Chapter 123 - LUCAS NICHOLAS 2

He struck the man's neck forcefully until he dropped to the ground unconscious. Hastily, he looked from left to right again. When he was sure no one had seen him, he dragged the unconscious body behind the trees. He left him there for a while, and when he returned, he now had a rope in his hand.

Lucas Nicholas stripped the man with the white coat he wore then tied both his feet and fingers with a rope. Before he left the unconscious man behind, he gagged his mouth just to make sure he would not attract unwanted attention when he woke up.

He put the white coat on and smoothened the slightly crumpled collar as he slowly made his way. But before going to the gates, he momentarily stopped to put his fake mustache on and gold rimmed spectacles. After he finished putting his disguise on, he picked the black duffel bag and made a beeline straight to the rusty gates.

He summoned all the courage he could muster before he pressed the buzzer. Seconds later, the gate creaked open and three armed men greeted him. The tallest man came in front of him. His hard gaze fired bullets in his direction. After a long scrutiny, he finally let him inside.

The gates swung close and he heard the harsh click as one of the men locked it behind him. He took a deep long breath and reminded himself he must be calm if he wanted to leave the place with his body parts still intact.

If one of the men discovers he was an impostor, he would be dead before he knew it. That is what he tries to avoid.

The tall man frisked him all over. When he was sure he carried no weapon within him he then shifted his attention inside the duffel bag, and he poured all the contents on the ground. All he saw was a medicine box, medical stuff, and a stethoscope.

"Cleared." The man who checked the bag declared.

Lucas Nicholas adjusted his spectacles before he started to pick the scattered things on the floor and return it back to the duffel bag. When he finished picking everything down the cemented floor, he closed it and walked behind the man who motioned him to follow.

The man brought him inside the sinister looking house. When they entered, the dusty foyer greeted him. The light on the ceiling flickered with a weak glow, the light bulb badly needed to be changed and anytime soon it would be no use. The old house literally looked like a haunted house with its unkempt situation.

They climbed up the foyer and climbed the stairs until they entered a spacious room. There were no appliances nor furniture inside except an average size bed and a small wooden night table.

The room was no better than the foyer, it looked dirty like a garage that hadn't been opened for years and a thick layer of dust accumulated over the years. There on the high ceiling, cobwebs could be seen everywhere. 

He shook his head at the depressing sight. The owner doesn't seem to care about cleanliness. But he shouldn't be surprised, after all, it was Vince Greyson's property. The inside was as dark and dirty as his soul.

By the soft flicker of light from the candle on the night table, he saw the thin figure on the bed draped with a blanket.

The man left and closed the door behind him.

Once he was alone, he slowly made his way on the bed. His pulse rate quickened and his chest tightened when his eyes caught sight of the unconscious little girl.

He gasped. Fear he never knew he was capable of seized him inside. He had to blink his eyes several times to believe he was seeing the real thing and not just his hallucinations.

There lying on the bed was a little girl around the age of four with long curly hair in the shade of warm honey. She was too thin for her age, a sign she was suffering from malnutrition.

Recognition sparkled on his raven black eyes. The little girl was so thin but her face didn't change a bit. It's been a long four years since he had a glimpse of that face but he couldn't be mistaken… The girl was Phoenix and Ace's daughter—Vien.

He knelt on the floor as he fought the urge to cry. He will not crumble, not there when the poor little child needed his strength.

"Vien?"

He called gently but there was no response. He called again but only the deafening silence answered back.

His hands shook violently when he reached out to check her neck and discover she was burning with fever. His fingers flew to her wrist, there was barely a pulse on it. Even her chest wasn't moving as if she stopped breathing at all.

The poor child was in bad condition and she needed to be sent to the hospital right away. But he wondered if Vince Greyson would even allow the child to be taken to the hospital. 

He must do everything he could to free this child from this hellhole. If Ace discovers that his stepbrother hid his child all these years, he would surely kill Vince without a second thought.

He stood upright and fumbled on his belt until he found the tiny vial he carried with him all the time for emergency measures like this. He picked the duffel bag from the floor and placed it on top of the bed and began to rummage inside until he found the syringe he was looking for.

His hands trembled as he pulled the vial open. He filled the syringe with the liquid from inside the vial. When he was finished, he inserted the tiny bottle back into his belt.

"I'm sorry Vien but I must do this in order to save you." 

He took a deep, tortured breath, and lifted her thin wrists. He then sank the needle into her flesh and emptied the liquid into her veins. Her body convulsed and then she stopped moving.

When he checked he checked her neck for a flicker of life—there was none.