Chapter 470: Not a Child

Mina was cooking for Mills when men in dark suits filed into the kitchen. Both she and Mills assumed a defensive posture, and Mina held the knife she had been using in front of her while Mills drew a small pistol. In turn, the men aimed their guns at them both, but at nearly the same time, Drax was ordering the men to stand down, and President Lee could be heard on the phone arguing with someone.

"What is going on here?" Mills asked, she had not lowered her weapon, and neither had Mina.

"Mina, you need to leave with these men," Drax said in a calm tone, but Mina was anything but.

"Why?" She questioned. "What did I do?"

"Ian is trying to figure it out, but we don't know. They won't hurt you if you leave voluntarily." Mina's lips began to quiver, and Drax could see that it angered Ian, who was still trying to get through to Cameron.

Unwilling to drag Mills and Drax into whatever mess she was in, Mina dropped the knife she was holding, and surrendered herself. She could not stop her tears from falling as the dark suits handcuffed her and led her out of the Lee mansion. She had wanted to leave the place more than anything, but now she wanted to stay. Even if it meant living inside of that dark room for another three weeks, she was willing to do it.

Mina was placed into a car with windows tinted so dark that she could not see out of them. She could tell they had been driving for more than an hour, but she could not tell the speed of the vehicle, which made it impossible for her to calculate how far they had gone. She was just grateful that none of the men had spoken to or looked at her more than once.

When the car came to a stop, Mina was blindfolded before being led into what she could only assume was an interrogation location. Her breathing became heavy, as panic started to overtake her. Mina's entire body started to tremble, and the person guiding her, had to start pulling to get her legs to move. She was pushed in a chair, and the cuffs around her wrist were loosened. Someone pulled the hood from over her head, and once her eyes adjusted to the lights, she noticed that she was in The Grand dining room.

"Sorry about that," President Cameron said. "I knew you would decline my invitation if I sent one the proper way."

"So, you had me kidnapped?" Mina asked incredulously. She already disliked the man as a politician, and now she knew she also disliked him as a person.

"No, because you are not a child." Mina glared at the man, who smirked. "I found out from little Luna that you are exceptionally good at twisting the truth. I thought showing you just a hint of what I am capable of would help loosen your tongue, because I have several questions for you."

"You won't believe me even if I tell you everything. Just like President Lee, you think you already know the answer, and no matter how honest I am, you will still think I am lying." President Cameron winced as if Mina's words affected him, but she knew they did not.

"I heard about that, and it is unfortunate; what my cousin did to you; but know that it could have been much worse if he had gotten the family involved." Mina's whole body stiffened. She could not see President Lee telling his cousin what happened between them if he had been hiding it from his family, which meant it was Miss Luna. "Let's start from your healthy child file. Why don't you have one?"

"I did have one, but I destroyed it."

"You've recently been added to the country's genius registry, why?"

"I took an IQ test at a Lee facility and the results were automatically uploaded."

"Last question; are you working for another government or political rival?"

"No."

"Okay!" Cameron said cheerfully. He clapped his hands together and people started to bring out platters of food. "We did not get to have dinner and properly discuss your dislike for me. I went back and looked at the poverty rates from my first year in office to now, and you were right. I am responsible." Mina's face screwed in confusion.

"You can't expect me to trust you right now."

"It's true, I don't, and the feeling is mutual, but it has been a long time since anyone has told me what was wrong, instead of pretending that everything is okay. A more prosperous nation is equivalent to a more prominent country, and if we can surpass The Four Cities, Pan will stop losing its best citizens to them." Mina narrowed her eyes suspiciously, which earned her a laugh from the dark-haired man. He was handsome, but not in the way she preferred, so looking at him did little to curb her distaste, whereas looking at President Lee was still pleasant, even though she hated him.

"Where should I begin?" Mina asked.

----

Ian was livid. His cousin had sent people into his home without notice, drawn guns on Mina, and then took her. No matter how he tried to contact Cameron, his personal assistant kept telling him that the President was a busy man, but Ian did not care how busy he was. It was disrespectful what he had done, and not just him, but Drax was also livid, because Mills could have and likely would have opened fire if Mina were not around.

If Cameron needed Mina for questioning that was okay, it was obvious that she had not been ruled out as a suspect, but he could have asked someone to drive her to The Red House. Ian would have been happy to escort Mina for questioning, and the only reason he could think for his cousin to not want him around is because Cam must have had other plans or other suspicions.

Zane had warned him, and Ian knew how his cousin was; he saw something he wanted, and he took it, dealing with the consequence later. The thing with Mina was that there would be no consequences. Her family had no name, so they could not speak up for their daughter, and even if they tried, Cam had the ability to shut them up either with money or force. Ian texted Zane, asking for his help because he had no idea what he should do, and he doubted showing up at The Red House would be a good idea.

[My cousin took her. He took Mina!]

[What do you mean took? Like on a date?]

[No! He literally had her arrested from my home.] There was no reply for a while, and then Zane called.

"I told you Ian. I told you that it was a bad idea from the start. Not just because you had no idea what Mina's reaction would be, but because you seem to think you are the only person who can see her."

"What do I do?"

"Ian, he is your cousin, not mine. You know the relationship I have with him is not great and you are only just experiencing a portion of what I experienced. Do you know how many girls he-"

"Stop. Cameron stealing your girlfriends when we were young has nothing to do with him arresting Mina. If he wanted to be with her, he would have done it more gently; he would not have forced her."

"It's really good to hear you say that because that is exactly what you are trying to do to her. Do you see it now? Do you understand why it is wrong?"

"You helped him, didn't you?"

"F*ck you Ian. I will just remind you that the only reason I have not taken Mina for myself is because of my friendship with you." Ian was angry with Zane's words, but he knew the man was telling the truth.