Lena Morgan

Seconds felt like hours as Lena stared at her phone, her fingers drumming on the counter. She was waiting—no, hoping—for her sister Linda to call back, but the screen remained stubbornly silent. Her frustration simmered, a fiery urge to smash something boiling beneath her calm exterior.

“Lena!” snapped Lorie, the restaurant manager, jolting her back to reality. “Table three. They’re waiting.”

“Right, sorry.” Lena grabbed her notepad and pen, hurrying toward the table.

Lena paused when she noticed the guests on table number 3. It was occupied by a man and a lady, and they were both in their late twenties. A frown formed on her face.

“Linda’s friends,” Lena thought; this was the company her sister joined before she became all rebellious, and it’s been a month she hasn't seen her sister, so she could only ask them.

“Where is Linda?” Lena asked at once; she didn't think that these people needed politeness as they lacked one themselves.

They both stared at her and snorted; of course they knew who she was; after all, she had an identical face to Linda.

“This is Linda’s boring and careful twin sister,” the lady muttered to the man, who chuckled and stood up, picked up his bag, and pointed a finger at Lena.

“Your sister is a mess; if I were you, then I would consider it a curse to look like her.”

Lena blocked his path, not letting him go. “I asked where my sister is; you ruined her by introducing her to your stupid line of business, and now you call her a mess.”

The guy pushed Lena to the side, and this caught a lot of attention. He pointed a finger at Lena and said, “Don’t do that judgy stuff with me; your sister wasn't a teenager when she chose to join us. And we regret ever working with her; she took a business offer from some dangerous men and didn't even think of letting us in on it.”

Lena raised a brow, confused. What business offer? Was her sister in danger?

“Lena” Lorie hurried towards her; he crouched and helped her up. “Are you okay?” he questioned, and Lena nodded before she watched Linda’s friends leave.

Lorie dragged her to the kitchen before she folded her arms and kept glaring at her. “Since when do you attack the guests? What is wrong with you?” He scolded, and Lena bowed her head slightly with an apologetic look.

“I am sorry, Lorie,” Lena muttered and quickly sniffed back her tears, which threatened to roll down her cheeks.

Lorie held her hands and patted her head with the other hand, throwing a reassuring smile at Lena.

“It’s not the first time your sister disappeared; she will come back when she feels like it.”

Lena shook her head in denial. She knew her sister was always leaving home without saying a word and only returning after weeks, but Linda had never been absent for their parents birthday; she always showed up, and today was their parents birthday, but she didn't show up.

“It’s already 7pm; I am sure your parents must be waiting for you, so why don't you go back home?” Lorie suggested, and Lena nodded. She walked to the wardrobe at the end and took out the apron and kept it carefully before she picked up her bag and turned to leave when Lorie said.

“You could show up at home as Linda, then make an excuse and leave, then return as Lena; this way your parents won’t be sad.”

Lena chuckled. Of course she was the complete copy of Linda with no differentiation, and it was always hard for people to tell which is which but not their parents; her mom knew her kids so well and couldn't be fooled by them.

“Good night, Lorie,” Lena waved at her before she got into the cab, which took her to the Morgan mansion.

Lena lingered at the gate, wondering what excuse she was going to tell her parents.

“Should I tell them that Linda called and was stuck in traffic?”

“Or maybe she was rushed to the hospital?” Lena thought but kissed her teeth; that would only make matters worse.

The sound of her phone ringing brought her out of her trance. Lena quickly rummaged through her bag for her phone and sighed disappointedly when she saw the caller ID; for a moment she thought it was Linda, but it was her boyfriend, Chris.

The call got connected when his voice echoed, “Hello baby, how are you?”

Lena pouted, “Linda hasn't shown up yet; guess the state I am in right now.”

“I am sure she is fine; remember she is used to leaving?” Chris explained, and Lena didn't think so. No one was worried about Linda because they thought it was normal for her to always leave and suddenly show up, but she knew Linda wouldn't miss their parents' birthday for anything in the world.

“Don’t worry, baby, if she doesn't show up by the end of the day, then I will ask my detective friend to look into it." Chris assured her, and a smile quickly found its way on her face. How did she end up meeting such a caring man?

“I am the luckiest woman on earth to have you, Chris.”

“I am the lucky one, baby,” Chris answered, and the line went silent for some seconds before Lena broke the silence.

“I will call you later, okay?”

“Hmm, I will be waiting,” he replied before the call got disconnected, and Lena found her way into the mansion and was welcomed by silence.

Her father wasn't in his usual chair sipping his late-night coffee while complimenting her mom for being the best coffee maker in the world.

“Did they go to bed this early?” Lena thought before she found her way upstairs to her parents bedroom.

"Mommy.” She called, but there was no one in the bedroom.

"Papa,” Lena kept calling, but there was no response. The front door was open, so there was no way they would have left without locking it.

She found her way to the first floor, which was occupied by the library and her father’s study room. Lena halted on her steps when she stepped on something.

She crouched to find it was her dad’s reading glasses, and there were some muddy steps on the floor. After carefully following it, Lena found herself on the balcony, and her eyes bulged when both her parents were tied around a chair and surrounded by some men.