Lucas burst through Dora's front door, with two of Ethan's guards right behind him. They each carried a semi-automatic weapon in their hands and, when Dora's guards saw them, they released Kylie immediately. Dora looked at the guards and could not believe what she was seeing. She knew these men and, even now that Kylie was with William, Ethan still cared about her enough to protect her. Whatever hold Kylie had over him was beyond her ability to reason out.

Ricky, one of Ethan's guards, nodded to Dora and, with a sarcastic tone of voice, asked her how she was doing. Dora frowned and glared at him as if she had all the power in the world. Dora looked to her own guards and gave them a subtle look. Be on guard, that look said. Perhaps there is a chance still to turn this situation around.

​​

Lucas ran to where Kylie was standing and embraced her. "Kylie," he whispered, "are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"It was nothing I couldn't handle," she replied, laughing as they parted. "Dora is like one of the villains in those cartoons from the 80s. She plots and plots and plots, but her plans never come to fruition. Thanks for rescuing me, by the way."

"I am just glad that you are safe," Lucas sighed. "You really need to stop getting yourself into these situations!"

Kylie walked over to where Dora was standing and retrieved her cell phone, and then she left in high spirits, with Lucas and Ethan's two guards slightly behind her.

Kylie got in the back seat of the Volkswagen with Ricky. She had heard about him before, but this was the first time that they'd met face to face. Ricky sat up straight with his hands folded on his knees. He kept a polite distance away from Kylie and tried to avoid contact. "Mrs. Parker," he wondered, "how did you know that it was us following you?"

"I suppose I didn't know for sure," Kylie admitted. "When I thought about it, though, I couldn't imagine who else it might have been."

"That was very smart of you," Ricky said, and you were right. "Ethan ordered us to keep you safe at all costs."

Kylie yawned and thanked him. It had been a long day, and she was tired, so Ricky let her be.

Ricky was Ethan's right-hand man, and he knew that he was also referred to as 'Ethan's eyes' sometimes. These were honorary titles that he took very seriously. He made Ethan's goals his own, and he stood ready to protect those things that Ethan cherished, and in his own way, he loved Ethan – so, when Ethan hurt, he felt that pain along with him.

Ricky hoped that things would turn out for Ethan with Kylie, but he feared the worst. He had seen how tenderly he'd packed her suitcase, and it seemed that he'd finally given up hope of ever being with her. Now that he was sitting beside her, he tried to think of something to say that might bring them together, but words eluded him.

The car stopped at the hotel where Kylie was staying, and Ricky shook her gently to wake her up. "We're here," he whispered. "I will walk you to your room. Rest assured that while you are in Hamorna, you will be safe. Ethan has directed me to stay by your side."

Kylie thanked him as she yawned and, before she could forget, she handed him her phone. "Give this to Ethan for me," she said. "He will know what to do with it."

Ricky took the phone from her and stuffed it into his pocket.

Before Kylie fell asleep that night, she called Lucas and arranged for him to purchase a new phone for her.

The moment Ricky got back to his car, he updated Ethan on what had just happened, "Ethan," he explained, "Mrs. Parker gave me her phone to give to you. She said that you'd know what to do with it!"

"I don't get it," Ethan replied, confused. "Kylie would never go anywhere without her phone… You stay with her at the hotel, and I will send one of my peons to get the phone."

Kylie had only been sleeping a short time when someone knocked at her door. At first, the sound slipped into her dream, but as the knocking became more incessant, it pulled her out of her dreams. "Wait a minute!" she shouted. "This had better be important! I was sound asleep!"

Kylie threw on a housecoat, went to the door and, without even asking who was there, she opened it. In truth, she had expected it to be one of Ethan's men, so she was completely taken aback when she came face to face with Stephen. "What are you doing here?" Kylie asked.

Stephen was wearing a sweatsuit, and he had a bundle of roses in his hand. "Here," he said, "these are for you."

Kylie took the flowers and invited him in. "It is late," she said, "so let's make this visit short."

Stephen smiled as he stepped into her room. "That's fine," he said. "I haven't seen you for a while, so I just wanted to stop by and say hello."

Kylie put the fresh roses into a vase and took a deep breath. The smell was heavenly. "Why are you in Hamorna?" Kylie wondered.

"I was invited by the Hamorna College of Academia to do a speech," Stephen replied. "It is no big deal, but you are welcome to attend…"

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," Kylie laughed. "Text me the details, and I will even try to stay awake the entire time!"

This was a running joke between them. Kylie was the artsy type, while Stephen had a scientific mind. Neither truly understood the other's work, and yet their friendship flourished.

The two chatted amicably for a while, but suddenly things got serious as Stephen brought up Ethan. "What is going on between the two of you," he wondered.

"Nothing," Kylie sighed. "Absolutely nothing."

"I don't believe it," Stephen snorted. "What happened? Did he cheat on you or something?"

"Maybe," Kylie replied. "I honestly don't know. I thought that he had, but I am not so certain anymore…"

Stephen looked at her with empathy, but all she saw was a pity. "Don't look at me that way," she said. "I am not broken, and I certainly don't need to be fixed."

"Sorry," Stephen replied lamely.

Kylie looked up at the ceiling, and she said, "You sometimes seem too familiar. Have we met before, in another time or place perhaps?"

"Is it your friend from the internet that I remind you of?" Stephen wondered.

Kylie didn't answer his question immediately. She had called Stephen by his name since the first time that they'd met, and she'd always had this strange feeling that they'd known each other for years. She looked at him curiously. "Are you Stars?" she asked him incredulously.

"What if I am?" Stephen replied.

Kylie was struck dumb for a full minute, but when she found her voice, she said, "If you are Stars, then I will slap you across the face!"

Stephen remained as calm as ever. "Why?" he wondered. "Is it because I lied to you?"

Kylie looked at him. She ran her hands through her hair nervously. A part of her accepted what he'd said the minute that he'd said it, but if Stephen was Stars, then it felt to her as though she'd lost Stars. In her heart, she had held Stars up on a pedestal, and it was devastating to see his persona reduced to the man who sat across from her. "It can't be," she gasped.

When Stephen heard the tone in Kylie's voice, his heart broke; he could tell that she was disappointed. He had always feared that she might be, but in the end, he'd always managed to convince himself that she wouldn't be.

Stephen got up and brought back two glasses of water. He handed one to Kylie and said, "I don't know what to say. I can't even remember when or why I created this second persona. In real life, I am such a prude, scared of everything. By creating Stars, I gave myself permission to be the person I wanted to be… Does that make any sense?"

"I don't know," Kylie sighed. She took a sip of the water and was surprised by how good it tasted. "What is in this water?" she wondered as she took a bigger sip.

Within a few seconds, Kylie's vision began to get foggy, and she said, "I think you need to go now, I am feeling awfully tired." The last few words came out as mumbled gibberish.

Stephen walked behind her, took the water, and placed it on the table. "We don't want that to spill," he laughed. A moment later, Kylie lost consciousness and fell backward. Luckily for her, though, Stephen was there to catch her, and he lowered her gently to the floor.

***

When Lucas returned with a new cell phone for Kylie, he was surprised when she didn't answer the door. He knocked a few more times, and then he became worried, and eventually, he had no choice but to have the hotel staff let him in – it didn't matter though. Even before they'd arrived, he knew that she was gone, a victim of some unknown foul play.

"This shouldn't have happened," he cried as he went through the apartment. "Ethan's guards should have kept him safe!"

When Ricky got the news that Kylie was missing, the first thing he did was call Ethan. The second thing he did was demand access to the hotel's security cameras.

When Lucas arrived back downstairs, Ricky looked at him and said, "Don't worry. We will have this figured out in no time!"