Chapter b62 /b

Caleb’s PO.V

Before Shane could even process what she had said, I was already moving. Caroline, Jade, and even my father were right behind me, all of us staring down the hall like a force of nature. My pulse roared in my ears as we reached the basement door My hands fumbled for the key, but my father was faster- shoved past me, gripping the doorknob with white knuckled intensity before throwing the door open with a loud, echoing bangb. /b

We charged inside.

The room was empty.

For a moment, I just stood there, my breath caught in my throat, my mind refusing to process what I was seeing–or rather, what I wasn’t seeing. No Autors. No Mr. Hemming. Nothing but the faint smell of damp concrete and the sight of the overturned covers in the corner, as if someone had struggled. My chett tightened painfully. I turned to Shane, who had followed us in, his face ashen.

“Where is she?” My voice was low, dangerous,ced with barely restrained fury.

Shane looked just as lost as I felt. His mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “1-1 don’t know,” he stammered. “She was here! I swear, 1-1 only meant to keep her here until-”

I didn’t let him finish. My hand shot out, grabbing the cor of his shirt, yanking him toward me.

“Until what, Shane?” I snarled. “Until what?”

“I didn’t think–I didn’t think they’d be gone!” he sputtered, hands flying up in defense. “I justb–/bI just thought it was the safest ce! I didn’t-b* /b

“Safe?” Caroline’s voice cut through the air, sharp and furious. “You locked her up with Mr. Hemming! Do you even know what you’ve doneb?/b”

Jade ran a shaky hand through his hair, his voice a mix of disbelief and panic. “We need to find them. Now.”

I released Shane with a shoveb, /bmy mind racing a hundred miles an hour. The door had been locked. There was no sign of forced entry. Which meant… someone had let them out. Or worse, someone had taken them.

And I was going to find out who.

I don’t even think before I move. My hands are on Shane’s cor in an instant, my fingers tightening around the fabric bas /bI yank him toward me, his startled gasp lost beneath the fury roaring in my earsb. /b

“Where is she?” I snarl, my voice barely human. My chest heavesb, /bmy breath ragged with rage. Aurora is missing, and Shane is thest person who saw her. He has to know something.

Shane’s eyes widen, but he quickly schools his features, shaking his head. “I don’t know,” he mutters, attempting to yank free, but I tighten my grip.

Bullshit. My voice is a growl now, my patience nonexistent. “You locked us in here. You had us trapped. So don’t stand there and tell me you don’t know where she is. My hands tremble, not with fear, but with the sheer force of my fury.

‘I swearb, /bCaleb, I don’t know!” Shane protests, his voice/cracking slightly. I don’t care. I don’t care if he’s scared, if he’s telling the truth or lying through his damn teeth. All I know is that Aurora bis /bgone, and he’s standing in front of me acting like he doesn’t know a damn thing.

The red haze takes over before bI /bcan even think. One second, I’m gripping his cor, and the next, I’m throwing him to the ground with all the strength ! have. His body hits the concrete with a dull thud, a sharp bgrunt /bescaping his lips, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop. My fists move on their own, mming into him, one blow after another, the sickening crunch of impact barely registering in my mind.