One Hundred and Thirty Six

CHAPTER 136

After solving Brittany's case, Nicholas decided to return to Alicia's flat. Alicia was uncomfortable staying too long with Nicholas' parents, and she was also worried that something bad might happen to Emma and Alan.

Alicia opened the door in front of her. Her house, which had been a mess due to the fight between Nicholas and Ace a few days ago, was no longer there.

The simple interiors and minimalist items in Alicia's flat gave the girl more space. After all, she wasn't interested in having a lot of stuff in her house. All the things she had, she needed.

"Are you staying tonight?" Alicia placed a cup of hot tea on the table, in front of which Nicholas sat.

Nicholas looked up, he had just straightened his legs which were sore from the long journey. And mumbling his agreement, he said, "Of course. I can't risk leaving you alone when Ace returns."

Alicia sat next to Nicholas. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Holding back her doubts, Alicia continued, "Do you think he'll come back here?"

"Alicia, Ace wants you." the words were full of assertion, making Alicia flinch slightly with each press.

"I think he... has other plans," Alicia replied, her mind wandering far away thinking about Ace. The man was gone, but Alicia knew Ace had something. "How did he escape from prison?"

Nicholas didn't answer right away. He squinted, then pursed his lips. His mind flew far back, to images of the conditions in the city jail that were quite strict in terms of security. The prison building was quite proper, but Nicholas realized that many loopholes could be infiltrated. But to simply escape, Ace would definitely be caught by the CCTV cameras before he managed to escape.

"He must have gotten some inside help," Nicholas said thoughtfully. Letting out a long sigh, the man looked at Alicia next to him. The girl's face looked gaunt, she must be exhausted from all the incidents that had happened to her recently. "You don't need to worry. Noel is investigating all the police and prison officers to find out who the traitor is. He can get in and out so easily, he must have great connections or... a lot of money."

Alicia nodded in agreement. She folded her arms across her chest and began to lean her back on the sofa with Nicholas by her side. "From the beginning, I was related to the invincible political elite. But, can lowly humans like us, really defeat them, Nic?"

Alicia's eyes closed, and sleepiness began to spread throughout her body. She was really tired. Nicholas closed his mouth, observing Alicia's innocent face without makeup. Nicholas smiled. He observed the almost perfect lines on Alicia's face, even though it looked thinner. If only she ate right, Alicia would probably have fuller cheeks like Brittany. Nicholas' hand caressed Alicia's cheek, but the girl was no longer responding. Alicia had already fallen asleep there.

"You even missed your dinner, Alicia," Nicholas whispered.

He heard Alicia's soft, regular breathing. The rasp he heard from Alicia's throat, however, made Nicholas realize that his woman was completely exhausted. Nicholas cast his eyes around. It was late afternoon, and Alicia had fallen asleep unintentionally. He came up with an idea, to bring a blanket from Alicia's room and Nicholas covered Alicia's body with it.

The weather outside was cold, and the snow was getting bigger and bigger. The flower gardens outside Alicia's house were covered in snow.

From inside the house, Nicholas could see the children playing with their first snow. They ran around, threw snowballs and laughed together afterwards. A warm sight for the cold air.

Nicholas took a sip of Alicia's hot tea. It wasn't too sweet, it wasn't overwhelming, it was just right and warming. Plus, he looked at Alicia's sad face in her deep sleep. This was the first time Nicholas had seen Alicia sleeping so well.

But the smile on Nicholas' lips did not last long. The man's brown eyes found the empty floor in front of the sofa, a place that had been a silent witness to his fight with Ace a few days ago. Nicholas took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. While looking around, Nicholas began to feel wary of Ace's threats.

Ace wanted to take Alicia, Ace wanted to have Alicia. But Nicholas' heart was already deeply attached to Alicia. Can he protect Alicia from Ace who is also very persistent and so obsessed with the old love between him and Alicia in the past?

Nicholas moved, he deliberately moved so that Alicia could straighten her legs on the sofa. The man's hand stroked Alicia's long hair, letting it fall softly over her weak shoulders. He then checked his phone, scrolling through the news articles that always appeared on the main police platform.

The news of Ace's disappearance from prison had already been picked up by the media. It became the headline of several popular news articles and trended for quite some time on social media. All the news suddenly went viral because they knew Ace had come to the hospital.

"Ace met his father, but for what?"

Nicholas' brow furrowed deeper. He didn't know what Ace was going to do. Because from the news he read, Ace just came, attacked the police guarding Wilson's body in the hospital room and left without leaving a trace as if he was never there. Ace did not kill anyone, or even injure them. He just knocked two patrol cops unconscious for a few minutes and left through a path that was not captured by CCTV.

"He knows some camera blind spots and that's usually done by professionals. He avoided everyone in a very precise and fast way. How could he do that?"

The media assumed Ace was incognito until he was discharged from the hospital. But the media did not know who Ace was disguised as and how he got out without being caught by the security there.

"What are you really up to, Ace?"