

Dali blinked slowly, eyes flitting over the Lord of Classico, who fisted his gloved hands, his shoulders shaking with anxiety and fury.

"Why wasn't I alerted sooner!?" Dino barked furiously.

"Calm down, you'll think better that way. We know who it is. We just have to work around them." Dali sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's all linked, but you probably guessed that. Lady Catherine is the first memeber from the agency to have been attacked. Things are getting more serious, we don't have time to be petty so we manipulated the system." Dali cooly stated, pushing a document toward Dino to look at.

"This is the list of victims. We received news that one was murdered. The first one that went missing." Henrique explained.

Dino scanned the information, noting that the women ranged from nobility to common citizens.

He thought back to the meeting he had with Lord Johannes the day before.

"Twenty women are gone missing. We don't have much of a lead on where or who. I need my best team on this." He stated in a panic.

"These women mysteriously go missing at odd times of the day, with no eye witnesses or proof other than that they are missing."

"The abduction is swift and quiet. Women are going missing in crowds and busy areas, without so much as a squeak. We have reason to belive that a common vehicle is used and that the culprit blends in." Johannes added.

"I want you three to investigate this matter and locate the women. Bring them back safe. Gerhard is undercover on a separate task, so it's up to you three."

Lord Johannes boomed in a deep voice.

Dino frowned in deep thought, piecing points together.

"If the women went missing without so much as a scream and all classes of women dissapeared then we know it's an internal affair." Dali stated.

"That's obvious." Dino commented.

"No, I mean it's one of our own members. I am guessing the same swine who blamed me." Dali enforced.

"Our priority is to find these women. It's good that we know who really is behind this, now we know who to avoid and keep information from. But we need to find the victims." Henrique said urgency laced in his voice.

"We avoid everyone. Everyone except Lord Johannes and Gerhard." Dali said firmly.

"Yeah, we can't trust anyone. If the bastard can manage to convince the council that I am to blame while covering his tracks, then we definitely can't trust anyone." Dino commented, folding his arms in an attempt to hide his growing rage.

"His house? You think the women are there?" Henrique asked.

"No too easy. Besides his wife wouldn't be happy I doubt she's in it with him." Dali added.

"Henrique, get a list of Johnsen Bergs properties. His areas frequented and the recent locations he's been posted at." Dino spoke in an urgent, sober voice.

His clear words laced with enough panic and good sense that jerked Henrique into action without any further explanation needed.

The red haired Lord nodded and strided out purposefully, a quickened pace to his steps.

"I'll help you escape. We'll go to the Delico's estate. The police no doubt will have your place under watch. We can work from there. I'll send Ferdinand to fetch Theodore." Dali reassured Dino, squeezing his shoulder in support.

The Classico Lord nodded stiffly, his lips thinning into a grim line.

Dali peeped out into the hallway, stepping out for second before ducking back in. He scuttled forward waving his hand in a frantic motion.

"Quick! Quick! I created a diversion. Let's dash." He whispered in a rushed voice. Dino blew of the candles and nodded, rushing out behind Dali.

Dino and Dali ducked out of the dusty, old office, while a rapidly growing crowd gathered around the source of attention.

"What did you do?" Dino asked, once seated in Dali's carriage.

"Just knocked out a guard on duty. He collapsed right in front of the trustee's line of sight. He'll live, probably will wake up with a headache at most, we needed a diversion." Dali shrugged, unbothered by his actions.

Dino in another light would have smirked at the nerve of the cocky aristocrat, but given the present events he simply glanced out the window without further word.

"We'll find her, I doubt Johnsen has much brain upstairs. We'll best him, that's a given." Dali added comfortingly, feeling sorry for the Lord of Classico.

"Not having any leads on the filthy lowlife is what's stopping me from rushing in to find Catherine. She doesn't deserve this!" Dino bit out. His gaze thinning with anger and frustration.

"I know you care deeply but none of the women deserve this." Dali countered.

Dino covered his tired face with a large palm his shoulders deflating.

"That's not what I mean. Had I known, I'd have escorted her myself! Who knows what they'll do to her, given her title and position." His chest heaved with a rippling wave of fear.

"We'll find her before they make any move, God forbid. For now let's go back to my estate and put our heads together." Dali stated in a decided tone, hoping it would reassure Dino.

Even though Dino hadn't said anything, his behavior around anything to do with Catherine since he met her, made his feelings for her more than clear.

Dali only hoped that Johnsen didn't use that to his advantage the way he could.

Johnsen Berg was a Lord that also served the Blood Pact Council and was notorious for holding promiscuous relationships with women, in addition to manipulating them and deceiving them.

It didn't help that his current wife was previously one of the brides that ran out on Dino.

Esmerelda had left him that very night, bolting from the Classico estate, stating that Dino was too overbearing and hard to live around.

A few months later she married Johnsen Berg but was still ignorant to his works, to date.

The man had a sweet tooth for women and was an adulterer of the highest order. He could charm the wit out of women and pry their trust and self control from them.

The missing women were definitely his work. Only someone with detailed knowledge, open to access personal information of the population would be able to pull such a stunt.

Dali sat in the jouncing carriage, frown lines creasing his forehead. His eyes flitted a horizontal path, dilated in thought.

"Once we get the remainder of these women safely back I am going to strangle the life out of that wastrel Lord." Dino vowed icily, gaze locked on the view outside that blurred past.

✵✵✵

Catherine was roughly pushed to a sitting position, the grimy, rough cloth that covered her vision, pulled off violently, bruising the sides of her eyes.

She lifted her disconcerted gaze up to the person. Lord Berg caressed her face, leering at her with a menacing smirk.

He tutted sarcastically, trailing his hands down the side of her jaw, taking advantage of her bound hands.
Snapping her head to the side Catherine sunk her teeth into his wayward hand, impaling her teeth into his gloved hand.

The man screamed in agony, jerking his hand out of her mouth. Yanking his hand free which did more damage. The sharp thwack of his hand echoed in the silent room as he struck her face.

"Bitch!" He hissed angrily. Spinning on his heel, he marched out of the dark, warm room banging the door shut.

Catherine listened to his footsteps fade away for good. Her head heavy with exhaustion, pain settling in.

"Psst! Hey! Nice one." A voice called in a hushed from a corner. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the measly lighting, she found another woman bound just as she was.

The girl was dressed simply, in a plain white dress with a tweed apron still around her.

"Where are we?" Catherine wondered out loud, more to her self.

"Some kind of warehouse I assume." The young woman explained.

Catherine, smiled softly at the woman.

"I'll get us out of here." Catherine promised the woman, looking around the room to study what possible objects she could use.

Given the odd situation she met the girl in, pleasantries and introductions seemed of little importance.
Catherine decided to find out as much as she could about the place from the girl held captive.

She exhaled through her nose, settling into the scratchy, hard ground hoping to shift into a comfortable angle.

Her back ached and with bound wrists it made sitting more uncomfortable.
A prickly tingling from where the Lord stuck her hard on the face still remained. Heat emanating from her cheek.

She sighed heavily, exhaling through her nose as she shifted back to rest awkwardly against the solid structure behind. Catherine felt like a duck, but was the most comfortable position she could settle into.

"You'll get used to it. I find lying on your side is best. Sleep pretty okay." The young woman added sympathetically.

Catherine pressed her lips into a thankful, awkward smile.

'I can't sleep like that, it leaves me too vulnerable and exposed. Gosh... I need to find something sharp." Catherine thought to herself, determined to break free.

The girl grew quite after some time, her heavy breathing audible from where Catherine sat.

'I'll ask her more about how she came here later.'

Bored out of her mind her mind reeled back to how she got herself in this situation.

She just finished her lesson with Theodore and was on her way home from the Classico residence, when a carriage stopped her own, blocking the path.

After a brief exchange between her driver and the unknown person which ended in a threat on his part, her door flew open to reveal the lecherous Lord.

He grinned triumphantly, inviting himself into her carriage. Maintaining an indifferent, calm composure, Catherine kept her face impassive while she panicked on the inside.

Her mind went through all the possible escape routes and things she could use to defend herself. Reaching discreetly into her bag, she clasped her fountain pen tightly, ready to attack.

Her mind was heavily occupied with how best to approach such a situation that she missed the smug words the Lord smugly uttered.

As he leaped toward her she sprung into action, ducking her head downwards and stabbing him in the thigh.

He screeched, falling back while clutching his leg in pain.
Catherine took it as her que to make a run for it. Lifting her skirts she dashed out, running as fast as possible.

But in the thick of the forest the crafty Lords henchmen, waited with rope and gloating grin. She was outnumbered by five to one.

She was roughly pushed from behind, the unforseen attack landing her on her hands and knees.

Before she so much as blinked, she was tied up and blindfolded.

Her present location focused back into clear sight as she blinked out of her thoughts.

Anger heated her face while a chill of regret sent a shiver down her spine. Catherine had previously had, an awful run in with the Lord Johnsen.

She recalled her second day at the agency. The pompous pervert, shroud in fine clothing and huge invaluable jewls strutted up to her, his shoulder cape hanging off flimsily from the weight of the emerald that dragged it down.

"The agency has recruited such delicious, pretty looking things to work for us. My, my what a treat you are... You'd be undoubtedly a sweet one." He commented, running his tongue over the front of his teeth like a hooligan.

Her nose crinkled in distaste before turning to leave the area.

The Lord caught her hand, unbothered that they were in such a respectful, formal environment.

"I know an empty closet no one uses if you like..." He hissed out silkily. His perfume seizing her lungs till her head pounded.

Instinct won out before good sense settled in. She stomped on his foot and jabbed her elbow hard into his chest cavity, hitting his heart with a hard blow.

Swinging around she knocked his jaw hard enough to leave a bruise, head snapping back with his teeth clattering much to her delight.

"Try that again and you'll lose all five limbs. The Vlad Agency seemingly made a blind choice in hiring help from something as pathetic as you."

Turning on her heel she diverted her path to a better, safer route.

Since then, the Lord had tried to force a conversation with her twice, his wife coming onto them the second time.

"What is someone like you doing in an empty corridor with my husband. You're new here, learn your place!" His wife spat, her ire simmering up to a boil so quickly.

"I think it's your husband that should learn his place. Don't be so proud of yourself, you're doing a sad job of keeping him entertained. I'd keep him on a leash." Catherine snipped with a venomous sneer before clicking away.

The tutor shook her head at the memory, wondering what he wanted with the other girl. It was clear he wanted revenge on her.

'Goodness I do hope someone finds out I am missing.'

"Theodore had a test on vampire history..." She softly let out, brows drawing tightly together in a sad pout.

✵✵✵

"One of them are dead? Has an autopsy been done?" Dino asked, standing in the spacious balcony on the second floor.

He felt constricted in the closed room. A jittery feeling coursing through him, prevented him from sitting down or simply being.

Resting his hands on the broad railing, he inhaled short breaths of air.
His heart hammering against his ribcage, urging him to spring into action.

"The body was discovered this morning. Judging by the descriptions it seems either self inflicted or accidental. They are busy with the autopsy currently." Henrique replied, from the threshold of the drawing room.

"Apparently she broke free when while they were distracted with the new women abducted." Dali added in a muted, clinical voice.

"That's murder on his hands as well." Henrique added grimly, a discontent frown frozen on his handsome face.

Dino remained quiet from where he stood, back faced to them, looking out into the view ahead.

'Please be alright Catherine...' He begged to himself, for the hundredth time.

"I wonder how Gerhard is doing. He's having a merry time at his post." Dali commented, changing the topic.

"I doubt that. Undercover always means that the risk is greater. He's got Angelico with him too." Henrique commented, worried gaze flitting toward Dino.

"Lord Johannes posted him at a very specific place." Dali remarked.

"His clan estate!" Dino exclaimed suddenly. He spun around, long silver hair swooshing behind.

"Johnsen owns that resort Gerhards visiting. Hiding the women there would be too obvious, so it's definitely his estate. The location is near the resort!" Dino explained expressionately.

"That resort wasn't listed under assests in personal information from the Agency." Henrique said confused.

"What's the name of the resort? Esmerelda Gardens. He listed it under his wife's name." Dino completed for them.

"My God... What is this man getting up to?" Dali whispered, brows lifting up apprehensively.

The Classico Lord sprung into action.

"Let's go. I have had enough idle talk. We can discover his intention later." Dino belted out, walking swiftly out of the Delico's estate, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Dali and Henrique watched him sweep from the room with renewed vigor, the Classico Lord walking with swift, determined strides.

"Henrique would you mind being the distraction at work? Berg is still there, I am sure your polite words and peaceful disposition would artfully halt him." Dali said, looking at his friend helplessly.

The Lord Lorca nodded in agreement a small smile on his face.

"I don't mind at all, it's no worry. I can be near Kate that way as well. Who knows what that pervert would get up to." Henrique said darkly, lips thinning in disgust.

"Thanks. I'll back Dino up. Goodluck." Dali said in a hurry, springing into action. He clapped Henrique on the back and exited, following after Dino.

Resting a hand on his hip, Henrique sighed, dropping his head tiredly before snapping it up again.

"Right." He muttered to himself.

Marching out purposefully, he got into his own carriage, instructing the driver to make his way to the Vlad Agency.

"Katie I know you're strong but please be safe. I am on my way." He hoped and prayed, nerves making it hard for him to stay calm.

The two carriages forked paths, Dali and Dino on their way to Esmerelda's Gardens.

Dino flexed his fingers, shifting in his seat, absorbed in thought.

"Catherine." Dali called out.

Dino snapped his head to face Dali, his eyes wild, looking around the carriage for her.

"I've been speaking for minutes and you didn't reply, I figured that would get your attention." Dali shrugged, a small smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

"You're a rather cheeky, difficult noble Dali Delico." Dino commented, eyeing him with a semi disgusted, look.

Dali chuckled, thanking him with a gloating smirk.

"Please don't strike out on instinct Dino. When we get there we have to be as nonchalant as possible. It's the best shot." Dali spoke in a soft yet dominant tone.

Dino lifted his gaze to the wealthy aristocrat his forlorn face crinkling with anguish. He nodded, returning his gaze back to the outside view.

"I know... I am just worried about her..."

He said softly after a few seconds.

___________________________________________

A/n: Hey everyone 🤗

I wanna thank all of you who voted and commented thus far it means a lot ♥.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter.