Chapter 69: #SIXTY-NINE

ELIJAH’S POV

I left the clinic with my mind racing, and for the first few minutes, I convinced myself that Nicholas couldn’t have gone far.

He had been dull when I saw him earlier, and after everything the principal had told me, there was no way he could have simply disappeared from the school without needing somewhere to recover.

I checked the nearest corridors first, then the classrooms, the library, the student lounge and even the quiet areas behind the administrative building where students sometimes went when they wanted to avoid people. Every time I saw someone sitting alone, I stopped long enough to check their face, and every time it wasn’t Nicholas, my frustration increased.

Obviously, I called his phone repeatedly as I walked, listening to the same unanswered ringing until the call eventually ended. I tried again. Still fucking nothing. I sent a message. Nothing. I called once more and pressed the phone against my ear while walking faster, already imagining every possible place he could have gone, but there was still no answer.

Nicholas was angry with me, but he wouldn’t deliberately disappear after collapsing. He was frightened of something, and whatever had happened in that clinic had clearly been enough to make him run.

I returned to the principal’s office and pushed the door open without waiting to be invited inside. She looked up immediately, irritation flashing across her face when she saw me again.

"I need access to the security cameras." I told her.

She leaned back in her chair and stared at me. "You were just here."

"And now I’m back because my brother is missing and I’m not sitting around." I hissed.

She didn’t look too concerned. "I already told you that he left the clinic."

"I know. I want to know where he went after that."

"Elijah, this isn’t a private matter anymore. Nicholas left school without authorization after being treated for poisoning, and I have already agreed not to contact the authorities because you insisted that I wait. You cannot continue walking into my office and demanding access to university property." Her expression twisted with annoyance.

I stepped closer to her desk. "I’m not asking you to hand me university records or give me access to anything that has nothing to do with him. I’m asking you to let me see the footage from the cameras covering the exits. If Nicholas left this school, the cameras will tell us where he went."

She stared at me for several seconds, clearly wondering whether to refuse me. I knew exactly what was going through her mind. She didn’t want to cooperate, but she also knew I had something over her that could cause far more trouble than allowing me into the control room.

Eventually, she pushed her chair back. "Fine. I’ll take you there myself."

"Good."

We walked through the administrative building without speaking. The principal led me to the security control room, where one of the university’s security operators was sitting in front of several monitors. The moment he saw us, he stood. "Sir."

"Sit down," I told him. "I need the footage from today."

He looked at the principal and she gave a reluctant nod. "Do what he asks."

I moved toward the monitors and looked at the different camera feeds. There were several screens showing different parts of the university grounds, and I immediately began mentally organizing them. I needed to know exactly where Nicholas had gone after leaving the clinic, not just whether he’d walked through the main entrance.

"Start with the clinic corridor," I said. "I want the footage from the moment he entered the clinic until the moment he left. Don’t skip anything."

The operator began searching through the recordings and I watched the screen as the footage played.

There was Nicholas being brought into the clinic.

Then the students leaving. Then the principal entering.

I kept watching until Nicholas appeared again, clearly in a hurry as someone hurried after him. "Pause there."

The operator stopped the footage and I leaned closer to the screen.

Nicholas was leaving the clinic. "Continue." I muttered.

He ran down the corridor.

I watched him pass through the main building, then disappear from that camera. "Switch to the next one." I ordered.

The operator changed the feed. "There."

Nicholas appeared again. He was moving toward the rear section of the university.

"Keep following him." I muttered under my breath.

The operator changed cameras repeatedly as Nicholas moved through the grounds. I watched him pass the science block, cut across one of the smaller courtyards and continue toward the rear entrance.

My heart began beating faster. "Where does that camera lead?"

"Back gate." He answered.

"Show me."

The footage changed and Nicholas appeared on the screen again.

He looked unsteady as he walked, but he kept going.

I watched him reach the gate and disappear through it.

Nothing immediately suggested that someone had taken him, and I exhaled.

At least I knew where he’d gone. "Do you have cameras outside the gate?"

"No. The university cameras only cover the property."

I nodded and stepped away from the monitor. "That’s enough."

The principal folded her arms. "Where do you think he’ll go?"

"I don’t know."

She frowned. "You should probably call his family."

"I am his family."

She didn’t look impressed. "You know what I mean."

I looked at her. "My family will find him." I left before she could say anything else.

The first place I went was home.

I knew Nicholas had been avoiding the house lately, but after what happened at school, I couldn’t rule it out. Maybe he’d gone there because it was the only place he knew he could hide. I called the house before I arrived, asking whether Nicholas had returned.

He hadn’t.

I immediately told the driver to keep going, and the next place that came to mind was Jayden.

If Nicholas didn’t want to come home, Jayden was probably the person he’d choose to see.

I called Jayden several times while the driver headed there, but he didn’t answer either. When we arrived, I got out and walked straight to the house. I knocked repeatedly, and eventually someone answered, but Jayden wasn’t there. I asked where he was, when he’d left and whether Nicholas had visited.

Nothing. They hadn’t seen him.

I walked back toward the car and called Nicholas again. It went straight to voicemail.

Fuck. I tried again. Still nothing.

I stared at his name on my screen and felt my patience disappearing.

"Pick up," I muttered, pressing the call button again.

The phone rang, but came up with no reply. I didn’t know what else to do.

I had checked the school. He wasn’t home. He wasn’t with Jayden.His phone was still unreachable.

And I had no idea whether he was somewhere safe or whether something had happened to him after he left the university.

I called home again and one of my brothers answered. "Is Nicholas there?"

There was a pause. "No."

Shit. "Has anyone seen him?"

"No. Why?"

"Because he’s missing."

The silence on the other end changed immediately. "What do you mean, missing?"

"I mean I can’t find him. He collapsed at school. They took him to the clinic. He left before I could find out where he was going, and now nobody knows where he is." I grunted.

I heard movement in the background. "Come home," my brother said.

"I will." I ended the call and told the driver to take me back.

By the time I entered the house, all three of my brothers were already downstairs. They looked at me the moment I walked in. "What happened?"

I dropped my phone onto the table. "I found out something at school, and it’s worse than I thought."

They waited patiently as I told them everything.

I explained that Nicholas had shown me the medication earlier and that I had initially thought it was simply something he’d obtained because he needed it. I told them about the conversation we’d had, the fact that he hadn’t known who left it for him and how he’d mentioned what the storekeeper had said about someone buying a large quantity of the same medication. Then I told them about finding out that Nicholas had collapsed, that the medication he’d taken had been poisoned and that he’d disappeared from the clinic before I could reach him.

By the time I finished, nobody looked calm anymore. "What do you mean the medication was poisoned?" one of them demanded.

"That’s what the nurse told the principal. They said the suppressants and inhibitors he’d taken were contaminated."

Roman looked irritated. "And someone gave those to him?"

"Yes."

"Did Nicholas know?" Cassian chipped in.

I nodded. "Yeah, but he didn’t know they were dangerous. He thought someone was helping him."

The room fell silent. Then Adrian looked toward me. "What did you say about the storekeeper?"

I repeated the information.

"Someone bought a large quantity before the supply ran out. Nicholas went to buy his usual medication, and the storekeeper told him he’d have to wait three days because the stock had been depleted." Adrian’s expression hardened.

Cassian immediately turned toward him. "Check Jayden."

Adrian looked at him. "What?"

"You’ve been monitoring his phone, haven’t you? See if there’s anything there."

I looked between them. "Monitoring his phone?"

Nobody answered immediately and I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Adrian looked uncomfortable. "We’ve been investigating Jayden."

My expression changed. "You’ve been doing what?"

Cassian shrugged. "We suspected he might know more about the stalker than he was telling Nicholas."

"You’ve been investigating him without telling me?" I couldn’t keep the annoyance out of my face. Adrian opened his mouth, but I cut him off. "How long?"

"Since before you knew about it."

I stared at all three of them. "So while I’ve been trying to protect Nicholas, you’ve been secretly digging through Jayden’s life?"

"We were trying to find out whether he was involved." Adrian raised his hands in surrender.

"And you couldn’t tell me?" I hissed.

What was wrong with them?

"We didn’t know whether you would tell Nicholas."

I stepped closer. "He’s my brother."

Roman stepped forward. "And he’s ours."

"Then why was I the last person to know?" I asked.

Nobody answered and my anger was rising quickly. "Do you still have access to Jayden’s phone?"

Adrian nodded.

"Then check it." I crossed my hands.

He pulled out his own phone.

"And see if you can track his location." I muttered.

He immediately started working and I watched him for a moment before turning toward the others. "If Jayden has anything to do with this, I want to know now. And if he doesn’t, then we need to stop wasting time looking at him and find Nicholas before whoever poisoned him gets to him again."

Adrian looked up from his phone. "I can check the GPS history."

"Do it."

He nodded and continued working.

If anything happened to Nicholas, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to forgive myself.