<h4>Chapter 218: The resolution.</h4>


    <strong>Charis.</strong>


    "Kael?" I called out in a firm tone, and he sighed and turned to Rhett, who was staring at him with disbelief in his eyes.


    This version of Kael would not be an easy one to get used to.


    "I can’t believe you can talk like this," Rhett scoffed, shaking his head. "Were you pretending all that time?"


    "Yes," Kael nodded. "Because I was on a damn mission, and don’t worry," he turned to both Alpha Raymond and Terry. "I know you all know that I am not Alpha Winter’s real so,n and here’s the truth from the horse’s mouth himself. I was on a mission to help him investigate the sudden disappearance of his son, Richard Winters."


    He took a deep breath before he continued speaking. "Honestly, does anyone have anything they’d like to say before we continue? I’vee out clean, I’ve been truthful from the get-go about everything. I need to know that I am not delusional and that the thing happening at Ravenshore wasn’t as hidden as it is thought to be."


    "I had no idea," Alpha Raymond said after a while, clearing his throat. "I had no idea that such heinous things were happening in the Academy until a few months ago when my son told me himself, and there’s no way to know, Kael."


    "What do you mean?" Kael turned to him.


    Alpha Raymond took a step forward and continued. "In case you don’t know, I have a solidwork of underground information in our world, but in all my years as an Alpha, I have nevere across such a thing, which means it was closely run by a group of people who paid through their teeth to keep it private because I would have known."


    Kael nodded, seemingly pleased by Alpha Raymond’s reply. He turned to Alpha Terry, who had a bored expression on his face.


    "I don’t owe you an exnation for anything," Terry said tightly. "If you have evidence of my involvement, you can indict me with it, but if you don’t, I think you should shut up and let’s concentrate on finding ter. We’re running out of time."


    Surprisingly, Kael obliged; he turned to Alpha Raymond. "What do we have?"


    There was a pause. Then Alpha Terry said instead, "The Millbrook Elementary School has security cameras throughout the grounds."


    "Can I see the feed?" Kael said.


    Alpha Terry scoffed. It was a dismissive, almost mocking sound. "You want to use live feed to track them? That’s your n?"


    Kael didn’t respond. He just turned to Alpha Raymond and waited.


    Raymond looked between Kael and Alpha Terry, then nodded. "Show him."


    "Raymond—" Terry started.


    "My son is missing," Raymond said, his voice hard. "And this young man seems to know more about the Collectors than anyone else in this room. So yes, I want him to see the footage. Now."


    Terry’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue further. He gestured to one of the men at the table. "Take them to the security room."


    The middle-aged man, with a military bearing, nodded. "This way."


    We followed him down a hallway and into a smaller room set up with multiple monitors. Each screen showed different camera angles of the festival grounds.


    "This is the live feed," the man exined. "And this console here can pull up recorded footage from earlier today."


    "Show me the footage from five to six hours ago," Kael said. "Focus on the entrance gates and the main pathways."


    The man started typing, and the screens changed to recorded footage. We watched as people streamed through the festival—families, children, couples. So many faces. So many potential witnesses who hadn’t seen anything wrong.


    "There," I said suddenly, pointing at one screen. "That’s ter."


    It was him. Walking through the entrance gate, looking around like he was searching for someone. He was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap, trying to blend in, but I’d recognise him anywhere.


    "Timestamp says 10:47 AM," the man said.


    We watched ter move through the festival. He stopped several times, looking around, clearly searching. Then he approached someone—a woman with short hair wearing a Millbrook Elementary t-shirt.


    "That must be his sister," Rhett said quietly. "Riley."


    The camera angle wasn’t great, but we could see them talking. Riley looked shocked, then scared. She kept ncing around nervously.


    "Switch to camera three," Kael said suddenly. "The one covering that same area from a different angle."


    The manplied. The new angle showed more of the background.


    And there, standing at the edge of the frame, partially obscured by a decorative banner, was a figure watching ter and Riley.


    "Who is that?" I asked.


    Kael leaned closer to the screen. "His face doesn’t look familiar."


    Raymond asked, leaned in, and after a while, he said. "I think that’s Bane Castor."


    "Really?" Kael nodded. "Okay, let’s finish watching first."


    We kept watching. The man stayed at a distance, always keeping ter in view but never approaching. He pulled out his phone and appeared to make a call.


    "He’s calling in reinforcements," Kael said grimly. "Watch."


    About five minutester, another figure appeared on screen. Then another. Three people total, all positioned at different points around the festival, all watching ter.


    Riley said something to ter that made him look shocked. She turned and hurried away, disappearing into the crowd. ter stood there for a moment, looking lost.


    Then he started walking toward the exit.


    "No," I whispered. "ter, don’t leave alone. Stay where there are people."


    But he kept walking. The three figures began to move, following him at a distance.


    "Switch to the parking lot cameras," Kael ordered.


    The screen changed. We watched as ter emerged from the festival grounds and headed toward the parking area. The three figures maintained their distance, moving like a coordinated team.


    ter pulled out his phone. He seemed to be checking directions or maybe trying to call someone.


    That’s when they moved.


    It happened fast. One moment, ter was standing by a car, looking at his phone. The next, all three figures closed in. One of them had something in their hand, too small to see clearly in the camera.


    ter dropped. Just copsed like someone had cut his strings.


    "The tranquilliser," Kael said. "They got him."


    My legs felt weak. I grabbed the edge of the desk to stay upright.


    Two of the figures grabbed ter under his arms and dragged him toward arge van parked nearby. The third person, Bane Castor, looked around carefully, checking for witnesses.


    Then they loaded ter into the van and drove away.


    "Timestamp 11:23 AM," the man operating the console said quietly. "They had him for thirty-six minutes before taking him."


    Alpha Raymond’s hands were clenched into fists. "Did you get the license te?"


    The man zoomed in on the van, but the te was obscured by mud or something deliberately covering it. "No clear visual, sir."


    "Follow the van," Kael said. "Use all avable traffic cameras. See where it went."


    The man started typing furiously. Different camera feeds popped up on various screens—traffic cameras, business security cameras, anything that might have caught the van.


    "There," I said, pointing. "That intersection."


    The van appeared on screen, turning left. We followed it through three more cameras. Then it turned into an industrial area and disappeared.


    "Lost it," the man said. "There are no cameras in that sector."


    "Where is that?" Raymond demanded.


    The man pulled up a map. "Old industrial district on the east side of Millbrook. Lots of abandoned buildings. The area’s been mostly empty for about fifteen years after the factories shut down."


    Kael and I looked at each other. He’d said the Collectors used abandoned industrial areas.


    "That’s where they took him," Kael said with certainty.


    Alpha Raymond pulled out his phone. "Get every avable warrior to these coordinates. Now."


    Alpha Terry appeared in the doorway. "What did you find?"


    "We found where they took ter," Raymond said. "And we’re getting him back."


    Terry looked at the screen showing the industrial district, then at Kael. Something in his expression shifted—respect, maybe, or at least acknowledgement.


    "How many buildings are we talking about?" Terry asked.


    The man at the console pulled up satellite imagery. "Approximately forty to fifty structures in that area. Warehouses, factories, office buildings. Most arepletely abandoned."


    "Then we search them all," Raymond said.


    "That could take hours," one of the other men protested. "And if they hear using—"


    "Then we’ll be fast and quiet," Raymond interrupted. "Split into teams. Cover as much ground as possible."


    Kael was still staring at the screen, his eyes scanning the satellite image carefully. "Wait."


    Everyone turned to look at him.


    He pointed at one building on the edge of the district. "There. That warehouse. See how it’s positioned?"


    "What about it?" Terry asked.


    "It has vehicle ess from three different streets," Kael said. "Multiple exits. A loading dock that could easily amodaterge groups. And it’s far enough from the other buildings that noise wouldn’t immediately alert neighbours, but close enough to the main road that they could move people in and out without looking suspicious."


    He looked up at Raymond. "That’s where they are. I’d bet my life on it."


    Raymond studied the image, then nodded. "Then that’s where we start."


    As everyone began mobilising, preparing to leave, I felt Kael’s hand take mine. I looked at him and saw determination in his eyes.


    "We’re going to get him back," he said quietly. "I promise."


    I wanted to believe him, but a strange feeling had settled over me. It felt as if something bad was going to happen.


    As we headed out to join the search party, I couldn’t shake the image of ter copsing in that parking lot. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing to him right now.


    And I couldn’t help thinking that we might already be toote.