One Hundred and Ten

CHAPTER 110

"You mean... we have to hide this news from the media?"

Nicholas took a deep breath, then let it out as he looked at everyone inside the hospital's inpatient room. It was a VIP room, Nicholas had gotten it because Noel had requested it and taken care of all the paperwork.

It was just the three of them now. Racing in panic and time that they didn't know the limits of.

"Give me two times twenty-four hours to find Ace," Nicholas said confidently. He was filled with anxiety, what if Ace would harm Alicia?

"You can't do that, Nic!" Alicia refused. She bit her lip, looking just as panicked as Noel when he had just arrived. "Didn't you hear what Doctor Harris said? You need to rest for your wounds to heal."

Nicholas glanced at the monitors around the room, their soft beeps echoing in the tense atmosphere. He knew Alicia was right - his wounds needed rest. But Ace's threat remained like a storm cloud, and he could not ignore its urgency.

"We're not going to hide it," Noel interjected, his voice sounding calm despite the chaos. "But we can control the narrative until we find Ace. Keep it simple, no hype."

Alicia's eyes glanced at the two men, her concern evident. "But what if Ace is after someone else while we wait?"

Nicholas thought in the room, his mind racing as he considered Alicia's words. This precarious situation was weighing heavily on him. "We can't wait, Alicia. We must act quickly, but we cannot risk your safety either."

Noel nodded in agreement. "We'll strategize carefully. Keep a low profile but ensure security around you. We won't let Ace get close to you or anyone else."

Alicia's eyes flickered between Nicholas and Noel, a mixture of fear and determination in her gaze. "I trust you two, but what is our plan?"

Nicholas halted his steps, there was a flash of determination in his eyes. "Noel, I need you to coordinate with the security team. Tighten up the covert measures. We'll make it look like a routine security upgrade because of the recent events."

Noel nodded, taking out his cell phone to make the necessary calls. Meanwhile, Nicholas approached Alicia, taking her hand gently. "We have to make it seem normal, but we'll be watching you every second. Trust us, Alicia. And from this moment on, you stay by my side no matter what happens."

Alicia nodded, her concern obvious, but she knew they didn't have much choice. "Okay, but what about Ace? How are you going to find him?"

Nicholas glanced towards the hospital window, his mind racing with possibilities. "I have contacts, people who might have leads. Noel and I will try to track him down while making sure your safety remains top priority."

But that was just the beginning of the plan. Nicholas had no way of predicting what dangers they would encounter.

They spent the next few hours strategizing, devising a plan that involved finding Ace and keeping Alicia safe.

"He's an influential person in the city, he must have great connections to be able to get such a light sentence and even escape from prison!" Alicia squealed. She hugged herself. "What is Ace's real purpose? If he really wanted to leave the prison, why didn't he do it in the first place? This must be someone else's plan."

Nicholas' mind raced with the complexity of Ace's sudden disappearance. "That's what we have to figure out. Ace might not have intended to escape; someone might have been playing around, manipulating the situation."

Noel, leaning against the wall, interjected, "Ace has always had a knack for being in the middle of trouble. But this time, it feels different. His movements seem directed, planned."

Alicia, her brows furrowed, she pondered, "Do you think he's being used as a pawn? A distraction for something bigger? But is it possible?"

Nicholas nodded. "That makes sense. Ace might just be a means to an end, just a pawn in a larger scheme."

Noel said, "We need to focus on his connections. Start with his inner circle. There may be people close to him who know more than they're revealing."

Nicholas pulled out a well-worn notebook, flipping through pages filled with scribbles and contacts. "We'll start with the people who owe Ace favors, the people who owe him favors."

Noel's gaze sharpened. "That's our lead. If Ace has enemies or unfinished business, they may have triggered this chain of events. But how do we determine that? Ace killed a lot of people, he must have a lot of enemies, right?"

As they gathered clues, the hospital room became their temporary headquarters, the unlikely trio pooling their wits and resources.

And the possibilities about the incident that happened were in their heads.

Nicholas then pointed at Noel and said, "What about Ace's parents?"

A small murmur escaped Noel's mouth. He who had been standing and leaning against the wall spoke up. "Mr. Wilson Blake seems to still be in a coma in the hospital and Mrs. Angela Vashylchenko is already in England. I think they have a complicated family relationship, so it's unlikely that they're involved."

But Alicia's strong intuition said otherwise, "Shouldn't we check on them first?"

"What do you expect from a comatose person and an old woman in a different country, Miss Perth?" Noel replied in a sarcastic tone that made Alicia uncomfortable.

Tension simmered in the room, growing thicker by the moment. Alicia's hunch, the instinct she had learned to trust, nudged her again. "I just think that this is worth investigating, even if it seems unlikely. Sometimes the truth hides in the most unexpected places."

Nicholas, the most rational among them, folded his arms. "We can't rule anything out at this point. Besides, it's possible that it's not about her parents, but something related to them."

Noel, who was known for his sharp conclusions, sighed. "Alright, we'll look into it, but it might be a dead end. We should be following clues, not wandering around chasing vague threads."

Alicia looked at Noel. "Why are you being sentimental about me, Noel? Do you have a problem with me?"