Chapter 663: Gone...

Mina only stopped driving to call Willow who she felt like she needed to talk to. The woman answered the phone groggily, and Mina could not help but to sob into the line. Willow waited for a long time to ask Mina what was wrong, but something told her it had to do with President Lee. She had warned her friend about the man, not thinking that her words would manifest so soon, but they had, and she hated to hear the woman cry for someone who hurt her.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Mina shook her head although she knew Willow could not see her.

"I will go to my parents," she whispered, and Willow went silent for a while.

"Want me to stay on the phone until you get there?" Mina did not respond, but Willow heard a car engine turn over and the sounds of a vehicle moving, giving her the answer.

After a while, Willow asked Mina if it was safe for them to meet again, but the woman claimed not to know, so they decided between themselves to only meet in secret after a few days. When the car engine cut, Willow used the opportunity to ask Mina what happened, and she started to cry before speaking. It was worse than Willow had expected; and every part of her heart ached for her friend.

An hour later, Mina composed herself and alighted from the vehicle. She did not have the key to her parents' home, so she rang the bell, unsurprised when her mother answered it in a hurry. It was near the time she usually woke, and since she was likely sleeping in the living room where the recovery bed was set up, she was able to get to the door fast.

"Mina?" Anne questioned. "What are you wearing? And why-" Anne stopped herself from speaking. Her daughter's eyes were red and swollen, she had clearly been crying, and was still struggling to hold back her tears.

"Can I come home?" Mina asked, unsure how her mother was going to react to seeing her in a distraught state.

"Come inside," the woman whispered, standing aside so her daughter could enter the house.

"Who is that?" David asked, he had heard the door, but was still under strict orders not to walk, so his wife went to answer it instead.

"Daddy," Mina wailed. "We were wrong," she said, and her father's eyes went wide with understanding. He had given his daughter bad advice, and it was clear that it had worked against her.

"I will make breakfast," Anne added, leaving the father and daughter in the sitting room. She knew her husband and Mina had a close relationship, and she could tell that there was a secret between them.

Mina curled up at the foot of her father's sick bed, whimpering as the words that President Lee had spoken played in her mind repeatedly. 'So what' the man had said, meaning it did not matter to him; she did not matter to him. She had come so close to giving the man what he wanted, but she was glad that she had discovered his lies before she spilled all her secrets to him.

"He didn't deserve you," David said, using the tips of his fingers to gently rub the top of his daughter's head. He had warned President Lee, he told him that his daughter put everything into people, and yet, his words were disregarded causing his baby girl to lay crying at his feet. "We will get through this as a family," David promised.

----

Anne was warming a meal for David when her front door was opened, and men in black suits poured into her home. She did not scream, and instead pointed to where her daughter was sleeping before being asked, at gunpoint, to join her husband in the sitting room. She sat on her husband's recovery bed, and he tightly clutched at her hand, clearly concerned, but when the President of their country stood before them Anne panicked.

"What did she do?" The woman whispered. She had warned Mina to be careful with President Lee, but it appeared as though she did not listen, and Anne feared her daughter may have hurt the man the way she had once hurt her.

"We don't know yet," Cam replied. Ian and Lisa were unconscious in the hospital, and Mina was the prime suspect. She had left without a word, but Cam, despite how much he distrusted the woman, found himself unconvinced.

Without waiting for a response from Mina's Parents, Cam headed toward where his men were already standing by the woman's bedroom door. He opened it, surprised to see Mina curled in her bed, her breath hitching as if she had been crying. She was clearly in a deep sleep, so Cam called out to her, not wanting to frighten her too badly.

When Mina's eyes opened and she saw him standing in her room, she scrambled to her feet. She rubbed at her eyes, which Cam could now see were red and swollen. There was no doubt in his mind that she was having a difficult time with something, but he did not know what.

"I didn't mean to steal the car; I just needed to leave," Mina said, her voice cracking a little.

"Why did you need to leave?" Cam asked, not wanting to tell Mina what happened before hearing her side of the story.

"President Lee he... Miss Lisa… They were… He said he didn't care," Mina sobbed, sitting on her bed as she cupped her face in her hands.

"Hey," Cam replied, sitting next to the woman while rubbing her back. "What did you see?"

"I couldn't look. I didn't want to see him betraying me."

"So... you left?" Mina nodded, leaning into President Cam who had wrapped his arm around her. She felt vulnerable and afraid, and she desperately wanted to feel safe. "Mina, Ian was drugged." Mina shot to her feet; her eyes wide as she processed what the man had told her.

"Does that mean he didn't…" Cam's face took on a pitiful expression, and Mina dropped her sentence. "But he didn't mean to, right?" At that Cam nodded, because he was absolutely sure his cousin would not have betrayed Mina.

"Don't leave," Cam instructed. He stood and pushed past Luna, who insisted on speaking to Mina. She claimed that the woman may be in the middle of a mental breakdown, and Cam could not deny that the woman did not appear to be in good condition.

Luna entered Mina's room, studying its appearance, and noting that it was Ian's style. She closed the door behind her, wanting to speak to Mina in private.

"Mina, when I spoke to you; I didn't know things would-"

"Miss Luna. Please stop. If you had not brought Miss Lisa into your brother's home, none of this would have happened."

----

Lisa cracked open her eyes to find herself laying in a hospital bed. Her head was throbbing and when she paged for help, Doctor Bell arrived. He asked her if she remembered anything, and taking it as an indication that Ian may not have remembered anything, Lisa denied remembering what happened.

"Can I call my brother?" The man shook his head, drew her blood, and left the room. A nurse entered shortly after, and Lisa begged the woman to call her family. It was clear she was conflicted, but she denied the request, and it was then that Lisa realized that she was not 'being treated;' she was a prisoner. However, Luna soon came into the room, and Lisa leeched off every ounce of the woman's pity.

----

Ian awoke with one of the most excruciating headaches of his life. He analyzed the room and found himself growing concerned. He could not remember anything from the night before, and his throat was so dry that it hurt. He used a call button to summon a nurse, but a large crowd of people entered his room instead, and he found himself deeply confused.

"Mom?" Ian said in bewilderment, he coughed as the pain in his throat grew. His sister brought him water, and he scanned the room, looking for the one person who mattered, but she was not there. "Where is Mina?" he asked, staring at Cam, who he was surprised was around. The man hung his head, and Ian found himself sitting up, pulling away the intravenous drip while trying to stand.

"Ian, calm down," Drax said, pushing his friend back into the bed. "Listen to me please." Drax looked up at Mrs. Sophia Lee and the woman ushered everyone out of the room.

"What is going on? Why am I here?" Drax rubbed at his forehead, he did not know how he was going to tell one of his closest friends the news, but he was the only one qualified.

"Ian, a lot has happened, but you need to let a doctor look at you first." Ian glared at his friend before relaxing his posture. Drax waited for a doctor to check the man's vitals, and when he nodded that Ian was okay to talk, he released a heavy breath.

"What do you last remember?"

"Mina and I were driven home then we walked into a surprise party." Drax waited for Ian to continue, but that was as far as his memory went. "Now tell me, why isn't Mina here?" Ian's eyes went wide as he suddenly remembered his plans. "Wait, what time is it? I had something planned for Mina and I." Drax winced, and Ian flinched, sensing that something was very wrong. "What?" Ian growled, feeling his head throb with the action.

"Ian, it's been a week." Ian's eyes bulged and he tried to jump out of the bed again, but Drax stopped him.

"Mina will be worried; someone needs to let her know I'm okay." Ian struggled against Drax's hold until the man said words he could not stand to hear. "What?" Ian asked in a whisper. His heart hammered in his chest and water filled his eyes. "What do you mean gone?"

"Ian, I'm sorry. Mina… She… It was a lot for her."

"Please, tell me what you mean," Ian replied. He repeated the phrase over and over until Drax's eyes began to tear up.

"Ian, I'm so sorry," Drax said, sniffling as he held his friend down.

"Just tell me what you mean," Ian shouted, not actually sure he wanted to know.

Standing outside of the room, Sophia winced as she heard her son wail in agony.

----

Blood dripped from the side of Mina's face, she was soaked in water, and struggling to stay conscious. The only thing she had was her backpack that she filled with enough cash to get away, and after that she could live off the money she had hidden. The problem was that she was hurt, and she needed a place to stop and see to her injuries before she continued with her plan.

It was late, but Mina made it to the one place where she knew no one would ever look for her. She knocked at the door, hoping that she would not be shot for 'visiting' at such a late hour.

"Who's there?" Mina heard, she looked up, smiling into the security camera as much as she could, but the left side of her face felt raw, and she could barely move it. There was ruckus at the door before Chief William Chute swung it open and pulled her inside. His wife was already running behind him with a towel that she pressed onto one of Mina's injuries. "Who did this to you?" Mina grabbed the man's hands, knowing that she did not have long before she fainted.

"Please, don't tell anyone I'm here." William guessed who Mina was running from, and taking a cue from his wife, he agreed just before Mina's body went limp.