Page 96 of Legacy

“You can’t taste anything because you burned all your taste buds with all the spicy food you eat. Normal people don’t pick peppers from a plant in the garden and eat them.”

“You weakling. You can’t call it spicy if it doesn’t make your nose run and youreyes water.”

I rolled my eyes, took a huge bite of my food, and immediately regretted it. Hot cheese scalded my tongue.

I fanned my mouth and grabbed my cold soda. “Hot, hot, hot.”

“I rest my case.” Laya laughed, pointing at me.

“You’re lucky I’m willing to feed you. I’ve never known anyone who eats as much as you.” My comment brought thoughts of Cali to mind, and I glanced at my phone. “Has it really been three hours?”

Laya picked up her mobile and snapped her gaze to mine. “Where the hell is Cali?”

“Has she responded to any of your messages? She hasn’t read any of mine.” A chill ran down my spine. Cali always responded to texts, even if it was to say,I’m busy.

“Nothing.” Laya scrolled her screen. “Not a single comment to any of the pictures I sent her while we were cooking. And not a single post on any of her social media accounts, even the popular one with the million followers.”

Calista kept a “Day in the Life” account on one of the social media platforms where she posted about different places in the city. We teased her about the number of hand and foot shots we had seen since she never revealed her face.

I dialed her number. “Let me call. She knows to pick up if it is me.”

After a few rings, her chirpy voice told me to leave her a message.

“Voicemail?” Laya asked. “Okay. I’m scared. Calista doesn’t go this long without checking in. She’s a free spirit but a good girl. She’s not like us.”

“Where the fuck is her protection?” I muttered to myself and dialed Cali’s security lead. When he picked up, I asked, “Where’s Cali?

“We can’t find her.”

I gripped the phone tighter. “What the fuck do you mean you can’t find Cali? It’s your job to keep her safe and to stay with her. You are her shadow.”

Laya furrowed her brow, gesturing to listen in. My hands shook as I set the phone on the counter. It was time to be the Vitalis, to take charge, and to help my family through this.

I would use rational thought, and then I’d punish.

“Tell me what happened.” My order came from a place I’d reached for before.

I remember Papa telling me there were times we put everything away and became cold and a predator. At fifteen, I had no concept of what he meant. Now I understood.

“She went into the library’s enclosed study room. Since some of the walls are glass, she was within sight to a certain extent. So we stood nearby to give her some privacy to concentrate.”

“She told us she was going to an information session.”

“This was after it finished. There are books in the library that they won’t allow anyone to check out, so Cali decided to look through them before closing. We didn’t see any harm in letting her sit in a lounger and read for half an hour.”

Laya cut in. “A single study room? She was the only one in there?”

“No. Several other tables were in there, but only oneother woman was there,” he reported. “We scoped it before she entered.”

“Go on.” I set my hand on the counter and waited.

“When the thirty-minute time slot ended, we knocked on the door, but the room was empty.”

I ground my teeth so hard that the muscles in my neck strained. The air in my lungs burned with every breath. Laya covered her mouth, rubbing her hand to the side to grip the back of her neck.

I couldn’t lose the heart of our family. I wouldn’t lose the heart of our family.

“We were about to call you, then Elias.”

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