Kill for Love

Chapter 29 - Finding Ares 2

"Here's Ares. He was still in the ballroom." Gaus pointed to the screen that shows Ares, He was seen storming out, but when he reached the blind spot where the hallway going to the kitchen was, he can no longer be seen. However, they saw a man dressed in a staff uniform holding a roll of cloth passing by to where Ares was last seen. “He disappeared in this area. Few other people passed by in that area. This is quite odd why he disappeared in that spot.”

Suddenly, the door to the private room. Both of them looked up to see who entered and saw that it was Lemnos. He was quite surprised to see Cytherea and Gaus in front of the computer.

“What are you doing here?” Gaus asked.

“I was looking for you,” Lemnos answered. “I was told you’d been seen going here. I have something to ask you. That’s why I’m here.” He walked towards the two and also peeked at the monitor. “What are you two doing?”

“Gaus is helping me find Ares.” She looked at Gaus. “I’m so sorry for giving you this trouble, Gaus.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m happy to help.” Gaus caressed her back to console her.

“Thank you.”

“So, you mean you still didn’t find him?” Lemnos asked. 

“Yes, that’s right, the last time he was seen on CCTV was in this spot,” Gaus answered, pointing to the hallway. “And after that, he was not seen anywhere anymore.”

“We should go to that hallway, and maybe he was drunk and passed out,” Lemnos suggested.

“Yeah, I think that would be a great idea,” Cytherea agreed. She stood up and readying herself to get out of the private room. 

The three of them went back to the ballroom and went to the blindspot of the CCTV where Ares was last seen, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Hmm, that is odd. This is the last place he was seen. Is there something wrong with the CCTV? Maybe it skipped for a few minutes. That’s why he is not seen.” Lemnos asked. He was crossing his arms across his chest while biting his right thumb as he was trying to figure out what had happened. His face was so serious.

Cytherea was also confused and couldn’t help but worry for not getting any explanation or reason why Ares can longer be seen after going to this spot. 

Suddenly, Gaus’ phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and answered it right away.

“Yes, hello?” 

The two of them were just looking at Gaus as his eyes widened. It seemed like the person on the other line was telling Gaus bad news. Gaus' jaw dropped. He was now looking at Cytherea worriedly.

“Okay, I’ll be there. Make sure you already call the police.”

“Why what happened?” Lemnos asked.

Gaus didn’t answer and instead faced Cytherea. “We are going to find Ares, but as of the moment, there is an emergency that I have to attend to.” He turned to Lemnos and was looking at him like he needed his permission. “Or maybe Lemnos can accompany you while I’m gone.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll be glad to help you, Cytherea,” Lemnos immediately stated. 

“Thanks, Lemnos. I’m so sorry for the trouble.” - Cytherea.

Lemnos put his right arm around Gaus' shoulder and dragged him not far from Cytherea.

“Excuse us for a while, Cytherea,” Lemnos said, in which she nodded in response. “What is happening?” He whispered to Gaus.

“A staff member found a body in the abandoned music room. It was now a storage room where mostly no one was allowed to be there.”

“A body?”

“Yes, I’m not sure, yet the details, but the general manager is saying it’s bad.”

Lemnos nodded. “Okay, no problem. I’ll help Cytherea in the meantime. Keep me updated.”

“Will do.” Gauss turned to Cytherea and said, “Lemnos will take care of you, and if he does something that is against your will, let me know. I’ll bet him up for you,” he said, jokingly. He was trying to lighten the mood even though he had a big problem that he was about to face.

Cytherea chuckled. “I will surely do that.”

Gaus took his cardholder and got one business card from it. He handed it to Cytherea. “In case that you forgot to put my number on your phone, the first time I gave you my business card.”

Cytherea accepted it and took her phone to save the number. “There, it is saved. I will surely call you.”

Lemnos shook his head. “I’m not quite sure if I’m going to be offended by both of your actions.”

Gaus chuckled and playfully choked Lemnos using his right arm. He then skittishly messed Lemnos’ hair using his left hand. Cytherea was just smiling at them. She can tell that the two were closed. They almost looked like brothers messing up with each other playfully.

“Okay, I have to go. Keep me updated!” Gaus let go of Lemnos. He waved at them before jogging to the hallway going to the kitchen. 

“C’mon? Let’s try searching the entire ballroom again. Since the light was dim, maybe you were both mistaken that it was Ares you saw in this spot,” Lemnos speculated.

“Yeah, it could be. We just based our speculations on the footage when he left the table, Cytherea agreed.

“Okay, let’s go.”

The two of them search every corner of the ballroom and ask the remaining staff that is cleaning to see if they saw Ares, but all of them answered that they didn’t notice him. They even showed them Ares’ picture just to make sure, but no one can tell them where he is. Cytherea was almost losing hope when one staff member told them that Ares’ face was familiar.

“I think I saw him with a woman. I’m not just quite sure if it was him,” the staff said.

“A woman?” Cytherea asked. She was confused why Ares would be with a woman.

“Yes, they went to that hallway going to the kitchen.”

“Are you sure about that?” Lemnos asked. He was not convinced.

“As I have told you, I’m not quite sure if it’s him, but the two of them looked alike.”

“Okay, thank you,” Cytherea said. The staff left them and continued to clean.

Suddenly, Lemnos' phone started ringing. Cytherea nodded at him for confirmation that he can answer the phone. Cytherea's eyes were roaming inside the ballroom, hoping that she will see Ares.

"Yes, Gaus?"

Cytherea looked at Lemnos when she heard Lemnos uttered Gaus' name. Lemnos' face became serious while looking at Cytherea. 

"Okay, I will tell her. Okay, bye."

"Is everything okay?" Cytherea asked. Her heart's starting to beat faster. She doesn't like how Lemnos looks at her. It seems like he is contemplating if he should tell her or not, like he was hiding something from her.

"Lemnos, I'm starting to get nervous. Is everything okay?" She was biting her lips while waiting for Lemnos to answer. She started hugging herself. She's feeling cold for no reason.

"Ares… He's been found."

Her face lit up. 

"Where?"

"In the stock room."

"Huh? What is he doing there? How did he get there?"

"Cytherea…" Lemnos called her in a sad voice. He was looking worriedly at her, and it bothered her so much.

"What? Let's go to Ares, Lemnos." She holds his hand and drags him out of the ballroom.

"Cytherea…"

Cytherea stops walking and turns to him. "Why do you always call my name? What is the problem?"

"Ares…"

"Oh my god, Lemnos! Tell me now! You're slowly killing me by just saying our name. Why can't you just tell me?" she snapped. Her tears are starting to fall, and her hands start to shiver. "Please, I have a feeling that something bad happened. So, please, if you can, just tell me… I'm so worried right now."

"Ares… He is found dead."