Chapter 167: Abandoned

Back in Gespa, Luna exited the shower and found a handwritten note on her pillow. {Had to go. See you soon.} the parchment read. She crumpled the paper into a tight little ball and chucked it at the door. She had specifically told Lisa that they should not separate. She was not in Pan right now, and although the influence of the Lee family spread far and wide, it was weaker in Gespa, where they had very few businesses.

Luna did not know how angry Mr. Cal was after he received the details of the blind deal, but she knew that any half decent businessman would immediately realize they had been bamboozled. As if to snap her back into reality, the phone in the hotel room rang. It was beyond odd; Luna had not given anyone the number and did not even know it herself. Swallowing her fear, she answered, thinking it was likely a call from the front desk. The voice that replied shook her. The fact that he had the number was a warning and she understood his meaning clearly. He was telling her that he knew where she was, and if he wanted, he could have done more than called.

"You've played a dangerous game," Shai said.

"Likewise," Luna retorted. She might have been alone in the country right now, but if anything happened to her, she knew Ian would raze the entire Cal family and all their allies. This unfortunately would include Lisa, who either did not realize or did not care how much trouble she would be in if anything bad were to happen right now.

"I am willing to overlook this if you accompany me to dinner tonight."

"Sorry, but I have a boyfriend," Lisa replied

"Really?" said the man. "Then why are my sources telling me that you are as single as the day you were born?" he asked.

"Your sources are mistaken. They probably just haven't looked hard enough."

"What is his name?" The man asked coldly. This made Luna even more nervous.

"Why would I give you that information?" she asked.

Shai laughed loudly over the phone. It was not a happy laugh or friendly laugh. It was the angry sort of laugh that television villains all seemed to share.

"I'll give you two choices. Have dinner with me or I'll sabotage your friend."

Luna could feel her heart begin to race. Thanks to Lisa, she was alone in Gespa and although she could not be sure, she felt that Lisa's presence had been a deterrent to the man. Luna could sense that her friend's spontaneous departure was part of the reason for the morning call. Shai was telling her that he was watching, and she shuddered at the thought of him having intimate knowledge of her whereabouts. Not knowing what else to say, Luna agreed to a date, under her own terms.

"We can have dinner, just not tonight. I leave the country soon," she lied.

"Then when?"

"How about after I tour your new film site? We can have lunch afterward, not dinner. I don't want my boyfriend to misunderstand." Luna closed with the lie to force her point. She would have to convince Zane to play along with her later.

----

Mina had only just finished cleaning her room when she heard a tapping at the door. She asked the person to enter, but no one did. Confused, she opened the door but after checking the hall thoroughly, she saw no one. Mina shrugged and went to bathe, thinking she was hearing things. She locked the door behind herself, but the sensation of being sealed in a room nearly drove her into a panic attack that only subsided when she unlocked the door. It was a side effect of being held in one room for a full three weeks and it was only becoming worse over time.

There was a time when Miss Ruby had thoughtfully locked the door after leaving Mina's room, and when Mina tried to open it, she found herself bawling while pounding on the door. Her mind had drawn completely blank and it was Tara, who from the other side, reminded Mina that she could unlock it with a simple press of a button at the side of the knob. It took Mina a full day to come down from that anxiety and she begged those who bore witness to keep the incident to themselves.

Mina had many friends within the Lee household and almost everyone liked her. They respected her wishes and to this day, President Lee had not heard about the matter or at least he did not bring it up. Mina shoved back the unpleasant memories that surfaced during her shower and prepared for bed.

----

Ian had come home early and had fallen asleep at his desk. He had that nightmare about the shifting faces again. Before he realized what he was doing, he found himself standing in front of Mina's door.

Earlier that day, Ian had told Zane that he planned to fully commit to Lisa, but when she stood before him, he could not force himself to feel anything, despite his best efforts. He recalled that night in bed and shuddered at the memory. Lisa had been so into her act that she did not even notice that he had not penetrated her at all.

All this time, Ian had been trying to convince himself that she was probably too inexperienced to know the difference, but her behavior that night told him otherwise. He had not confronted her about it yet, but he was fully aware that it was her who had poked holes into the little plastic package. Still Ian could not bring himself to blame Lisa, had it not been for the fact that he lost his memory, he would not have allowed Mina to be given a contraceptive. If he were lucky enough…

Ian cut his impure thoughts off as he heard the muffled voice of the woman inside the guest room. Did he knock on the door just now? Embarrassed Ian scurried to his study before Mina could discover him.