The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 179

I blinked, confused. “Sorry,” the girl said. “You two look so similar. I thought you were her for a second.”

“Oh. No,” I replied. “But we’re looking for her. She’s late for an important exam. Have you seen her?”

The girl shook her head, then replied, “I actually haven’t seen her last night.” She wrung her hands. “She hasn’t been answering her phone, either. I thought she was with a guy or something, but she never ignores my texts.”

Callum took a step forward. “Where was the last place you saw her?”

She considered this for a moment. “Hm… Last time I saw her was at field hockey practice yesterday. She stayed behind to run some drills by herself.”

Callum nodded, then turned to me. “We should check the athletic field.”

My stomach dropped. “You think she’s still out there?”

“I’m not ruling out the possibility.” Callum turned on his heel and quickly made his way toward the exit. I thanked the nervous roommate, offering her what I hoped was an encouraging smile, then hurried after him.

“You seem concerned,” I said, nearly having to jog to keep up with Callum’s long strides. “Do you think she’s hurt or something?”

Callum’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “The rogues haven’t been found.”

“Seriously?” My footsteps faltered. “You don’t think—”

“Come on. We shouldn’t waste any time.”

Nodding, I hurried after him. We burst out into the brisk morning air, then rushed toward the athletic fields. The grass was crunchy with frost—the field was untouched. No one was there.

We burst into the security office and showed them the phone, explaining everything. Within minutes, they were rushing out to search for Marissa, Callum following close behind. By then, students had caught wind of the commotion and pieced things together themselves.

The school was in a tizzy by the end of the day. Callum and the security guards didn’t return.

The next morning came, and there was still no news. Hardly anyone had slept, too worried about Marissa and the rogues to rest. I’d spent most of the night pacing my dorm, fearing the worst.

It was during breakfast, as everyone picked at their food and tried not to think about what might have happened to our classmate, when the announcement came over the speakers.

“Attention all students,” Mr. Alder’s voice crackled through the air, instantly silencing everyone, “unfortunately, Miss Price has not been located and has officially been marked as missing.” There was a murmur. Mia clutched my arm tightly. “Classes will be canceled today; in the meantime, I encourage you all to sign up for today’s search party. More details will be posted on the bulletin board in the main lobby.”

Mia turned to me. “We should sign up,” she said, as if I wasn’t already standing to do just that. “The first twenty-four to seventy-two hours after someone goes missing are the most critical, after all.”