Cinderella's Fate | 🤍 seongjoong 🤍

Chapter 48

Narrator's POV 

    The guards burst into the room without warning. Everything happened so fast, no one had time to react. Before Seonghwa could even stand, the guards rushed him like a pack of wolves.

    Hongjoong was the first to move. He jumped to his feet and stepped in front of him, arms outstretched, voice firm.

"You have no right to enter my office! Step back!" he shouted. "You're violating royal protocol!"

    But the guards didn't stop. They didn't even flinch. They advanced further , fully intending to remove Hongjoong from his position to get to Seonghwa.

It was five against one.

    Within seconds, Hongjoong was on the ground, blood dripping from his nose, his body curled from the blows. He groaned in pain but didn't move. Seonghwa stood frozen, panic flooding his mind. He couldn't process what was happening. His body refused to move, but his heart screamed at him to act.

    Once the guards had a hold of Seonghwa, he yelled, trying to break free from their grasp, but each time he struggled, their hold on him tightened. One grabbed his wrist so hard, he cried out, pain shooting up his arm.

   Seonghwa's eyes locked with Hongjoong's. The price was half-conscious, blood on his lips, eyes barely open. As they dragged the prince away, Seonghwa mouthed to him.

"I'll be okay..."

Then the darkness took him.

    Within minutes, Jongho and San were on the move, alerted by the outer patrol. They jumped into the private vehicle and raced through the grounds toward the prince's wing. As they arrived, the night shift guard ran to meet them, eyes wide with panic.

"Sir! The alarm went off. We didn't find anyone nearby, but the prince's office door is open. Lights are still on."

Jongho narrowed his eyes. 

"Did you check the office?"

"N-no, sir..."

"Then why are you standing here? Let's move!"

    They stormed into the office and found Hongjoong lying unconscious on the floor. His face was swollen, blood drying on his shirt. Jongho knelt beside him, checking his pulse as he called for medics. His heart sank. Hongjoong had been clearly beaten up by trained professionals. But for what reason?

    San didn't wait, he needed to get some clues as to why the prince on of the country was on the floor with bruises and blood dripping. As son as he stepped out of his office, his eyes became sharp , analysing his surroundings. And then ...

Shoe prints.

    And by his calculations it belonged to at least five people. However, one of the prints was weird, it was long and smeared, like someone had been dragged. That must mean that someone else had been with the prince at the time and had been abducted.

     He followed the trail quickly, out of the office, down the corridor, toward the main hall. The marks led him further and further... and then suddenly, they stopped.

No more tracks.

    San cursed under his breath. Steps followed him, few guards had followed, to which he instructed to take pictures of the scene and write a repost quickly.

    Just as he was heading back, one of the guards from the library patrol came running up, pale and breathless.

"Sir, something's wrong in the secret library."

San didn't hesitate. He rushed over.

    As he entered the room, he noticed the cameras. Their usual red lights were off. Disabled. That wasn't a good sign.

    Inside, the library was quiet. He scanned the room and spotted something on the floor: a black mask. On that he was very familiar with, as for weeks he had been searching for the same exact copy of it. Nearby, a book had been taken from the shelf as an empty gap was left behind.

    San picked up the mask, with his gloves hands , and frowned. If It belonged to the same man who had danced with the prince at the masquerade ball, that meant that he had visited the library however, the reason was still unknown to him.

And by looking at the shelf , the section was all about the royal family. Something didn't add up.

San turned to the guards. 

"Lock this place down. No one enters without my permission."

    When he returned, the scene was calmer. Two guards stood on either side of the door, alert. Inside, Jongho had carefully placed Hongjoong on a couch, propped up and stable. Though Hongjoong was still unconscious, Jongho's expression was more focused than worried, which meant he'd likely survive.

    San approached quietly and motioned for Jongho to step outside. Before he left, Jongho gave instructions to the guards, just in case anything happened. Then he followed San into the corridor.

"We found footprints leading down the left wing corridor," San began. "But they vanish about halfway. Alongside them were sweeping marks, like someone was being dragged, or maybe they staged it to make it look that way."

Jongho narrowed his eyes.

"They also broke into the secret library," San continued. "That's where we found this." He pulled the mask from his coat. "Same one from the ball. The same man might be involved again."

Jongho stared at the mask for a moment, then nodded. 

"That explains part of it. But not all."

"The prince is fine," he added after a breath. "He was knocked out with a combination of punches. Nothing fatal. The doctor says he should wake up in a few hours. But here's the strange part. We found a book beside him. The Family's Book: Fate"

San raised an eyebrow.

"That's locked knowledge. Only the royal family can read that."

"Exactly," Jongho said. "And the only person outside of them allowed access is Yunho. If this book had anything to do with the attack, he might know why."

"They didn't steal the book," he went on. "Which means the book wasn't the main goal. But they did take someone. That's clear from the drag marks."

San nodded slowly, piecing it together.

"Whoever they took might be just as valuable."

A moment of silence passed through them.

San took the initiative.

"I'll contact Yunho. We need him here immediately."

Jongho gave a sharp nod.

"Good. I'll inform the rest of the royal family. We have to contain this before it spreads."

As San moved quickly down the hall to call Yunho, he knew this was just the beginning. The mask, the missing person, the broken silence of the secret library, they were all signs.