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
The guys had no choice but to hang back and wait for the women to finish their adventure and come down from the ship.With only Lucy and Chelsea on the pirate ship, it was pretty obvious they would notice the five men standing off to the side.As the ship started to slow down, ready to dock, Chelsea leaned in and whispered to Lucy, "Do you see those five guys down there? They've been watching us non-stop." Even with her blurry vision, she could make out the figures.Lucy glanced down and nearly jumped out of her skin. She pressed close to Chelsea in alarm."What's going on? Why are you sticking so close to me?" Chelsea asked, her curiosity piqued."It's Hugh, Matthew, Hudson, Charlie, and Koven," Lucy murmured, a trace of fear in her voice."So, we've somehow caught the eye of five of the city's big shots?" Chelsea mused, a ripple of unease washing over her."Chelsea, do you think this ride could just keep going? I'd love for this pirate ship to never stop. I'm dreading getting
As the pirate ship finally stopped, Lucy and Chelsea reluctantly made their way down.They exchanged awkward laughs, eyeing the five figures steadily closing in on them."Lucy, what do we do? It feels like something big is about to go down." Chelsea's voice trembled as the reality of their situation sunk in.Handling one or two people would have been manageable, but this was shaping up to be far more serious than they anticipated.Lucy offered a tight-lipped smile and whispered back, "Let's just see what they want. I'm not the one calling the shots here. Koven's the lesser evil, but Matthew... he's bad news."Chelsea's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Matthew, her mind racing with the thought of Matthew's wrath if he learned she had dragged Lucy into this mess. She could almost feel her skin peeling off at the mere idea.Lucy glanced at Chelsea's worried expression and chuckled. "Hey, it's all good. Don't sweat it. Matthew isn't going to be mad at us. A little downtime neve
The four of them exchanged awkward glances, at a loss for words.Koven, realizing the show was over, jumped in with a grin and said, "Come on, let's go grab a bite. How about barbecue? Now that everything's settled, we should celebrate, right?"Charlie could not help but smile at Koven's suggestion. His silence was a quiet nod of approval."Let's head home," Matthew said, taking Lucy's hand and leading her away from the chaos in the theme park.Lucy glanced back and caught Koven's crestfallen expression. She tugged at Matthew's sleeve and murmured, "Come on, let's grab a bite. Chelsea and I are starving, and look how late it's gotten. We haven't even had dinner yet. You wouldn't want us to go hungry, would you?"Matthew, hearing her plea, reluctantly turned to Koven and asked, "Where's the barbecue place? Lead the way, will you?"Koven's mood instantly lifted. He linked arms with Charlie and Hudson and bounced off toward the theme park's exit.A few steps behind, Hugh watched Ch
With a nod, Charlie departed, and the remaining six headed into a cozy private room."Lucy, pick whatever catches your eye and it's yours," Koven offered, sliding the menu across the table to her.Lucy hesitated before scanning the menu. She was not one to fuss over food. She would happily eat whatever was put in front of her."No worries, I'm good with anything. You guys pick." Lucy chuckled awkwardly, nudging the menu back to Koven."Alright. Hudson, you choose," Koven said, handing the menu to Hudson.Hudson, feeling Koven's eager gaze, reluctantly made the order."I guess I'll just order for the group. If anyone has a craving, just voice out," Hudson said, looking around at the others.Chelsea and Hugh gave quick nods.The six friends found themselves sitting in silence, the vibe turning oddly tense.Lucy, wanting to break the ice, swapped seats with Hugh.Now sitting next to Chelsea, Lucy dove into storytelling mode."Hey Chelsea, get this. There was this guy who propos