The three girls stared a little too long, eyes wide, utterly captivated.

  Jane laughed softly and swayed her head from side to side, playful and teasing. “Now, now—don’t get too wild, okay, girls?”

  The words snapped them back to reality.

  “R-right!” they answered in unison, flustered and scrambling to compose themselves.

  They moved quickly into place—almost too quickly. One clung to her leg, another wrapped an arm around her from behind, peeking over her shoulder, while the last leaned close at her side. Then, as if rehearsed, all three fixed their faces into exaggeratedly serious expressions.

  Mr. Stone blinked, genuinely surprised by how perfectly synchronized they were.

  “Stop staring, dear,” Jane said, struggling to hold the pose, laughter threatening to break through. “Hurry up and take the photo—it’s harder to keep this face than it looks.”

  “R-right!” he replied, half-choking on the word as he raised the phone.

  The shutter clicked.

  A second later, cheers erupted from the girls, loud enough to spill out beyond the private room, their excitement echoing down the café as the moment dissolved into laughter.

  The three girls thanked Mr. and Mrs. Stone profusely, words tumbling over one another in their excitement. One of them called out, “If you need anything else, please let us know!”

  “Alright, girls. Thank you—take care, all three of you,” Jane replied warmly, waving goodbye.

  The girls laughed, eyes shining as they struggled to hide the tears of joy threatening to spill, and then hurried out of the room together.

  Jane watched them go, smiling. “Wow… they were truly lively, weren’t they, dear?”

  She returned to his side and sat down, leaning her head gently against his shoulder. Mr. Stone looked down at the photo on his phone, the corners of his mouth lifting as the room settled into a quieter, softer calm.

  Jane noticed what he was doing. Mr. Stone quietly cropped the photo, trimming away the three girls until only his wife remained in the frame.

  “I’m truly blessed,” he murmured, almost to himself.

  Jane giggled softly. “Do you like it, sweetie?”

  “Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “I really do. Lara would flip for—”

  The words stopped short.

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  Realization struck him all at once, heavy and sobering. This wasn’t just a lighthearted moment they’d stepped into. They weren’t here for photos or laughter.

  They were here because something had happened to their kids.

  The warmth in the room faded just a little as the weight of that truth settled back in, unspoken but impossible to ignore.

  The room grew cold—not in temperature, but in spirit.

  Laughter faded, warmth drained away, and silence crept back in as they waited. Every second stretched, heavy with unspoken fear, the air thick with questions neither of them dared to voice.

  At last, footsteps echoed outside the door.

  Mr. Stone reached out instinctively, his fingers closing gently around his wife’s hand. Jane looked up at him, and in that brief exchange, she understood everything written on his face.

  Be prepared.

  She nodded once, quietly, her grip tightening in return as they both turned their attention toward the door—ready to hear whatever awaited them on the other side.

  The door finally opened.

  Luku stepped in first, with Gasilin close behind him, both moving with practiced formality.

  “Luku,” Jane said at once, her face lighting up as relief broke through her composure.

  “Mrs. Stone,” Luku replied with a warm smile, dipping his head slightly. “You look amazing, as always.”

  “Oh, you jest too much,” she answered cheekily, waving him off with a light laugh—grateful for the familiar exchange, even as the tension beneath it remained.

  “So where is he?” Mr. Stone asked, cutting straight through the pleasantries.

  “Right,” Luku answered at once, his tone sharpening as he turned and gestured to Gasilin.

  Gasilin stepped aside and ushered the man forward, guiding him into the room. Without ceremony, he led him to a chair positioned directly across from Mr. Stone.

  The chair scraped softly against the floor as the Muuey sat.

  Shock flashed across both of the Stones’ faces the instant they truly took him in. The air in the private room seemed to tighten, the weight of the moment pressing down hard.

  “Luku…” Mr. Stone said slowly, disbelief slipping through his carefully controlled tone. “Are you sure?”

  Luku straightened, his expression serious, unwavering. He met Mr. Stone’s gaze without flinching.

  “Mr. Stone,” he replied with quiet respect, “I would never lie to you.”

  The certainty in his voice left no room for doubt—only consequences.

  “But he looks like he’s in his twenties,” Mrs. Stone said at once, disbelief sharpening her words as she studied him more closely.

  Muuey let out a tired sigh, as if he’d heard this accusation far too many times before. “Well… technically, I am twenty-one,” he replied evenly. “So you aren’t wrong.”

  The bluntness of his answer only deepened the tension in the room, his calm standing in stark contrast to the shock written across the Stones’ faces.

  “This is no—”

  Before Mr. Stone could finish, Muuey spoke, his voice cutting cleanly through the room.

  “Your kids are in danger.”

  The words landed like a physical blow.

  Shock froze the Stones in place, draining the color from their faces. Jane’s hand tightened around her husband’s instinctively, her breath catching as the weight of that single sentence settled in.

  The room fell deathly silent.

  A faint red glow began to seep from Muuey’s eyes, subtle at first—then unmistakable. The air in the room thickened, pressing down on everyone present, as if gravity itself had quietly doubled.

  Jane’s breath caught. Mr. Stone stiffened, instinct screaming that something fundamental had just shifted.

  Luku frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. He could feel it too—the weight, the pressure—but he didn’t understand why his master was doing this now.

  “Master…?” he began, uncertain, eyes darting between Muuey and the Stones.

  Muuey said nothing.

  The red glow held steady, silent and oppressive, filling the room with a sense of imminent truth—as though what came next would change everything.

  Muuey just released his killing intent! Why do you think he's being so aggressive with the parents?