Levesque Manor
The Levesque household had descended into chaos.
Mr. Jenkins, the family butler who'd served the Levesques for over thirty years, stood in the main drawing room with an expression of deep concern.
"Sir, Madam," he addressed Kalina's parents formally. "I must bring to your attention a matter of some urgency."
Mr. Levesque looked up from his newspaper. "What is it, Jenkins?"
"Miss Kalina has not returned home in four days. Nor has she sent her customary text messages or location updates."
Mrs. Levesque waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, you know Kalina. She's probably off on one of her... adventures. She'll turn up."
"Perhaps she's overwhelmed with work," Mr. Levesque suggested, though he didn't sound particularly concerned. "You know how she gets when she's stressed. Disappears for a bit."
"With respect, sir, Miss Kalina has never gone four days without contact. She always checks in, even when she's being... mischievous."
Jenkins's tone carried just enough weight that both parents paused.
But it wasn't until Mireille showed up at the manor—frantic and demanding to know where Kalina was—that real alarm set in.
"What do you mean you don't know where she is?!" Mireille's voice echoed through the entrance hall.
Lyra had come downstairs at the commotion. "Mireille? What's going on?"
"Kalina! Where is she? She hasn't answered my calls in three days. She missed two business meetings. She's not at her apartment!"
"You went to her apartment?" Mrs. Levesque asked.
"Of course I did! And it's untouched. Looks like she hasn't been there in months except for the cleaning service. No clothes out, no food, nothing. Where the hell is she?!"
That's when the worry truly set in.
Mr. Levesque immediately called his private investigator.
Day Four - Morning
The investigator's call came early.
"Sir, I found her. A Kalina Levesque was admitted to City General Hospital on Saturday evening. Car accident. She's been there since then."
The phone nearly slipped from Mr. Levesque's hand.
"Saturday? That was four days ago!"
"Yes, sir. I've confirmed it's your daughter. She's stable, but—"
Mr. Levesque didn't wait to hear the rest.
"We're going. Now."
Ophelia stared at her phone, her coffee date reminder with Maxi flashing on the screen.
She couldn't go.
Not while Kalina was in the hospital.
Not while her sister had been lying there alone for four days.
Her hands shook as she texted Maxi:
Ophelia: I'm so sorry, I have to cancel today. Family emergency. My sister is in the hospital.
The response came almost immediately.
Maxi: What happened? Is she okay?
Ophelia: Car accident. We just found out she's been there since Saturday. I don't know anything else yet.
Maxi: I'm coming to pick you up. Where are you?
Ophelia: You don't have to—
Maxi: Ophelia. Where are you?
She gave him Logan's address, where she'd gone to meet up with Mireille.
Outside Logan's Apartment
Maxi's car pulled up exactly twelve minutes later.
Ophelia was waiting outside with Mireille and Logan, all three of them looking anxious and disheveled.
The moment the car stopped, Ophelia reached for the passenger door.
"Back seat," Maxi said gently. "You three should stay together."
Mireille and Logan didn't wait for a second invitation. They piled into the back seat unceremoniously, with Ophelia squeezing in after them.
"Thank you for coming," Ophelia said quietly as Maxi pulled back into traffic.
"Of course."
"Maxi." Logan leaned forward from the back seat. "It's been a while, man."
Maxi glanced in the rearview mirror, and his expression softened with recognition. "Logan. Yeah, it has. What, three years?"
"About that. Since the graduation party, I think."
"The one where you got absolutely wasted on spiked punch and tried to convince everyone to go skinny dipping?" Mireille interjected with a slight smile despite the tension.
Logan groaned. "Can we NOT bring that up right now?"
"Hey, Maxi remembers it too, don't you?" Mireille said.
"I do," Maxi admitted, a ghost of a smile crossing his face. "Silas had to physically restrain you from jumping in the fountain."
"I was twenty-two and stupid, okay?"
The brief moment of levity helped cut through some of the anxiety in the car, but it faded quickly.
Mireille leaned forward, her expression turning serious again. "Maxi, can you drive faster? I'm really anxious to see Kalina in good condition."
"On it." Maxi pressed the accelerator, weaving smoothly through traffic.
In the back seat, Ophelia was wringing her hands, guilt written all over her face.
"This is my fault," she whispered.
"What? No it's not," Mireille said immediately, turning to her.
"If I'd known—if I hadn't been so wrapped up in my date—I should have followed her home. Made sure she got back safe. Instead I just—" Her voice cracked. "I left her alone and she got hurt."
"Ophe, stop," Logan said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You couldn't have known."
"But I should have checked. I should have texted her that night. Made sure she got home okay—"
"Hey." Mireille grabbed Ophelia's hand, squeezing it. "Kalina is a grown woman who makes her own choices. She told you to go have fun with Maxi. She wanted you to enjoy yourself. This is NOT your fault. Got it?"
Ophelia nodded, but the guilt didn't leave her eyes.
From the driver's seat, Maxi spoke quietly. "Kalina's tougher than she looks. I remember from university—she once walked across campus with a sprained ankle because she was too stubborn to call for help."
"She still does that," Logan muttered. "Stubborn as hell."
"Runs in the family," Mireille added, glancing at Ophelia.
Despite everything, Ophelia managed a weak smile.
They drove the rest of the way in tense silence, each of them lost in worry, hoping they'd find Kalina okay.
City General Hospital - Reception
The Levesque parents arrived first, with Lyra and her husband Atticus close behind. They rushed to the reception desk, demanding information.
Moments later, Maxi's car screeched into the parking lot.
The four of them—Ophelia, Mireille, Logan, and Maxi—hurried inside and converged at reception just as the nurse was directing the Levesque family to Kalina's room.
"Room 407, fourth floor. The elevators are—"
They didn't wait for directions.
Both groups rushed toward the elevators, anxiety and worry radiating off them in waves.
Fourth Floor - Outside Room 407
The four friends reached the door first.
Mireille grabbed the handle—
And froze.
Music was blasting from inside the room. Loud, upbeat pop music.
"What the—" Logan started.
Mireille pushed the door open.
The sight that greeted them made all four of them stop dead in their tracks.
Kalina—head wrapped in bandages, hospital gown askew—was standing on her hospital bed using a water bottle as a microphone, singing at the top of her lungs and dancing.
Full-on performing.
And her unwilling audience?
Rhys Castillon, sitting in a chair beside the bed looking like he was being tormented, his expression a mixture of exasperation, disbelief, and barely suppressed fury.
"—AND I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY, I'M IN LOVE WITH THE SHAPE OF YOU—"
Kalina spun on the bed, swaying her hips left and right with dramatic flair, completely oblivious to the door opening.
Ophelia, Mireille, Logan, and Maxi stood frozen in the doorway, absolutely mortified.
Behind them, the Levesque parents, Lyra, and Atticus arrived.
Mrs. Levesque caught a glimpse of her daughter twerking on a hospital bed and nearly fainted.
Mr. Levesque's face turned an alarming shade of red.
Lyra's mouth fell open.
Atticus looked like he wanted to be literally anywhere else.
Kalina continued her performance, completely unaware, turning slowly with a dramatic hair flip—
And came face-to-face with five furious family members and three stunned friends crowded in her doorway.
She froze mid-spin.
The water bottle slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.
Time stopped.
"Hi, family!" Kalina said with a painfully forced smile, her voice unnaturally bright. "Yay! You finally found me!"
Then her legs gave out and she dropped onto the bed, sitting abruptly.
Inside, she was screaming.
My vacation is over. I'm dead. So dead.
Seven pairs of eyes glared at her with varying degrees of fury.
Mr. Levesque looked ready to explode.
Mrs. Levesque looked ready to cry.
Lyra looked ready to throttle her.
Atticus looked deeply uncomfortable but also disapproving.
Ophelia looked relieved but confused.
Mireille looked exasperated but concerned.
Logan looked like he was trying not to laugh.
And Maxi?
Maxi looked amused.
Specifically, he was staring at Rhys Castillon with barely concealed entertainment, clearly wondering why one of his best friends was sitting in a hospital room being subjected to Kalina Levesque's impromptu concert.
Rhys, for his part, looked like he'd aged ten years in the past four days.
The silence stretched.
Finally, Mr. Levesque spoke, his voice dangerously calm.
"Kalina Genevieve Levesque."
Full name. She was doomed.
"Would you care to explain," her father continued, each word clipped and precise, "why you have been in the hospital for four days without informing your family?"
Kalina opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"I... can explain?"
"Please do," Lyra said coldly.
Kalina looked desperately at Rhys, silently begging for help.
Rhys raised his hands in a don't look at me gesture and leaned back in his chair, clearly washing his hands of the entire situation.
Traitor.
"Well," Kalina began slowly, "you see... there was an accident..."
"We know there was an accident!" Mrs. Levesque burst out. "Why didn't you CALL us?!"
"I... may have told the hospital I had amnesia and couldn't remember anyone's contact information?"
Dead. Silence.
"You WHAT?!" Five voices shouted in unison.
Even Logan couldn't hold back his laugh anymore.
This was going to be a very long conversation.