Chapter 117:I’ve been looking for you

Chapter 117: 117:I’ve been looking for you

The crowded international terminal buzzed with the low hum of PA announcements and rolling luggage, but in the shadows of the upper concourse, Nova stood like an ethereal specter. Her veil obscured her features as her sharp gaze tracked the transaction taking place on the ground floor. Below, Mr. Darson slid a thick envelope of cash across a café table to a man in a sharp black suit and dark sunglasses, receiving a heavy leather briefcase in return.

The suited man melted into the bustling crowd almost instantly. Just as Mr. Darson turned to slip away, a rolling suitcase collided with his ankle.

Nova folded her arms from her vantage point, a dark, amused smile touching her lips. "Interesting," she murmured.

"Dad?" Susan’s startled voice cut through the terminal noise, freezing Mr. Darson in his tracks. "What are you doing here?"

Mr. Darson’s eyes darted around the crowded terminal, searching for the man in black. Finding no trace of him, he swallowed hard, forcing a tight, practiced smile onto his face. "Susan? What... what are you doing here?"

"I’m heading abroad," Susan replied, her eyes narrowing as they fell upon the heavy briefcase in his grip. "What’s that, Dad?"

"Oh, it’s... a surprise gift for your mother," Mr. Darson lied smoothly, though a bead of cold sweat broke out along his hairline. "Why didn’t you tell us you were leaving today?"

"I didn’t want to trouble you and Mom," Susan said, reaching into her purse for her phone. "I’ll just call Mom right now to let her know—"

"No!" Mr. Darson snapped, grabbing her wrist with alarming force before softening his grip. "Don’t... don’t bother her. She’s resting. Is your sister still at home?"

Susan pulled her hand back subtly, her pulse quickening. "I think so. Though I didn’t check on her before I left."

Mr. Darson took a quick, calculating breath. "Listen to me. Cancel your flight for tonight and reschedule it for tomorrow morning. I need you to do something for me right now."

"What is it?"

"Take this briefcase and go straight down Sanit Station Road," Mr. Darson instructed, thrusting the heavy case into her hands. "Whatever you do, do not open it. The gift inside is delicate, and you’ll ruin the arrangement."

Susan took the case, her arm dropping an inch under its unexpected weight. She forced a smile. "Alright..." She opened her mouth to ask more, but Mr. Darson forcefully snatched her luggage handle from her grip.

"Go on ahead. I have to visit an old friend nearby, but I’ll catch up with you on the road," he said, waving her off impatiently.

A cold coil of dread tightened in Susan’s stomach. "Something feels terribly wrong," she thought, her heart hammering against her ribs. But under her father’s intense, unblinking glare, she simply nodded. "I’m going then," she whispered, turning on her heel and blending into the terminal crowd.

The moment Susan disappeared from view, the warm paternal mask slipped from Mr. Darson’s face, leaving behind a expression of callous indifference. He whipped out a burner phone and dialed a number.

"An eighteen-year-old girl is heading down Sanit Station Road with a briefcase," he spoke into the receiver, his voice dropping to a icy whisper. "Intercept her, collect the package, and clean her up. I’m heading to the docks now."

He ended the call without waiting for a response, snapped the phone in half, and tossed it into a trash bin before striding toward the exit.

Watching from above, Nova’s brows knitted beneath her veil. "Is the stuff in the case Susan is carrying?" she asked silently.

"No," Anah’s ethereal voice resonated directly in her mind. "It is hidden within the contraband arriving by sea. Follow him."

"Good," Nova chuckled, her eyes glittering with predatory intent.

At the dark, secluded industrial pier, mist hung heavy over the black ocean waters. A massive, unmarked cargo vessel glided silently into port, its rusted iron hull groaning as it moored against the barnacle-encrusted pylons.

Mr. Darson stood beneath the flickering amber light of a dockside lamp, waving his hands urgently. Two heavily armed, weathered smugglers descended the metal gangway, their boots thudding against the wet timber.

"Welcome," Mr. Darson greeted them nervously, stepping forward. "I was beginning to think you wouldn’t make it."

"The sea was rough, but the payload is secure," the lead smuggler growled, offering a coarse laugh. "We wouldn’t have made it through the coastal patrol without your clearance codes, Darson."

"It was nothing," Mr. Darson dismissed hastily, peering past them into the cavernous hold of the ship. "Is everything intact?"

"Completely untouched," the second man assured him.

Draped in complete invisibility, Nova stepped past the men like a ghost, her boots making no sound against the deck as she glided down into the ship’s lower hold. The air below deck was thick with the stench of diesel fuel, sea salt, and raw chemicals. Stacked in the damp shadows were fifteen heavy, military-grade canvas duffel bags.

Nova glided down the row, her eyes scanning each container until a faint, unnatural resonance drew her to a specific bag in the corner. Kneeling beside it, she unzipped the heavy-duty fastener. Inside, packed around bricks of illicit powder, sat a dark, jagged stone. It appeared rough and unremarkable at a glance, yet it possessed an unyielding density that defied natural earth.

Nova lifted it into her palm. "A stone..." She narrowed her eyes, studying its crystalline fractures and noticed the curve letter of ’p’ at the center of the stone. "Wait... isn’t this the same type of stone I retrieved from Sonnie?"

Anah materialized instantly at her side, her fingers hovering over the stone. "This is the Firestone," Anah confirmed, taking the stone into her ethereal grasp. With a flick of her wrist, the duffel bag zipped itself closed.

"What exactly do you intend to do with it?" Nova asked, rising to her feet.

"You will understand when the time comes," Anah replied smoothly. "We must leave. Mr. Darson is returning back to the mansion, leaving his associates to take the stuff here."

Before Nova could respond, Anah vanished into thin air. Nova let out a low, dark chuckle and faded into the shadows after her.

.....

The front doors of the Darson mansion creaked open, and Nova stepped into the grand foyer. As the heavy doors shut behind her, the black veil concealing her face dissolved into thin air.

"Time to slaughter the family," she thought, her heart swelling with cold anticipation.

Before she could take another step, a clammy, powerful hand clamped around her wrist, yanking her hard into the dim alcove beside the entryway. Nova didn’t flinch. She slowly turned her head, her eyes meeting David’s dark, unhinged gaze.

A razor-sharp, mocking smirk peeled across her lips, completely stripping away the helpless and innocent persona she had worn for days.

"Brother..." Nova called, her tone dripping with sweet venom. "Why are you pulling me like that?"

David was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot and fixed on her with a dangerous, possessive hunger. Blind to the lethal predator standing inches away from him, he forced a strained, desperate smile and tightened his grip on her wrist.

"Where have you been, little sister?" David whispered, his voice trembling with suppressed obsession. "I’ve been looking for you for a very, very long time..."