Page 97 of Petals and Fangs

“That was Demetrius' doing. I assume you know about him.”

“Of course, I do, Lily,” Nick scoffs and walks towards us.

“Ethan met him last night.”

“What?” Nick says, his face goes white.

“As we were leaving, Ethan and I, we spotted him behind the club and Ethan confronted him.”

“Did he tell you why? What did you see, Lily?”

“I don't know. But he didn't sound happy when he spoke about Demetrius. He said it is all settled now, but I am sure that something is still wrong for how distant he seemed to be.”

Nick sighs heavily and takes his jacket off. His shirt shows how tense he is. But there is something about the way he looks at me. He is looking at me like I owe him something.

“I know my brother. When he is silent and distant that only means that he is plotting something.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You heard me, Lily. Ethan could be up to something. Something bad.”

“Oh, good gracious.”

“Calm down, Miss Snow. Panic won't help us find him. Let's go through this step by step, shall we?” Alfred says, trying to reassure me.

“How can she be calm, Alfred? How can any one of us be calm? The FDA is breathing down our necks, and Ethan is nowhere to be found. What if something happened to him? The company needs Ethan to function. Without him, there is no Rothschild Pharmaceuticals.”

“Mr. Rothschild is resourceful. He's faced worse threats than the FDA. We need to think logically,” Alfred says.

“Ethan did mention something about the FDA,” I say as I focus on my breathing. It is getting too much for me.

“What did he say, Miss Snow?”

“He said he had a plan to deal with them, and even when I offered to help, he objected to it.”

“Is that it?” Nick asks. He seems agitated and eager to know more.

“He also said that he has suspicions that someone might be destroying the company from within.”

“We've thought of that possibility, too,” Alfred says, shaking his head and rubbing his temple. He then looks at Nick, stealing glances at each other like they both know something I don’t.

“No, you thought of that possibility, Alfred. It can't happen.”

“Stay calm, Nick,” Alfred says, seeming out of patience.

The situation looks desperate and worrying. Both look like they can go at each other any second now. And all I want is to see Ethan alive and well again.

“Nick, can I talk to you in private for a moment?” Alfred asks. His eyes are telling me no good.

“Is something going on here? Something I should know of?”

Alfred’s eyes seem softer now as he glances at me then back at Nick. He even hesitates to speak. I take it as a good, obvious sign that he does not want me to hear what he's going to say next.

“Lily can stay. She has to. She is one of us now, aren't you, Lily?” Nick says and looks at me. There is something sinister about his look that I can’t get over.

But I don't have time to dwell on that because Alfred starts talking to Nick again.

“Alright, if you insist. I can't help but have a guess.”

---