20. Run from him

"Reuel Caddel"

It had crossed her mind. She would be lying if she says the thought didn't cross her mind, but she had tried not to dwell on the thought. But now that Roxy said his name out loud, a cold quivering feeling filled her bones, there was no way he could have known.

"Erina?" Roxy calls. "Erina,"

"H_ He doesn't know about what happened." She simply says.

"What?"

"I never told him about it, there's no way he could have known. It's not him. There's no way he could have done that to a person."

"Erina are you sure, you didn't hint him at all? You're sure you did not say a word to him about what happened?"

"I _ I didn't say anything to him. How could I have explained such a humiliating situation to him? I didn't tell him. He's not responsible for this."

"Still, Erina, just because you didn't tell him about it doesn't mean he didn't know about it. The man is a billionaire, he owns multiple buildings within and outside Black-Crust."

"Erina, I don't think it would be difficult for such a man to get his hands on some information if he wanted to."

She made sense, she made total sense and Erina knew it, yet she didn't want to admit it. And besides...

"He's not even around, this happened to Gray and the others yesterday, but he left for unicorn City on an 8am flight, that same yesterday. He won't be back till Friday. It couldn't have been him." She defended him. Telling herself in her head that she was right.

Why blame a man who wasn't even around for something so gruesome?

Roxanne stares at Erina for some seconds, not quite sure of what to believe. Her own conviction, or Erina's statement.

"Are you sure about this?" She asks again. "His trip didn't get canceled or anything?"

"No, no. I'm positive. He's probably busy trying to handle a bunch of unsatisfied protestant workers right now as we speak." She nods.

"Okay, call him."

"What?"

"Call him and ask where he is. Make a video call. So we'll know where he is at the moment."

"I don't think..."

"Listen to me Erina, Gray was a scumbag, he was an idiot, he was a piece of garbage that didn't even deserve recycling. And the universe knows that if given the chance, I'll swing a couple of punches at that trash. But Erina," she takes her hands in her own, making her stare at her and only her.

"That was extreme. Those photos, that much blood, that much-torn muscles and dislocations, that is too far. No one should do that to another human being, Erina." Erina swallowed her own saliva as she listened carefully to every word and syllable. Her heart pounding wilder and wilder with every word of truth that Roxy spoke.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but whoever did that to Gray is a maniac. A madman. A person who clearly gets gratification from watching others suffer." It was the hard truth, but Roxy knew she had to tell this to her friend, she feared the future.

"And Erina, if that person really is Reuel, then you have to run. If he did this Erina, it means he's not normal in the head. It means he's a psychopathic sicko."

At her words, Erina could suddenly hear his voice in her head. She could hear the words he had told her... ``I am a sicko... But in other areas. Trust me, I am`` were the exact words he had said to her.

"Oh my gosh," she breathed in fear, her entire body now trembling more than before.

"Erina, if he did this, you have to end things with him. You have to stay away from him as far as possible. This is inhumane. Now call him, on video call. Did he tell you where exactly he was going?" Roxy asks, but Erina was just shaken up, lost in her own fear and thoughts.

"Erina!! Did he tell you where in Unicorn City he was headed in particular?"

"I_ I'm not sure, let me think... Uhh," She stutters, trying to breathe in and out, trying to calm herself down.

"oh, I remember talking to him about Luna's Park since it was in Unicorn city, and he told me that it was actually close to the building he had business with. He said you could even see the park's Ferris Wheel from his building." She explains.

"Great, that's good. That's very good. If he really went there for business as you said, and he's actually in Unicorn City, he should be somewhere around the building he has business with, so call him on a video call, and ask him to show you the Ferris wheel he talked about."

"What if his business took him farther away from that area entirely? There's also a possibility that could be the case." She just had to defend him. She was scared out of her mind, and yet she wanted to hope for the best.

Roxy was getting angry, "Erina! Just call the man, we'll know when you call him."

With little to no choice, Erina pulls out her phone and dials his number. "he's a busy person, he might not even pick up the..."

"White?" Her heart skipped at the sound of his voice. ``he picked``