Infernal Academia

Chapter 48 - Pharmine's Folly: Part 3 (Wrong Number)

Was he too harsh?

Was he right to denounce his own mother like that?

Maybe she had a point... Five years was surely enough time to grieve...

No...

No.

He couldn't stand down on this. The only people Stefan could ever trust were his parents. And now one was dead, and the other...

It was fine. He'd be fine without a family. Just look at him now; running his own business, owning his own home, living the high life... He was fine.

But... What about Jelli? He couldn't get her out of his head. She was always so helpless; he just couldn't imagine her coping on her own.

But he'd have to.

Because she wasn't his sister.

She wasn't...

The phone rang. Without looking up, Stefan reached over and pressed a button.

"What? I'm busy," he grumbled.

That wasn't strictly true. The Fallen hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night, and the following day had just been dragging on and on. Not to mention all the calls from his mother that he had been ignoring...

"Sorry sir, but there's a call for you on line one," responded the voice of his secretary.

He scoffed.

"Is it my mother, perchance?"

"No sir. Erm... The caller ID is... not showing up correctly... hold on..."

A scrambled caller ID? That usually only happened when someone was phoning directly from Hell. But he knew no-one there that would know the direct number for his office.

"Patch it through," Stefan said, straightening up in his chair.

"At once, sir."

With a heavy sigh, the businessman reached over to his phone and raised the receiver to his ear.

"This is Stefan Blackwell of Blackwell Pharmaceuticals," he droned, leaning back in his chair.

"Ah, that's good.  That means I've got the right number, then," spoke a voice that he didn't recognise.

As with all calls coming from Hell, there was a fair amount of interference, but he could just about make out the voice of a young man.

"Care to make this quick?  I'm not in the business of dealing directly with people I don't know," Stefan sighed

"Oh, sure thing.  I just need you to confirm that you're coming back to Hell."

Narrowing his eyes, Stefan sat up in his chair.

"Who is this?  How did you get this number?" he asked sternly.

"Neither of those things really matter right now.  I just need you to come back.  It's more important than you realise."

"I don't know you; I don't see-"

"Call me a friend of a friend, so to speak."

Stefan bared his teeth as he got out of his chair, feeling mightily paranoid all of a sudden.  Stepping over to the windows, he peeked outside, despite knowing for a fact that the caller was nowhere nearby.

"I don't have friends in Hell.  Not anymore," the Fallen growled.

"Maybe so.  But you have family, am I right?"

"No.  I do not."

"Not even Jelli?"

His heart stopped for a moment.  Gripping the phone tighter, Stefan's free hand balled into a fist.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.  I suggest you put the phone down before you overstep a bound you don't want to cross," he hissed, gripping the phone so hard it threatened to break.

Through the static of the audio interference, he heard the man laugh.

"I think I know enough.  More than you, anyway, considering you're not even a part of her life anymore.  I know that she still sees you as her big brother, blood ties bedamned.  I know she's been struggling without your guidance.  And I know she's not going to last much longer without you here to reassure her."

"Listen here, you son of a-!"

"Honestly, Stefan; I'm shocked you'd be so callous.  Your parents are married, no?  Shouldn't that have brought you two closer together?"

"I-!"

The man laughed once more.

"Oh, hit the nail on the head, didn't I?  You still care about h-"

The Fallen slammed the phone down, cutting the call off immediately.  His entire body was tense; his breaths coming in short, sharp gasps.  It took him a few moments to realise just how tightly his jaw was clenched.

"Son of a bitch... Son of a bitch!" he roared, abruptly kicking his chair across the room.

The phone rang, prompting him to lift it up, only to immediately slam it back down.  It rang again, so he jabbed the decline button.  But again and again, the phone would ring, until Stefan released a howl of rage and ripped the power cable from the wall altogether.

There was a knock at the door.

"Sir?  Are you okay in there?" asked the concerned voice of his secretary.

Wiping his brow, Stefan gripped the edges of his desk and took a shuddering breath.

"I'm fine!  Just... not feeling too great.  I might just head home early," he called.

"A- Alright, sir.  I'll cancel the rest of your meetings."

For a few minutes, the cloaked Fallen stood alone in his office, silently recuperating from his fit of frustration.  Once settled, he grabbed his coat and briefcase before he stepped out into the hall, where his secretary sat behind a desk of her own.  She was a short lady with a normally nonplussed expression, but as she watched him pass, she wore a concerned face.

"Sir?  Are you sure you're okay?" she asked as Stefan passed.

"I'll be fine after a decent night's sleep.  Hellf- Lord only knows I've been missing out lately," he sighed in response, biting his tongue as he nearly spoke a Hellish colloquialism.

She made to make a response, but at that moment, the phone on the secretary's desk rang.  Nodding to her boss, she answered it.

"Hello?  Oh, you again.  Um, yes, hold on one second..."

Looking up, she handed it to Stefan.

"It's for you, sir."

Swallowing hard, he resisted the urge to throw the phone back and instead held it to his ear.

"Time's running out quicker than you'd think, Stefan," spoke that sinister voice.

He thrust the phone back into his secretary's hands.

"End the call.  Don't take any more, and block that number."

"S- Sir?!"

"If he tries to call again, just... I don't know, make sure it doesn't happen."

Leaving her with that, he stomped off towards the elevator, his eyes dark and stormy.