Rows of equispaced light rays distanced themselves around the theatre. The glint carried by the light was mirrored in Zane's eyes which was not just the reflection of his surroundings. His hazel eyes screamed eureka and even electricity could not compete with him in terms of brightness. 

Carmen's brightness wasn't apparent but it was most certainly present. After all, her feigned curiosity and obliviousness did not skip a beat. 

"Who's Emily?" she asked, naturally. 

"That's Bane's wife. She's not directly involved, I don't think so anyway, but she does know about her husband's job. I've heard him talk to her over the phone and mention these things subtly," Zane said. 

"You know, someday, you're going to have to tell me how exactly you got this information," Carmen said, smiling. Curiosity was her best friend. 

"That's beside the point," Zane said, "I don't know how to back things up but it seems like it could make sense!"

"Go ahead then," Carmen urged. 

On the other side of the theatre, Rylen and Adara watched as the two conceptualizing members of their group whispered on end. They dared not join them to form a group; there was no guessing what Bane thought of gang activity. 

Carmen was slightly audible, owing to her loud voice. Zane, on the other hand, was imperceptible. Adara strained her eyes to read the movement of their chapped lips, hoping to be aware of any breakthrough. 

Carmen glanced at Adara's focused eyes and nodded at her. Unaware of what the nod meant, Adara stayed put, trying to remain content with the half, broken information she could receive. Alas, it turned out Adara was not good at making out the difference between any of the vowels or consonants. P, b, they were all too similar and that's just one group of similar-sounding letters. 

"Adara recognized that exact baby monitor and claimed she knew it because her aunt and cousin stayed with her for a while and used that monitor. We also know that she was kidnapped near the police station," Zane said. 

"Are we sure? I don't remember how I was taken either and we all agreed that we couldn't remember the exact details," Carmen said. 

"That we did but how far could she have gone without her parents trying to catch up? They knew their daughter was at risk so why would they let her leave? What if they had planned Adara to leave with someone they knew and hence were okay with her being away from them?" Zane asked. 

"Like who, Emily?" Carmen asked sceptically. 

Carmen knew that anything else Zane had to say would be false. His entire assumption was built on Emily, crushing the poor woman's tiny physique. Carmen had watched the woman's body collapse for an entirely different reason a day before said assumption took place. 

There wasn't a lot Carmen was sure of but she knew one thing; ghosts can't take people to safety. Unless they're dead themselves. 

"Why not? Emily has a son who is just old enough to be monitored by one of these! That's too much of a coincidence! Maybe Emily was tasked to do something to Adara and bring her here and Bane would deal with the others!" Zane said. 

Impossible. Emily is dead. Except now, Carmen was willing to believe Zane's outlandish theory. Although she didn't believe Emily returned from the dead, there was always a possibility that Bane was tasked with Adara's protection. What uncle wouldn't do that for his niece?

"But if that's the case, shouldn't Bane be in trouble already? Would he not be the first person suspected of Adara's disappearance? There's no way her parents haven't noticed!" Carmen countered. It wouldn't be her if she were to accept any nonsense spouted at her. 

"He doesn't talk to us very often, does he? Maybe he is dealing with it outside and we just don't know about it! And there is the thing with the drugs as well..." Zane began. 

The suddenness that Carmen was hit with came as a shock. Suddenly, her mind was brighter than the room itself and she was the one to cast away the darkness that tried to poke in. The drugs, ideal to her kidnapping haunted her once again but she wasn't afraid. 

"Do you remember what Adara said? She said that she was obeying her father by taking drugs in when we asked her. Yet, her parents went with her to complain about the seller of said drugs. I mean, if her father's first thought was to take them in, he probably is a buyer, but not from Nikolas Branson," Carmen said. 

"And we know for sure that Nikolas Branson does not exist! Nikolas was no one to Adara's dad and he probably didn't want to be put in trouble because of the drugs," Zane said, following her line of thought. 

"But that would mean," Carmen began, glancing at Adara once again. 

Adara's blonde hair fell to the side of her face, covering up her features and expression. She was having her own conversation with Rylen, something about the change in WiFi. Unknowingly, they had divided themselves into two groups and Carmen was grateful for it. 

Adara didn't need to hear what she had to say next. 

"But that would mean Adara's dad put her in danger intentionally."

Zane's eyes stretched into each other, the sad reality dawning on him. Of course, it was the least of their problems but the thought that Adara's father created the base for the risk sunk into his chest. 

"That's beside the point," he managed to say. 

"You're right," Carmen said. 

"And, this one I'm not so sure of, but maybe Bane had been giving Adara's dad drugs for a while. He had been planning to start his business for a while, which is why I was blackmailing him. Prior to that, he had dealings with other people for distributing the drugs. We know Adara's dad was buying so wouldn't it be easier to buy from a relative?" Zane question. 

"It definitely would. He must've thought the drugs were from Bane or whatever they know him as but he couldn't recognize the name Nikolas Branson! After the police came, he let Adara say what she knew because it was safer than him getting in trouble, possibly," Carmen said before waiting for a few seconds, "But how does this help us?"

"Does it not? They're relatives, living in the same city with intertwining lives! What if Adara knows something more? Maybe she thought it was irrelevant but it clearly isn't!" Zane said. 

Carmen tried to focus but her brain was in a state worse than blank. It was like a mystery board with its base representing and the neurons acted as the red string, connecting one faraway lead to another. Except this one was a bit of a jumbled mess; connections leading everyone but meaning nothing. Connections that didn't make sense at all. 

"Adara has never seen her uncle's home theatre?" Carmen asked in disbelief. That would have been the first thing she checked. 

"We should have done this before," Zane said, standing up, "Why argue amongst ourselves when the source is right here?"

He crouched next to Adara's ear, sending nervous energy to her eardrum. He whispered one of his soft whispers as a unibrow formed, taking all the attention away from the words.

"The aunt who lived with you, is her name Emily?"

Adara froze. Had she been lip-reading the pair she would know where the theory arose but she was unaware. All she saw was a certified blackmailer and possible stalker in the same room as her with private details. 

"Yes," she found herself stuttering, unable to hold her words in. 

"This is very important, Adara. What is your uncle's name?" Zane emphasised every word. 

"Nikson Badgely," Adara shivered. 

Nik, Carmen thought, Emily's screams and exclamation refilling her mystery board. 

Zane turned to look at Carmen, mildly triumphantly. He angled his lips away from the baby monitor as he breathed, "We have a lead."

"Adara is our way out," Carmen realized. 

𓆩⟡𓆪

The passage of time diminished everything In Rylen's periphery. The theatre which was an opulent setting, grand in every single aspect, had seemed to shrink. The hunger in his stomach also diminished. As a result, his strength diminished and his head hurt overall. 

Along with all the bad though, there was some good. Rylen's fear had also shrunk substantially. When the men returned for the third time in his existence to give lunch, he didn't hold his breath and neither did he move. He seemed to realize that he wasn't in danger. For now. 

As the four of them huddled around their finished lunch, he took a moment to glance at the faces around him. His misfortune-mates seemed to have identical subjects on their minds while he was in another part of the world that was outside this room, following the simulated streets to find his sister. Her angered face looked back at him, pleading for him to find her so they could return home together. 

Except, he never did. He was neither present with his blood nor was he really present in the room. His able-mindedness never stayed for too long and he always found himself drifting away. Even Zane didn't bother to blame Rylen anymore; he had turned out to be a liability. 

"Adara," Carmen said, her voice holding softness to it. Perhaps it was an attempt at a whisper but her careful tone told Adara that whatever she was about to say would be difficult. 

"We think this is your uncle's house," she said, unable to let her down slowly. 

Rylen was just as lost as Adara was. While her skin paled further from the lack of sunlight, his eyebrows shot up quizzically at the bizarre words Carmen spoke. Surely, he could not have missed that much, right?

"That doesn't make sense," Adara tried to argue, but in vain. 

"I've been around Bane a lot of times. I've never found his way home but I've heard him talk about his wife. Emily," Zane said. 

"There are many Emilies in the world!" Adara tried to argue. 

How many of them have a husband named Nik?  Carmen thought. Instead, she asked, "How many of them use the same baby monitor your aunt did, use the same WiFi as you and have a son the age of your cousin?"

"Adara, please try to remember. Were you supposed to be under the care of your aunt, or even your uncle?" Zane pleaded. 

However, trying to remember was on a whole different spectrum than succeeding at the task. As Adara twirled her hair instinctively, she bit her tongue as she tried to subdue the revelations that had popped up a few seconds ago. 

Adara wasn't close with her aunt and uncle. Really, the only family members she was close to were her parents whom she adored. Still, they had given Emily and her son a place to stay when Nik had been struggling, and Adara shattered at the betrayal-esque feeling that brimmed her head. 

It's not true, she tried to tell herself, Zane doesn't have proof.

But Zane had already built a reputation for being accurate. 

Adara warmed her toes which seemed to grow colder as the air conditioner continued to run. She looked between Carmen, then at Zane who always thought Carmen to be the reason they ended up trapped. Except for Adara, she was here because of her own blood. 

Carmen noticed Adara's estranged eyes. To her relief, they were dry but that didn't change the look of disorientation in Adara's features. Her lips quivered, but very slightly, her eyes were aghast but that hadn't been unusual in the last few hours. Gently, Carmen placed her arm on Adara's shoulder blades and she succumbed to the touch in no time. 

All of a sudden, Carmen felt paralysed. Adara's long, slender arms wrapped around Carmen's neck, seeking to gain the feeling of a mother's warmth. Carmen's arms remained transfixed to her torso as all her neurons shattered away from the mystery board, wrestling to understand what the new fondle was. 

From the corner of Carmen's garbled eyes, she saw Rylen rub his arms on Adara's back, a practice he used around Raven. As Adara retreated from the sudden motion, Zane took no time to explain their findings, making sure to glare at her every time she exclaimed. 

Carmen was in a stunned, idyllic state. No one took to notice the shock that engulfed her but it was racing in the left side of her chest. She saw the first glimpse of colour in the hollow area and it was bright red. A tiny speck, similar to the haunting, blinking dot in the baby monitor. Except, this one filled her with joy. 

It was the broken heart that disappeared years ago, void from the human touch. 

Carmen couldn't remember her last embrace, be it one drawn by love or fear and anxiety. And it didn't matter. In that void, a blonde-haired girl found her place, lighting it up with her bright skin. 

"You'll be okay, Adara," she soothed, unsure of what Zane was lecturing her about. 

"She's, right," Zane agreed, "There's only so much I know about him but you might know more! You guys were close enough to let them stay at your home, at least your parents were so you might have some additional knowledge."

"But we already have a plan for tomorrow," Adara said. 

"We can make it stronger. Our only plan was to look around inside the room but you can take us outside! You can tell us what the house is like and what we might be missing!" Zane said as Rylen held him accountable for exclaiming. 

"Speaking of tomorrow's plan, I think we're good to go. Adara told me about the WiFi issue but I think Bane only changed his mic or something. It's still a viable option," Rylen said, taking his chance to speak the only thing he knew. 

Adara, hellbent on not straying away from the initial scheme, was now stuck in the middle of the ocean in a small, brown dinghy, insufficient for four people. Added to the previous crisis, there were holes on every side and water poured in as they plummeted into the cold, loose saltwater. At least, that was what the sudden cognizance felt like. 

"I just realized! Even if the WiFi does cut down the baby monitor, he might notice that it's not working! What if he comes down directly, or sends someone to monitor us?" she asked. 

"That's exactly where you come in Adara! You can help us," Zane urged. 

Adara sheepishly looked at her bare legs, "I've never been to my uncle's house. I don't like to meet extended family members often."

An audible sigh filled the room but neither Carmen nor Rylen participated in it. Instead, Rylen chose another route and asked questions. For Raven. 

"How did you guys connect with each other? Adara, even the slightest things you say might help," Rylen urged. 

"Exactly! As you said, our initial plan is filled with flaws but you can fix them! Our fate lies in your hands, Adara!" Zane urged. 

And there was the problem. Adara didn't mind giving her input and opinions but it became a burden when the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. It was just like in school, she never took the lead in a group activity but simply followed instructions diligently. She wasn't a leader, she didn't believe she could be one. 

Dread filled her body at the realization that she was letting them down. Zane had worked ceaselessly in efforts to find a lead but it crumbled under Adara's weight. Tired, she looked at the baby monitor, picturing her uncle's perfect hair, almost fakely shaped jawline and a monster beneath. 

Is that even his voice? She asked herself, How could I have not noticed? Is that what he sounds like? I'm not going insane, am I?

Am I?

Am I?

Am I?

I know my uncle's voice, don't I? Did Dad ask him to keep me safe?

Why can't I remember?

How did I not notice?

How did I-

"Adara?" Rylen asked, shaking her ever so slightly but to no avail. 

The two girls in the room were in a trance, each caused by the other. They had taken each other's place with Carmen reminiscing in semi-happiness, obvious to the scene that was unravelling in front of her. As for Adara?

She was fucked. 

But so was everybody else. 

No matter what, never let your emotions overpower your intelligence - a momentous mantra in Carmen's household. Yet, the four of them, including her current vulnerable self strayed away from the mediocre quote. 

Exclamations and revelations, it was only a matter of time before the loud noises filled the quaint office room, attracting the beast to watch his prey. The blinking dot focused on the back of Carmen's head, marking a fatal area. 

Bane had been there for the entire eleven minutes that they spoke. And he heard everything

It wouldn't be long before he had no use for the puppets in his theatre. 

𓆩⟡𓆪

A/N: I like to think that was a shocking turn of events xD. Genuine question, do you guys feel like the plot is moving too slowly? I'm not really sure about it and would love it if you guys could tell me how you feel! Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
WC: 2872