It was nearly noon when Jenny called Stephanie again. This time someone answered, though, to her surprise, it wasn't Stephanie, but a stranger."Is this your phone? You can have it back for five hundy, or I'll toss it into the river." A man's voice came from the other end of the call.Jenny blinked in surprise but swiftly recovered. "Did you find the phone somewhere?""What'd you think? You're not gonna say I stole it, are you? I'm telling you, I didn't steal it. I just found it by the road." The man sounded worried as if he really might get in trouble.Now Jenny was worried. How did Stephanie's phone end up by the roadside?"Do you want it back or not?" "Yes. Send me a location. I'll come to meet you.""Nope. Just send me the money, and I'll have it posted back to you by courier."Jenny scoffed. "What difference would that make? If I wanted to report you to the police, I could track you down just from your bank account records.""You—""If you don't have what it takes, then
"What do I have to do for you to forgive me, Stephanie?!" A man yelled from the other end of the call, much to Jenny's surprise. She instantly recognized it to be Paul Wagner, currently pissed off, it seemed."Why should Steph forgive you? You can't expect a simple 'sorry' to make up for all the wrongs that you did, Paul Wagner," Jenny replied, hackles rising.Compared to Paul, Alec was a saint."Jenny? What—" Paul's tone calmed down the moment he heard it was Jenny. "Where's Stephanie? Hand her the phone. This is our personal business we need to settle.""Stephanie lost her phone. I got it back for her."Paul frowned. "Lost it? But I just saw her earlier. How could she have lost it so soon?"He was still at the place he met up with Stephanie, having grown so upset that he couldn't help but call her number again. Now it was Jenny's turn to frown. Something was wrong. "I'll head to her office right now."She then hung up the phone and went over, needing to make sure Stephanie w
There were no cameras at that corner, so Jenny wouldn't know what happened exactly based on the footage alone. She then left for that location, ready to find any clues leading her to figure out what happened.Unfortunately, she found nothing. There was nowhere to hide behind that corner, nor were there any signs of struggle. It was as if Stephanie disappeared into thin air. Jenny went back to the footage, determined to find some clues. Sure enough, she soon noticed a specific van leaving the area.It had stopped by the sidewalk just before Stephanie walked around the corner, then left a little after she disappeared down it. No other person or car has come or left from that corner since.Jenny sent the car plate number to Melissa, who quickly reported that the vehicle attached to the number had long been reported missing, so there were no available leads to track it down.But Jenny didn't plan on giving up. She returned to the footage, rewatching the van and memorizing its feature
Stephanie gradually woke up, finding herself in an unfamiliar place. Unbeknownst to her, she was being held hostage in a villa across the city.It looked like she'd been abducted.But why? Her family wasn't anyone special here in this city, nor were they rich.A man soon entered the room she was in, someone Stephanie had never seen in her life. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here?""Don't worry, Miss Walker. My master only means to have you with us for a brief while as a guest. We mean no harm," the old man explained.No harm?Why the hell would Stephanie believe that?!She didn't argue with the man, however. He was still maintaining a modicum of respect, so it was best to not piss him off right now. "May I know why I'm being 'invited' here as a 'guest' then?"The old man didn't seem to plan on answering. "Make yourself at home. You will soon be able to leave."He left a tray of food and drink for Stephanie before leaving the room, but not before Stephanie noticed the seve
She didn't expect the inside of the villa to appear so calm. There was little to no one inside the space as the butler led her through. The interior of the villa was far better than the exterior, too, like it had been under proper maintenance for a long time.There was a small mansion to the side, which appeared to look just as rundown, though Jenny guessed that was only a mask for its actual furnished interior. A room on the first floor of the mansion caught Jenny's attention, as it was surrounded by guards. Stephanie might be in there, Jenny thought. She hurriedly memorized the place in mind.The butler brought her into the mansion, where Jenny finally met the man orchestrating this whole charade—Zeke Faust."Have a seat, Miss Walter." The old man nodded at her, gesturing at a seat to the side. He was being more than courteous right now, so Jenny quietly went to take a seat.Silence ensued. The old man then asked, "Aren't you curious as to why I've asked you to come, Miss Wal
"I think you may have overestimated how important I am to him. He's not an idiot. You really think he'd cave just because you have me in hand?" It's not like Zeke would even guarantee her safety if Alec died.That was how she was even more certain that Alec wouldn't give up so easily.Yet Jenny wouldn't lie and say she wasn't worried.Zeke disagreed, however. "On the contrary, I think you're quite important to him. He might even risk it all for you.""Wishful thinking, sir." Jenny laughed gently, though she wasn't in the mood to laugh."We shall see then."Jenny chewed on her cheek, guessing Alec was probably on his way over right this second. She just wasn't sure if he'd done enough preparations for the conflict.No way would he come empty-handed, right?In truth, Jenny pretty much guessed it right. Alec wasn't there to meet his death, but he wasn't going to risk Jenny's life either. Hence, he'd already prepared to save Jenny, even at the cost of his life.Zeke closed his eye
"What do you mean, sir? The Watkins were the ones responsible for your son's death. I'm sure both evidence and the law will agree," Alec said, still polite. No way would he admit to having killed Xavier now."Whether it was you or the Watkins, I'm sure we all know the truth of the matter. So, it's pointless to try and argue the specifics.""Do you mean to avenge your son today, then, sir?" Alec asked.Zeke frowned, noticing how fearless Alec seemed. It was almost as if he didn't care that he was going to die.But that was impossible, right? There was no one alive who wouldn't be scared of dying.Still, Zeke had his butler toss a handgun to Alec, just in case. "Here you go."Alec snorted, picking the gun up and fiddling with it. "You really think I'd die for Jenny Walter?"The safety on the gun pressed against Jenny's temple was swiftly turned off. Alec's expression fell along with the ensuing sound. God, he was so scared right now.Even if the Fausts wouldn't be able to handl
"Evan?!" Jenny gaped in shock upon seeing Evan appear, especially with this gang of men. "Something is up," she thought. There was even some foreign blood among those men.The calmest person was Alec.He was the one who'd notified Evan of this series of events, and they'd made their necessary preparations for whatever they would face. Alec also had a feeling that Evan would still have figured it out on his own if he hadn't notified him, so he might as well tell him to boost their chances of saving Jenny.Evan shot Jenny a reassuring look. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you're safe."But that was the least of Jenny's concerns right now. Why was Evan leading all these men? Hadn't he just been busy with his studies and work like he told her?Sadly, now was not the time for those questions.Zeke narrowed his eyes on Evan, realizing something. "You were the one behind Xavier's death, weren't you?"Evan neither confirmed nor denied it, which was enough assent in the old man's eyes. Ze