It was late evening, and Dana could feel the weariness creeping into her bones. She stifled a yawn as she turned to look at the wall clock to check the time. It was ten minutes to her closing time. She heaved a sigh of relief. It had been very exhausting doing both her tasks and Amelia's tasks. She got up and switched off the computers in the office, then she began straightening the papers on the desk so as to know the ones due for disposal.She was always one of the first to leave after closing hours and Amelia's absence was not about to change that. The ten minutes passed very slowly, and finally it was time for her to leave. As she made her way towards the lockers to grab her coat and bag, something caught her eye—a crumpled piece of paper sticking out from beneath a pile of files. She ignored it at first, but then her Curiosity piqued, she reached for it and smoothed it out. It was a document, neatly typed and marked with urgent in bold letters across the top. Dana recognized Mr.
Mr Brown looked shocked and furious at the same time.The news that had just been delivered to him felt like a punch to the gut. Dana, standing by his side, looked equally disheveled."Mr Brown...that can't be. The airport is making a mistake." Dana said, with her hands clutching her chest. "It's impossible," she blurted out, shaking her head in disbelief. "The airport must have made a mistake. There's no way this is true."Mr Brown sank into the chair again, and facepalmed himself in obvious disappointment."I thought Amelia had changed," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else in the room. "Changed? What are you talking about?" Dana questioned. She had never met the previous mischievous Amelia."See? You know nothing about her and here you are trying to vouch for her in her absence." Susan snapped."I may have not known Amelia before, I may not have an idea of how she behaved before but what I do know is that she is not a wayward person. She is nice, sweet and responsible." Da
Dana pushed the door open, then she walked to Amelia's table and sat down, her mind racing with worry for Amelia. She took out her phone and dialed Amelia's number once again, hoping against hope that this time she would pick up. The phone rang and rang, but there was still no answer. Anxiety gnawed at Dana’s insides as she considered the implications."Amelia please pick up the phone. Everyone is worried about you, even your father thinks you are lying to him, please pick up." She muttered, as if Amelia could hear her.She bit her lips nervously and tried calling Amelia again, but still no response. She sighed and put down the phone. She worriedly ran her hands through her hair.Just then, the door was swung open and Susan walked in. Dana looked up to see her approaching figure."What is it now, Susan?" Dana asked sharply, standing up to face Susan.Susan stopped in front of Dana, looking up at her as Dana was a few inches taller than she was."I just wanted to see how you're faring.
Mr. Brown trudged up the familiar steps to his front door, his mind swirling with worry and exhaustion. The events of the day were already taking their toll on him. He had finally agreed to go home after series of pleadings from Susan. The cook had heard about what had happened. She believed Amelia was safe and Mr Brown was only getting all worked up for nothing. After taking a shower, she began pleading with him all evening to eat something, but he couldn't bring himself to even think about food. "I have no appetite." He had insisted and after some time, the cook let him be.Mr Brown could barely even sleep. He kept tossing and turning on the bed, his thoughts consumed by Amelia's disappearance.Very early the next morning, he was already up and ready to begin a search for Amelia."Did you sleep last night, sir?" The cook asked as soon as she saw him walking down the stairs. The eye bags in his eyes were very prominent."Yes, I did. Is there a problem?" He snapped at her."Not a
"Thank you so much, Chief." Mr Brown said as he sat down on the chair directly opposite the Chief."You're welcome. It's really so nice to see you again after a very long time." Chief Reynolds said."Yeah, it is. How is your daughter, Chelsea? I haven't seen her in months now. Is she good?" Mr Brown asked."Oh yeah. Yeah, she is. She now works as an accountant. I know she had some issues with Amelia, she is genuinely sorry for them. But then, speaking of Amelia, what exactly happened?" Chief Reynolds inquired and Mr Brown exhaled deeply."You see, Amelia is the project manager for my company. She is working on a tech in communities project, and yesterday she was to travel for a research. Last night, I got a call from the airport saying she never arrived. At first, I was mad because I thought she had probably gone to see a man or something despite her assistant trying to reason with me. But after a while, I realized Amelia had been really well behaved of late and I was probably only ac
Charlie glanced at Amelia for a split second before averting his eyes to look at Rey."Hi. How is she doing now?" Charlie questioned."Well, you can see for yourself. There is no much difference. She is not getting any better, but they keep insisting she is stable." Rey complained.Charlie walked forward and peered into Amelia's face."But they are the medical practitioners and not you. Whatever they say is right." He added and Rey scoffed."Well, not all the time. They are not always right." He argued and Charlie shrugged."They are right in this case. She is actually stable." Charlie remarked as he moved a little backwards."I didn't send for you, did I? Or is there a problem?" Rey questioned."I wouldn't call it a problem, but yeah, there is something we should talk about. It is about Amelia." Charlie responded.Rey gave Amelia a gentle squeeze in her hand and stood up, then he walked out of the room, closely followed by Charlie."Why are you leaving?" Charlie inquired but Rey rema
Dana took a deep breath before speaking, she already had enough of the accusations.“Sir, I'm resigning.” She finally said.Mr Brown's gaze moved from his laptop to Dana's face.“What did you say?” “I said I'm resigning sir.” Dana repeated, she had already made up her mind.Mr Brown frowned, “So after joining hands to hide my daughter, you want to resign?”Dana shook her head in disappointment, “See? This is why I'm quitting. I'm tired of the accusations. I'm tired of having to explain myself so many times when I know I'm innocent. I'd rather quit the job than have to deal with any sort of mental stress.” Dana declared, her voice tinged with frustration.Mr Brown could sense the sincerity in her voice but he wasn't moved, right now, all he could think about was his daughter.“You had better tell me where my daughter is before you leave.”Dana's face split into confusion, “But Mr Brown, I've explained this so many times. I've told you that I know nothing about Amelia's disappearance.
“Where's Amelia's phone?” Rey asked Charlie.“It's with me. I'm not letting you pick any calls anymore. It's too risky.” Charlie stated.“Hand it over.” Rey ordered.“I'm sorry Rey, but I'm not going to release this phone.” Charlie stood firm on his word.“I won't pick any calls. Just give it to me.” Rey extended his hand towards Charlie.“That's what you said the last time. And despite me warning you not to, you still went ahead to pick it. I'm not giving you.” Rey was getting irritated with Charlie's refusal, he moved closer to Charlie with glaring eyes and tight fists.Charlie feared Rey, the last thing he wanted was to engage in some fist fight because of a phone.“Here, here, have it.” Charlie stretched his hand towards Rey with the phone in it as he paced backwards.Rey smirked, “Glad you made the right decision.” Charlie grinded his teeth in annoyance, “You may have had your way by collecting the phone but please don't take any calls.” Rey exhaled loudly, “I already told you
Rey sat next to Amelia, gently stroking her head and staring into space as he was lost in thoughts. The sound of his phone ringing dragged him out of his thoughts. He blinked twice before picking up the phone. He frowned slightly when he saw the caller ID. It was Julian.He sighed and stood up, then be walked out of the room. He was still being vigilant just in case Amelia woke up. He didn't want her to listen to his conversation with a person like Julian.Rey waited for Julian to call again and as soon as he did, he picked up the call."Hello Raymond. I almost thought you were avoiding me, it's been a while, why do....""What do you want, Julian?" Rey cut in."Uhh...is everything okay with you? Why do you sound so uptight? Did I do something that I am not aware of?" Julian asked confusedly."What do you want?" Rey questioned again."Well, I'm in town. I was hoping you could drop by for a drink or two at our usual spot." Julian responded and Rey chuckled softly."You must be delusiona
Chelsea leaned against the car's headrest as her father drove home. Neither of them were talking to each other. It was drizzling and Chelsea's gaze was fixed on the water splashes on the window. Soon, Chief Reynolds pulled up at the garage."Here we are." He said and without turning to look at Chelsea, he unlocked the door and got out of the car. Chelsea sighed and got out too. It was clear they were both disturbed by something. Chelsea didn't know what was wrong with her father, but he knew exactly what was going on with her.She went straight up to her bedroom where she exhaustedly fell on the bed and curled herself up without even taking off her shoes. Chief Reynolds walked into the master bedroom to see his wife on the bed."You're back." Lauren remarked with her eyes still glued to the TV screen.Chief Reynolds looked around the room, there were clothes strewn everywhere."Lauren, why is the whole place messed up? These are your clothes." He complained.Lauren rolled her eyes
Rey had dozed off on the couch in Amelia's private room. He had watched her through out the night and was finally getting some well deserved rest. A gentle but sudden knock on the door immediately sent his eyes flying open and he turned to look at the door. He had been very vigilant about who entered the room because of the two million dollars Grant on Amelia.He got up and walked to the door, then he opened it slowly and peeped through the small opening to see who it was.It was Dr Alvarez."Oh, it's just you, Doctor." Rey stated, relieved.Dr Alvarez only gave him a small smile, then she walked past him and straight to Amelia.Rey carefully locked the door and walked back to his initial position on the couch. Dr Alvarez donned a pair of gloves and a face mask, then she picked up a thermometer and placed it under Amelia's armpit.As it was reading, she turned to look at Rey. "How has she been so far?" She questioned, but Rey shook his head sadly and sighed."Well, still no improveme
Charlie's car was parked a few meters away from the hotel. The hotel was close to the beach. The beach he had kept Amelia's car was very close to the hotel so he had come to monitor it to know when the police would find it when he noticed them around there, but they weren't coming towards the beach, instead they were going to the hotel. He watched closely as he couldn't tell who they were there for. He was just about to peel his eyes away from them when he noticed Mr Brown. His brows creased. He wondered what he was doing there with the police. But he knew that whatever it is they were doing had something to do with Amelia.He immediately brought out his phone and dialled Rey. "Speak." Rey ordered as soon as the line connected."I am currently monitoring the car like you ordered, and I just saw Amelia's father and the police go into the hotel close to the beach." Charlie revealed."Are you sure about that? Are you sure he is her father?" Rey questioned."Yes I am hundred percent sur
Mr Brown walked towards the receptionist's desk to look at the name himself."That jerk. What the hell is he doing here?" He said in a low tone with his eyes darkened.Chief Reynolds looked confused."Who is Max Carter?" He inquired.Chelsea looked up at him with a slightly guilty expression."He..um..He is..." She stuttered."Max is Amelia's ex boyfriend. The one your daughter had an affair with." Mr Brown cut in and Chelsea looked away.Chief Reynolds lips curved into an O shape in realization."Oh wow. What a coincidence. Chelsea, care to explain how he is here right now?" He questioned."I have no idea dad. We stopped talking to each other." She said, straightforwardly. "The only person who can answer this is Max himself or perhaps Amelia because this isn't a mere coincidence. Stop looking at me like that. What happened between Max and I is all in the past and it was a mistake." She added."Chief, I couldn't find any Tesla in the garage. I asked the security guard and he confirmed
"Dad,is there a new update?" Chelsea questioned curiously as soon as her father arrived. Chief Reynolds sighed as he took off his jacket and threw it to the back seat."Well, apparently, Mr Brown has a tracker on his phone." He revealed and Chelsea's eyes narrowed."Yes! Yes he does! I remember! He once followed Amelia and I when we went to the arcade." She said, then she frowned. "But why didn't he use it all this while we've been searching for her?" She added."He said his head had been muddled up and he just didn't think of it then. Well, now he has remembered that, so we should make a good use of it." Chief Reynolds said and then he walked away,towards Mr Brown"Alright, is everything set?" He questioned."Yes, Chief." Mr Brown responded."Okay, can I see the tracker?" Chief Reynolds asked and Mr Brown handed his phone to him."Okay..." He mumbled as he stared at the phone, trying to track Amelia's car."From the look of things, she is still around this vicinity." Chief Reynolds
There were beads of sweat on Chelsea's forehead as she looked very exhausted."Dad, I can't hold up much longer. I am exhausted." She complained."You ate, didn't you?" Chief Reynolds questioned."This isn't about food. My legs are numb. I can barely move. I really don't think Amelia is in this dorm." She replied and Chief Reynolds let out a gentle laughter."You suggested this dorm thing, didn't you? Well, we have to finish what we started. We are checking every single room in each block. We still have five more blocks to go, so be more agile and fast, we do not have much time." He stated as he climbed up the stairs, while Chelsea could barely even lift up her legs to climb."Each block contains two hundred rooms and ten floors. It's so hard." Chelsea complained."Life isn't simple either." Chief Reynolds remarked."Dad, why don't we just use the elevator? It is faster and less stressful." She suggested."I knew there was an elevator before I said we use the stairs, only lazy people
Chelsea stomped to the front of the station. She took out her phone and booked a ride to the dorm, silently regretting not owning a car yet and biting her lips as she waited for the ride to arrive. As soon as the car came, she matched forward towards it and in the process of trying to get in, she stomped her foot on the edge of the car."Ouch! Stupid car!" She hissed in pain."Are you okay ma'am?" The driver asked, filled with concern, but instead he got a glare from Chelsea in response."It is none of your business. Just drive!" She snapped at him.The driver didn't say anything else, he simply started the car and drove off towards the dorm, while Chelsea occasionally touched her sore foot, trying to nurse it."Ma'am, are you sure you are okay? We could stop at a clinic so you could have your foot checked." The driver suggested and Chelsea scoffed."Are you hard of hearing? Or don't you know what mind your own business mean? Aha..hold on. You just spoke about my foot which means you
They had only driven for a few minutes when Chief Reynolds got a call from his walkie talkie. "Chief, the commissioner has asked to see you concerning the life spotting machine. It's really urgent, I suggest you come immediately." The voice said."Alright, I'll be on my way, thank you." Chief Reynolds said. He turned the car and began to drive back to the station."Dad, that is not the way to the dorm." Chelsea remarked."I'm aware of that. I'm the one driving." Chief Reynolds responded."Where are we going?" Chelsea asked."Back to the station. The commissioner has asked to see me." He calmly responded.Chelsea gulped, her eyes moving from her father to the road and back to him again. She felt her father going back to the station instead of just heading for the dorm didn't make any sense, but she couldn't question his decisions.They soon arrived at the station. It was even busier than it had been when they came earlier. Literally everyone was greeting Chief Reynolds, which made Che