"Jake is here."
That was all William heard from Charles before the door swung open.
Felix was still there, and he couldn't believe how easily he had entered the mansion. He glanced around, shook his head, and then Jake stepped inside with a serious expression, Jenny and Mikaela close behind.
Ericka was also present before leaving for her new place. The group wasn't surprised—they already knew the real reason for this meeting.
"Brother, we need to leave now; Isabel might grow suspicious about where we've been," Thalia said to her brother.
"I'll give you a valid alibi. This is important, Thalia."
She didn't argue, only sighed and sat down. He smiled faintly—if only his youngest sister were still alive, he knew she would have been friends with these people.
Clenching his fist, he heard someone cough. They needed to begin. Tomorrow or the next day, no one knew what might happen.
He had asked the young women who survived the last ordeal how they escaped. Their answer was strange: someone had helped them, but it wasn't a person—it was a soul. Fernan had guided them into Charles's basement.
He believed them. Escaping the warehouse without knowing its layout was nearly impossible. Even the keys to each room had mysteriously gone missing.
Until now, Fernan had continued helping. He sighed, weighing the thought. That was why they were here today.
Glancing at the calendar on his phone, he realized it had been almost eight months since Fernan and the siblings died. Eight months… yet it still felt like yesterday.
"What?" he heard someone say.
"It's true, Jake. Even if you ask the women we rescued, they'll tell you the same thing," Zenne said with a deep sigh.
Jake shook his head, processing what was being said.
"How can you explain to me that the child will be affected?" he asked, pointing toward Thalia's group.
"They know the truth," Vince answered simply.
"Know the truth?" Jake frowned. "We're adults; we shouldn't involve the youth in this."
"Youth? Don't you know why Tricia and Isabel are here?" Zenne asked.
"Tricia Socorro?" Jake repeated.
"Yes." Zenne nodded and immediately shared what he knew. Pressing a button under his desk, he revealed files—information spilling across the screen.
"What does this mean?" Jake asked, shaking his head.
They had called this meeting to keep Jake from walking into danger.
"Weren't you suspicious when some young people went missing during your camping trip two months ago?" Zenne pressed.
Jake's expression changed.
"Wait—are you saying it's their fault what happened at that other school where women went missing?" Jake asked.
"You need to accept the truth, Jake. How do you explain what happened to Jasmin when she didn't return while she was with Thalia?" Vince challenged.
"Do you have proof?" Jake demanded.
"Proof? Ask Gerald about that time," Vince replied. "You asked me back then when Jasmin went missing, remember? Your school lost students. The kidnappers avoided targeting them directly to prevent suspicion, so they hunted in other schools."
"Impossible. With all the monitoring, how could they have acted like that when they were just in their tent?" Jake stopped mid-sentence, swallowing hard. "Don't tell me… tracking devices. That time, they were in their tent every night."
"Exactly," Felix said, nodding. "To make it seem like they didn't leave, they left the tracking device behind."
"Jasmin told me back then…" Ericka's voice trembled. "She came out of the restroom, waiting for Thalia and Chesca. Then she saw the shadow of two women. Thinking someone else was inside, she walked closer—then two men appeared behind her and made her inhale a sedative."
"Here it is, Jake," Vince said.
Gerald stepped in. "Sometimes they befriend the victim. They usually target women who travel home alone, especially at night. They stalk them first—like they did with Jasmin. That's how they've taken so many women without being traced. Jasmin was lucky someone helped her."
Jake sighed heavily and sat down, deep in thought. He glanced toward Felix's siblings.
"Felix, don't you feel sorry for your siblings? The chaos nearly swallowed them. You have another brother, Felix," Jake reminded.
"I'll leave Greg with Vince," Felix said. "I'm responsible for why they're here. I told you before—I'll do whatever I can to protect them."
"Yeah, whatever… I don't even know what to say anymore. I'm losing it," Jake muttered.
Vince patted his shoulder. "Don't. We still have a lot to prepare. I understand you."
The meeting continued. As they reviewed more CCTV footage, Vince smirked. Their enemies had already taken the bait.