Chapter 2

After driving around, Celine finally found a motel.

Celine took a look around the somewhat shabby motel as she entered the lobby. She wasn't an expert in hospitality, but she was fairly certain that this place barely had any visitors, given the old furniture and decor straight out of the nineties.

Well, Helen's Creek was nestled deep in West Oregon, and it didn't have much to offer in terms of tourist attractions. So, she didn't dwell on it too much.

Approaching the man behind the counter, Celine noticed that he was a tall, lanky young man. What struck her as odd, however, was his ghostly pale complexion, just like the man she met at the intersection.

Nonetheless, Celine tried to be friendly and smiled at him, "Good evening, I'm here to stay for two nights."

…

The man had a scrutinized gaze on her from head to toe and then smirked as he asked, "Are you new in this town?"

"I'm here to visit my sister," Celine replied.

"Oh? Who is she? Helen's Creek isn't that big. Maybe I know her," the man said. "My name is Thomas, by the way," he added, to make himself sound friendlier.

Celine gazed into the man's sunken eyes, which suddenly glinted red, and for an unknown reason, she began to feel more at ease, as if she had just taken a shot of antidepressant.

"Monica. She came to Helen's Creek and disappeared three months ago. I'm here to find her," she let out a piece of important information carelessly.

"Ohh, Monica, hmm… I see, I see," Thomas nodded, and his smirk grew more sinister, but Celine didn't seem to find anything wrong with it. "I don't know her personally. But I heard she was dating Calhoun, right?" 

Celine's eyes widened, "Do you know about Jaime Calhoun?!"

Thomas smirked as his bait tactic worked perfectly, "Haha, of course! Everyone in Helen's Creek knows about him!" he chuckled. "Everyone here calls him Young Master because his great-grandfather was the town's first mayor. He is very handsome, right? Naturally, he got all the girls."

Thomas' words only deepened Celine's suspicion. Calhoun must've lured Monica just like he lured other unsuspecting girls.

"T—Then, do you know where he brought my sister?"

Thomas shrugged, "Who knows? The last time I remembered, I saw him bringing that girl into his manor. It was over three months ago, though."

"Where is that manor?" Celine continued asking as she got impatient. She wanted to find her sister as soon as possible. 

Thomas had an ear-to-ear smirk as he continued staring at Celine without blinking. "From here, head straight until you come across a gate with 'Calhoun Manor' engraved on top. The manor is located inside the deep woods, so you'll need to enter the gate and continue driving for about twenty more minutes until you see a big manor."

Celine shuddered at the thought of a manor sitting in the middle of the woods. It was a perfect location for a murder, especially in a town as isolated as this one.

Fear began to creep into Celine, but she shook her head immediately. She couldn't chicken out when she already had her goal in mind.

She had to find Monica alive or…

Celine chose not to think of the grim possibilities until she could see her little sister in person.

"Anyway, this is the key to your room," Thomas said, placing the key on the counter. "You can pay after checking out."

"Oh, thank you," Celine said. "And thanks for the information."

Celine grabbed the key and turned around, accidentally exposing her long and slender neck. 

As she grabbed her bag and was ready to go to her room, Thomas stopped her. "Wait—"

Celine halted her step and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

Thomas' eyes glinted red once more as he spoke, "I suggest you go to the manor after midnight."

"After midnight? But…" Celine hesitated, thinking about the deserted road, there must be a reason why everyone feared for their lives at night in this town, a superstition shouldn't be enough to stop young people to come out and have fun. 

"If you want to know more about Calhoun and find Monica, you must enter the deep woods near his manor in the middle of the night. It might be your best chance to find your sister," Thomas suggested. "Don't you want to find her?"

Sister… sister… sister…

That word 'sister' echoed inside Celine's mind for no reason, and it began to dispel her hesitation. 

'That's right. I'm here to find my sister. I shouldn't be scared of anything when my sister's life is in danger,' she thought.

With a newfound determination, she nodded and uttered her gratitude again before making her way to her motel room. 

Unbeknownst to Celine, Thomas had kept his eyes on Celine's nape the whole time.

Her skin appeared delicate and almost translucent, allowing him a clear view of the veins on her slender neck. She was like a white swan that was easy to spot in the dark woods. 

"A feast…" he muttered while licking his fangs. He had planted a seed of desire through hypnosis inside Celine's brain. Soon, she would discard her logic to follow her true desire, to find her sister.

Celine stepped into the shabby motel room. Although it had been reasonably cleaned, it didn't hide the signs of age evidently in the way the door creaked loudly when she opened it.

Nevertheless, she didn't think much about it because she wasn't there for a vacation. 

She put her bag on the bed and sat on the chair directly facing the old box TV. But she didn't turn it on. Instead, she stared out the window while munching on the burger she bought from a diner. 

It was still drizzling outside, and just like what Monica said,

'It's either windy, drizzly, or heavy rain. When you see the sun after a while, it's a bad sign,' Monica warned her about Helen's Creek on one of their calls. 'Why? Because that's the sign of a storm at night.'

"Monica…" Celine couldn't help muttering her sister's name again. She couldn't help but smile remembering how lively her sister was. She was the darling of everyone around her, and she was popular with men. 

Unfortunately, Monica had a bad history with good-looking men since her first boyfriend. She always dated those heartthrobs with juvenile records or simply handsome men with shitty personalities, just like their father.

Handsome, but shitty. 

She grabbed her record book and began reviewing all the information she had gathered about Calhoun, including a picture that Celine downloaded from his student information in his university's online database. 

"Jaime Calhoun, 21, his dad is Rourke Calhoun, the oil rig tycoon currently residing in Dubai," Celine muttered. "Has no presence in social media except on Instagram, but it's private, and he only follows three people."

Celine flipped through the book and saw the bust picture of him again. Her gaze turned icy instantly.

The man in the picture was handsome, with hair darker than the night, and a set of hunter-like eyes—deep, dark, and mysterious. His facial harmony and features could ensnare any woman in a whirlwind of fantasies. He was undeniably handsome, so much that Celine had an overwhelming sense of suspicion, especially when she saw the smug smirk he had in the picture. 

"Too young and handsome to be serious with Monica. My sister is gorgeous, but a man like this… you cannot trust him to be in a serious relationship."

Celine knew that she might be biased because of her father. But she found it hard to believe that the son of an oil rig tycoon would genuinely date a barmaid just because she was pretty.

"This is why I never trust those handsome men, including you, Jaime Calhoun," Celine said coldly. She continued reading and mumbled, "Studying Finance at the University of Portland—Christ, do I really need this kind of information as well? I sound like a stalker!"

Celine eventually closed the book and tossed it onto the bed. She preferred to investigate independently; she needed to figure out what Calhoun was up to because, from what Thomas said, she might find her sister if she entered the woods near Calhoun Manor at night. 

She couldn't help recalling the mystery man telling her not to go out after dark, "But really, can I just stay still when my sister is probably out there, trying her best to survive?"

Of course, Celine was scared. She was just a normal office worker living in California before. She was of slim frame and had no experience fighting anyone her size, let alone someone bigger than her.

Her brain told her that she was being stupid for going into an unknown forest in the middle of the night, discarding all the dangers that awaited her. 

But whenever she thought of the risks, her mind would shut down for a moment, followed by her desire that told her to abandon all her fears if she wanted to find Monica.

'I can't leave any stone unturned. I will find my sister,' Celine told herself, ignoring this uneasy feeling in her heart.