“Disappearance?” she gasped.
“He isn’t answering his phone and we don’t know where he is,” I said.
“My mom’s missing too!” she shouted.
“I won’t let you off if I find your mother is responsible for this,” I warned her. “Not that I care about my father, but he’s still my dad. He can’t die just yet.”
Her face crumpled into a pained expression. “What are you talking about?” she asked, looking terrified.
I turned away, needing to distance myself from her. If not, I’d end up hurting her again. That was something I wanted to avoid doing in a house full of maids and valets.
“Noah! Wait up!” Milla shouted.
Next moment, I felt her fingers tangle into my shirt.
“Let go, Milla,” I growled.
“Not until you tell me the truth,” she urged. She pulled at my shirt hard, making me stumble. “You know something. What’s happened to them? Tell me! Tell me right now!”
“Get off,” I warned her.
“Tell me where my mom is,” she shouted, half-demanding and half-pleading. The sound of tearing fabric followed this. Looking down, I saw she’d torn a piece of my shirt.
“Get away from me!” I bellowed, pushing her away.
Her fingers slipped as her body fell backward.
It was a few seconds before I realized I’d pushed her too hard.
Milla’s back hit the wall and she stayed stuck to it at an awkward angle. Second by second, her expression changed. First, it was shock. Next, it was pain. Her eyes welled with tears while her mouth fell open in a silent gasp.
I stood rooted to the spot as Milla’s body slowly slid to the floor, leaving behind a large smear of blood on the beige-painted wall.
She stayed still on the ground. The carpet near her head was steadily turning a dark crimson. The sight jolted me from my momentary paralysis and I hurled myself forward, kneeling before her.
“Milla.” Her name was a shaky breath on my lips. I shook her shoulder but she didn’t respond, continuing to lie in that awkward position on the floor.
“Milla, get up,” I shouted.
My fingers brushed over the soaked carpet and came up smeared with blood. My heartbeat seemed to slow down as cold spread through my chest. I couldn’t believe what I’d just done.
I reached for her and gently lifted her body on my lap. Her head lolled to the side. I touched her scalp and felt the warm, wet blood soaking through her hair.
“Shit,” I muttered, staring down at her. Her closed eyelashes seemed too dark against her pale skin. I couldn’t believe how much she bled in such a short time.
I need to get her to a hospital, the thought broke through my dazed mind.
Pulling her closer toward me, I picked up her limp body in my arms and hurried out of the room. Fear flowed through my veins like icy water. Milla was too quiet. Too unmoving.
Isn’t this the way I usually liked her though? Still and unmoving like a corpse.
The thought of her dying made my insides freeze. Shit! What was I thinking?
“You’re not going to die,” I whispered, staring down at her.
“Young master,” a familiar voice called out from ahead.
Looking up, I saw Hubert, my mother’s old valet. His gaze fell on the figure in my arms. He hurried toward me at once.