"Make sure she understands that. Because if she doesn't, I'll turn her into a shish-kebab. And let me tell you this, if she becomes a target then that's it. It's up to you, Michel. We won't try to protect her if she doesn't want to live under our roof anymore."

"God. She recorded us." Michel stared at Charles with angry eyes, a voice mixed with venom.


Charles ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head again.

"And we had this conversation in the office. She must have been sneaking in and out somehow." He held up the little black tape recorder.

Michel bared his teeth as he was about to vent his anger again when Andy suddenly stood beside them as they entered.


"What the hell are you doing here? I've been looking for you all over the place." He looked at Michel and Charles, seemingly out of breath.

The two feel almost caught, but when they realize that Andy doesn't even care more about the location where he found them than any news he has, they become worried.


"What happened?" Charles looked Andy up and down, seeing him clutching his leg in pain from having to run to find them.

He has improved quite a bit and no longer needs crutches, but he is still not fully recovered from the injury.

"Where's Shortleg?" Andy asked right away, his voice still slightly out of breath and sounding unsteady.

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't find her." Andy glanced back and forth, hoping that either of them had a logical explanation that would put him at ease immediately.

Michel stepped forward, worry on his face.

He seemed to have trouble forming his words but rallied as he tried to make sense of the situation, hoping to deal with the matter logically.

He asked all the questions. Where did he look, if he checked with Audrey? If any of their safety had seen her, the more frustrated he became, the more he could confirm that Andy was indeed thorough.

"Perhaps she's gone home, Michel." Charles tried to reason, sounding calm compared to Andy and Michel.

"Not good. She's in danger." He yelled, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

A sudden realization was what made his head spin.

Fanny just left. So on.

"Okay, we need to go."

"Where to go?" Andy searches for Michel's face.

"Her home. Now. Let's go." He yelled, grabbed the two, and ran outside, Charles and Andy giving each other a look before following him.

---

Michel jumps out before Charles comes to a complete stop, dashing inside the modest apartment building.

He didn't want to wait for the elevator so he dashed out into the hallway and started climbing the stairs, taking two at a time while frantically checking the door number to find the right apartment.

However, he did not have to search too hard.

When he reached the fourth floor, at the end of a narrow hallway, an apartment door was randomly opened.

For a split second, Michel froze at the sight, almost too scared to go in and see what had happened.

He felt Charles's hand on his arm, making him aware that he should have his gun ready just in case.

So that's what he did.

Michel pulled his gun out of its holster, took a deep breath, and dashed down the hallway and into the open apartment.

But he was too late.

No sign of anyone inside. No sign of Fanny, no sign of her father.

Instead, they were faced with a pool of blood in the hallway, which damaged the floorboards and one of the walls.

But there is nobody.

When he saw it, Michel felt nauseous.

Every beautiful word she'd ever said to him flooded into that moment until his thoughts went frantic.

She has disappeared. Go.

Someone took her away. Or worse, kill her.

And that's when he lost control.

With a roar, Michel reached for a nearby wooden table and flipped it over, sending it crashing into the wall.

Hundreds of fragments flew everywhere, creating a mess.

His hands were clenched into fists, itching to do something so he punched the wall, the skin on his knuckles torn from the impact.

Michel gasped, fighting to breathe, fighting against the demon inside that wanted to be released.

Turning, he saw Charles and Andy standing there with serious faces. They stared at him, waiting for some command.

But before he could say anything, something else caught Michel's attention.

There was a chair stuck to the doorknob of a certain small closet.

Taking two determined steps, he walked right past his mafia brothers and immediately kicked the chair aside, ripping the door open.

There is a girl.

And she was dead or unconscious.

Andy and Charles were beside him for a second, looking suspiciously at each other before Andy decided to lean down and try to feel the pulse.

"She's still alive." Andy gasped, shaking the girl's shoulder.

Unlike Michel and Andy, who are anxious to find out who she is, Charles has other interests.

For all he knows, she could be a Davies or a Phoenix left behind by their enemies.

So when Michel woke the girl, Charles pulled out his gun and kept it ready.

Though as soon as the long black-haired girl opened her eyes, something happened.

Looking up from her contorted position as her face pressed against her knees as she was clutching her legs, Charles felt his chest constrict during eye contact, causing him to subconsciously lower his gun.

Big brown eyes. Sparkle like burnt caramel or honey.

Charles felt him take a deep breath while Michel busily dragged her out into the small space, breaking their gaze.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" He asked her in a stern voice as Andy tried to pull him away, hoping to approach her in a calmer voice.

"Fanny - do you know where she is?" Andy looked at her the pale girl's eyes widened as she faced him.

It was as if her memories had suddenly returned, causing her to immediately kick around her as she screamed, frantically cried and looked around.

'Where… her father… I… her and when…" She shook her head as Michel lost her patience and grabbed her arm.