Charlie burst out with a laugh and did not say anything else.“Let’s go,” Matthew looked at Charlie and said. After that, he pulled Lucy into his arms and turned to leave. Hudson and Koven followed behind.Matthew’s expression was dark while walking with Lucy at the front.Lucy was feeling a little angry as well. She felt that Matthew was being unreasonable. Linus had saved her but Matthew did not thank him and instead treated him harshly.The three spectators behind them watched as both of them said nothing. They stayed silent as well as they headed to Hudson’s office.When they got into the office area, Lucy flung off Matthew’s arm. She turned to walk into her office while Matthew said nothing as he headed straight into Hudson's office.Matthew lit a cigarette when he got into the office. He sat on the balcony without saying a word.When the three of them saw him acting that way, they stayed silent as well. Matthew was known for his mood swings, and none of them wanted to be y
Matthew and Charlie went over to watch. Koven was typing a bunch of symbols into the computer.Was this various coding they were looking at? Koven kept coding speedily as both his hands got busy on the keyboard.Matthew, Charlie, and Hudson did not understand any of it. They glanced at each other at the side and later looked at Koven with admiration.Koven usually acted playful around them, but when it came to work, he had an admirable vigor and focus that could not be denied. It was not long after that a login page appeared on the computer.Charlie looked at the website and whispered in surprise, “Isn’t this the famous Mermaid Network known in the country?”“What’s the Mermaid Network?” It was the first time Hudson had heard of this, so he asked curiously.Matthew stayed silent at the side as he waited to hear Charlie’s answer.“The Mermaid Network is the most famous site for searching for someone. It has a record of everything a person has done from the day they were born. You
The results appeared, and Koven read what was on the screen.“Linus Gusman, 24, joined Spades at a young age and has given his life to them since then. He was involved in several military incidents and also the Empire’s presidential assassination. He also threatened the leader of Zakonia by abducting his daughter. "He almost lost his life while working for the organization but was saved after that. When he returned, he went into hiding to conduct underground activities…” Koven continued reading the information on Linus. He was in slight disbelief. Linus did not look like someone who had done all this.“Are you sure this is Linus Gusman?” Charlie spoke up. He knew that Linus was not a good person and was right about it, but he did not believe Linus could do all these things.Koven rolled his eyes at Charlie and asked, “Do you mean to say that you don’t believe me?”He clicked on an image of Linus.Charlie took a sharp breath when he saw the image. It was Linus.However, the imag
Matthew frowned when he heard this and said nothing.This situation had too many implications, and this had to happen at a time like this. What should he do? “Find out who's the one spreading the rumor. Looks like Sunrise Group and whichever organization involved has something to do with this,” Hudson said while looking at Matthew. However, he knew that this was just a small matter to Matthew.The most important thing right now was to settle the shareholders who had pulled out their investments. Otherwise, the company would be a mess internally.All four of them were about to discuss a plan when Lucy pushed the door open and came in.She went straight to Matthew’s side and said worriedly to him.“Are you alright? I saw the news. How did something like that happen? What should we do now? Have you found a solution? I’m sorry, Matthew. I was being stubborn this morning and made you worried. I’m sorry,” Lucy said a bunch of things while standing next to Matthew, and he had no idea w
Matthew turned and left Hudson’s office after that. He was not worried about anything happening to Lucy because he had Hudson, Charlie, and Koven to look out for her.Meanwhile, Lucy watched the news in her office. She was not in the mood to work and had no inspiration for her designs. She was worried about Matthew but had no idea how to comfort him.That was when her phone on the table rang.Lucy stood up from the couch and went to the table. She picked up the call when she saw it was from Chelsea.“Hello? Lucy? I just saw the news on television. What happened to Matthew? Is it serious? Hugh and I wanted to call you the moment we saw the news,” Chelsea’s anxious voice could be heard over the phone.Lucy felt relieved to hear from Chelsea. She said slowly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Matthew told me it was a small matter. He said I don’t need to worry myself over it, but I can’t help worrying. I’ve only just seen the news too. That was what Matthew told me when I asked him about it.”
Lucy called Chelsea at six that evening to inform her she was done with work. Chelsea came rushing over to meet Lucy downstairs.“Do you know how much I’ve missed you, Lucy? But you refuse to give me a call at all. That’s too much of you,” Chelsea pouted as she said unhappily to Lucy.Lucy laughed at Chelsea’s antics and said with concern, “I've been busy lately. If I weren’t so busy, I’d be annoying you every day until you get tired of me.”Chelsea laughed at Lucy’s retort and forgave her right away.“Tell me where you'd like to go today. Let me take you for a spin,” Chelsea patted her chest and after that, patted her car. She turned to get into the driver’s seat.Lucy could do nothing much about Chelsea’s antics. She shook her head while getting into the front passenger seat.“It’s six right now. Why don’t we head to the theme park nearby? It’s cooler at night anyway. We can have fun there and release some stress.” Lucy was already imagining herself getting onto a pirate ship.
Charlie's and Hudson's gut feeling told them something was off, so they decided to make a call to Matthew. They could not shake the worry that Lucy might be in trouble.In his office, Matthew saw the call light up his phone and picked it up instantly."What's up? Is there trouble?" Matthew asked, his voice steady but concerned."It's Lucy. She's missing. We were about to walk her out, and she just wasn't there anymore. We're right outside your house, and all the lights are off. We figured we'd better give you a heads-up," Hudson blurted out, his words tumbling over each other.The news hit Matthew like a punch to the gut. Dropping everything, he snatched his coat and bolted for the garage. His car roared to life, and he sped toward them.Outside Matthew's house, three figures paced and dialed Lucy's number over and over. The phone kept ringing, unanswered, heightening their anxiety.Then, out of nowhere, a car came tearing down the street. The brakes screeched as the car halted a
Matthew's frown deepened. He quickly dialed a number, his voice firm as he ordered his people to scour the area for any sign of Chelsea and Lucy.An hour and a half had passed since the women vanished, and the tension among the searchers was palpable.Kent jogged up with a photo in hand. "We tracked someone who snapped this photo as Lucy was leaving. She and Chelsea were heading south in a car."With that, the five men jumped into a car and sped off southward."Keep your eyes peeled for a blue car on the side of the road. Hugh, you know the one, right?" Matthew said, turning to Hugh."Don't worry, I'm on it. I gave that car to Chelsea. I'll never forget it," Hugh replied confidently, scanning the vehicles around them.About 20 minutes into the drive, Hugh blurted out, "Stop, stop the car! Right there!"Matthew's reflexes kicked in as he swerved and braked hard. The five men piled out of the car and rushed to the spot."This is it, no doubt. I even helped Chelsea pick out this l