Chapter 3 The Disappearance

Eliana ran without catching her breath. On reaching the inn, she hurried to her room, bolting the door as she tried to flash back at what had happened.

The next day, Eliana sat in her room at the inn, feeling the heavy burden of New Raven Town's secrets. She flipped through her notes, reviewing the points she had made during her investigation.

The information was limited; just a few lines from the local paper and a brief description from the sheriff's report. How could a girl disappear from a small town two weeks ago without leaving a trace? She picked up the phone and called the local station.

A voice on the other end sounded both casual and weary. "Hello, New Raven police station."

"This is Eliana from Revelation Newspaper. I've been trying to gather information about the case of a young girl who went missing two weeks ago," she said.

The man on the other end paused, as if he were considering his words carefully. "I'm sorry, but if you need any information, you'll need to come to the station."

The man sounded firm.

"The authorities had mobilized their resources, searched through the woods and interviewed neighbors and friends but to no avail."

"What if the police aren't even looking at the right angle or pursuing the case with the wrong leads?" Eliana said.

"Madam, are you attempting to educate us on how to perform our duties? If you require any help or have any information, the station is open." The man said as the call ended.

Eliana focused intently on the phone, wondering what dirt the local police were trying to conceal. However, when she went through the case, it did not make complete sense.

The residents of New Raven Town were overly careful, overly reserved. It was as though everyone had something to say, but were not willing to actually say it.

"I have to go see Lia's parents. I must find out their take on this matter." Eliana said, as she rose to her feet, reaching for her coat.

Eliana reached the Jacob's family house, which appeared modest in size yet exquisite in architectural design.

Maria and Dave Jacob, Lia's mother, and father answered the door. Their faces were pale, an indication of the level of sorrow they contained within them.

Thank you for coming," Maria said in a small voice. "We had really hoped someone from the outside would help because the police weren't giving us any news."

"I'm glad you have accepted my request to meet. Thank you, Maria. And I am sorry about Lia."

Lia's photographs hung in the living room. Lia was just nineteen, a high school graduate, and was about to leave New Raven Town with hopes of furthering her studies at a college in the city.

Maria made herself comfortable on the couch, as she held a handkerchief a little too tightly in her hands, as if she was trying hard to suppress her emotions. Dave stood by the window, watching the street outside, hoping his daughter could walk in through the door any minute.

"Everything has been done," Maria said. "The police checked everywhere, but they did not yield any results. Nothing. No clues."

"I know this is tough, but can you tell me more about Lia? What happened the day she went missing?"

Eliana held her notebook, ready to write.

"She was supposed to pick up a few things from the store. Lia left the house around seven, and I was cooking at the time. We waited, but she didn't return. We then went to the store, but we were told she had left hours earlier."

"Did she mention any plans to go somewhere else?" Eliana asked softly.

"No," Dave replied, his voice steady but weak. "She wouldn't go anywhere without asking. I know my daughter."

"What about the days before she disappeared?" Eliana asked, feeling there might be more. "Was there anything unusual? Anything different?"

"I remember Lia seemed a bit distracted and quiet in the days before she went missing. She didn't talk much about it, but I could tell something was bothering her."

"Bothered?" Eliana repeated, pausing for a moment. "Did she say what the problem was?"

"Not much," Maria said, shaking her head. "I tried to ask her about what was weighing her down, but she just brushed it off, saying it was nothing. A mother knows when something is wrong."

David turned from the window, his face tense. "After her disappearance, we found a message left on her phone.

The message read: "We know you."

Eliana's eyes widened.

"And before she went missing, I overheard her speaking to her best friend, Bonnie, on the phone, saying something about Kieran's estate."

Eliana became more interested.

"The Kieran's estate?"

Eliana jotted down these details.

Was Lia in some way related to Kieran's estate? What was Lia talking to Bonnie about? Eliana couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it as well.

She looked at the lead she had written.

After meeting with the Jacob's, Eliana thanked them and left. As she walked along the street of New Raven, she was receiving a lot of attention. She thought about the new leads she had just gathered after leaving Jacob's house. She decided to meet with Bonnie, Lia's best friend.

As Eliana walked into the café, she headed toward the counter where a nineteen-year-old girl with dark brown hair and an olive-toned complexion, stood. "Bonnie?"

"Yes?", Bonnie asked.

"I am Eliana, a journalist. I need some kind of lead as to what happened with Lia, and I learned you were her best friend."

"Yes, she was my best friend," Bonnie said, almost in tears.

Eliana pursed her lips and nodded encouragingly. "I am sorry about your friend, but can you tell me what you know? What you think might help?"

Bonnie paused, as if contemplating whether to speak.

"I didn't tell the police this, but i feel like i can trust you. A few days before she went missing, she said something about having a bad feeling, and she would feel like somebody was watching her."

"Did she say who might be watching her?" Any name? Or say anything that made her feel unsafe."

"No, but she had said something over the phone" Bonnie looked at Eliana terrified.

"Lia saw something she wasn't supposed to see".

Eliana leaned in, curious. "What did she see?"

"She said, she saw a guy standing in the woods. She did not get that close to see who it was, but it spooked her out and, by the light of the full moon, she saw a human turning into a huge monster werewolf.

"Werewolf?" Elena's intestines twisted in knots.

"She said, the man looked like Vance. The heir to the Kieran's estate." Bonnie whispered.

"Are you sure?"

"I heard her well. I am sure Lia wasn't imagining things. She described the glowing yellow eyes, his body twisting... it was real for her."

Elena shivered as she walked out of the café. "Why did my skin crawl? And who was Vance? What was she getting herself into?" Elena pondered.

That evening, Elena sat at her table in the inn. She tried to organize the information she had gathered, pencil between her lips. She wrote "Kieran's estate" boldly on her paper and stared deeply at it.