chapter970

Rudy stared at Lydia, clearly rattled. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know," Lydia said, shaking her head.

The last ping from Luke's phone was near a garbage dump close to the school. Without wasting a second, Lydia pulled up the school's security footage, scanning for any sign of him. Based on the school's break schedule, Luke should have left around five in the afternoon, two days ago.

She quickly found the video of students streaming out of the gates. There was Luke, leaving with the crowd, phone in hand as he went to unlock a shared bike. Right then, two men in masks and hats walked up and asked him for directions. One of them casually tapped Luke's shoulder.

Luke was cautious, though. He stepped back, putting some space between them before he answered their question. But after pointing them in the right direction, something clearly felt off. He shook his head like he was trying to clear it, then staggered. Within moments, he slumped and lost control.

The two men caught him, one on each side, and led him away toward the street. The camera cut off there, so Lydia switched to another angle, tracking them as they loaded Luke into a van with fake plates and drove off.

Rudy's eyes widened. "Are they traffickers? In broad daylight? That's insane."

Lydia wasn't sure if they were really traffickers or if someone was targeting Luke on purpose. Still, she knew these kinds of abductions had gotten way more sophisticated in recent years. It was almost impossible to stay ahead of them.

She replayed the footage in her mind. That tap on Luke's shoulder-there must have been some kind of drug on the guy's hand.

A heavy wave of guilt crashed over her. Luke had been missing for this long, and she was only finding out now. How was he doing right now?

As she kept digging for clues, her phone rang. Connor's name lit up the screen. "I'm coming to get you," he said.

Lydia's voice was low. "Sorry. I can't make it today."

Connor paused. "Did Lucinda do something again?"

It figured he'd think it was Lucinda causing drama.

"No. It's Luke. He's missing."

Connor went silent for a second. "When did it happen? Any idea who took him?"

"After school, two days ago. Two men, complete strangers. I'm still trying to figure out where he is."

"Where are you right now?" he asked.

"Golden Imperial Mansions."

"I'll be there soon."

By the time Connor arrived, Lydia's investigation pointed to one thing-Luke had probably been taken by traffickers and could already be out of the country.

Connor didn't waste time. He called Aiden, telling him to reach out to a top local gang contact. After some back-and-forth, they got a name:

Greg. Pretty much every shadene

business in the Capital had his fingerprints on it, and his cosmos in Las Vegas were legendary. If anyone could help, it was him.

Connor and Lydia headed straight to Greg's favorite club. The place was all gold accents and marble, shining from floor to ceiling. The lobby.

manager spotted them and ne

over, flashing a perfect

hurried

customer-service smile.

Aiden cut him off before he could say anything. "Where's your boss?

The manager-Josh, according to his name tag-looked them over. He could tell

they weren't here to party. Something about Connor's face made him pause, like he

almost recognized him but couldn't place from where.

Josh's smile got even brighter,

almost fake enough to make your

teeth ache "I'm sorry, sir, but our

boss is or vacation in fas Vegas. right now. He's not in the country. If you need anything, you can tell me, and I'll see if I can help."

Aiden's reply was ice-cold. Call him. Tell him Mr. Jefferson needs to talk. Now."