Love the Second Time Around Novel

Chapter 54 Two Possibilities

I binge-watched dramas till the wee hours of dawn at home since I had nothing better to do. Consequently, I never got up before ten in the morning.

I was rudely woken up by the ringing of my phone one night.

Fumbling for the offensive device on my bedside table, it took a while for me to crack my eyes open and look at the caller ID.

Louis Zanetti, you little asshole! Why are you calling me at such an ungodly hour?

Accepting the call, I immediately bellowed into the receiver, “Dude, what’s wrong with you? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? If you can’t fall asleep, don’t drag others down with you!”

There was silence on the other end of the call. It lasted for so long that I had to check my phone to see if the line was still connected.

I raged at his seemingly senseless prank.

“Louis Zanetti, you-”

“Hello ma’am, am I speaking to Liliana Zanetti?”

My brain screeched to a halt at the voice that greeted me. Pulling my phone away from my ear, I confirmed that the number was indeed Louis’, despite the stranger who had just spoken to me.

The stranger continued asking about my identity. Confused, I inquired, “This is Liliana Zanetti speaking. Who are you, and where is my brother?”

I got an explanation immediately. “Ms. Zanetti, your brother’s run into some trouble. Could you make your way down to the station? I’m referring to the police station, by the way. It’s the one near your brother’s school.”

My sleepiness was gone once I heard about the police station. I sat up in a rush.

Having been detained in one myself not too long ago, I knew firsthand how devastating it felt.

How did Louis get himself stuck in the police station? He’s been a straight-A student since young, and his track record is squeaky-clean.

mind; I wondered if he had fallen for a

I speak to my brother, please?” I

end was hesitating. Eventually, she agreed to my request and put me on hold. A

brother’s voice on the other

police station? What happened?”

come here? Don’t let Mom and Dad know, please.” His request made my

had spoken to me earlier had come back

“Ms. Zanetti, please hurry.”

with no other choice, I could only agree to go over to

and hopped off the bed, getting dressed and packing as fast

worry my parents, and neither did I,

not want to throw them into a tizzy before we had

I left a note on the coffee table, letting them know that I

brother was a university student at the Jadeborough Institute of Science and

I arrived at the airport. It

down two hours later and took a cab to the

Jadeborough and my brother’s university, so I had no idea

several locals before I managed to locate the

is there a Louis Zanetti here? I’m his sister,” I asked a young woman clad in police uniform at the

like she was checking the

he came in yesterday, right?

in

policemen were sitting in the office. Confused about who I

said, “Ms. Zanetti, we’ve been expecting you for a while. Would you

recognized his voice as the caller

I was dying to meet Louis, and I felt relieved that this policeman seemed

me to a room and gestured

saw Louis slumped in a chair. The lights in the room were

knew the lights were