Chapter 435: A Sudden Incident
"Hello, Daniel, are you still listening? Have you left yet? There's not much time left before the engagement party. When will you get here?"
On the other end of the phone, Zoey's voice carried more urgency and worry.
Her voice snapped Daniel back to reality from his daze.
But his gaze still reluctantly stayed on Emily.
Emily and Daniel's eyes met. She could feel the intensity and affection in his gaze.
"Don't worry, I'll get to the hotel on time."
Daniel responded in a deep voice, then hung up the phone, cutting off that annoying noise.
His eyes never left Emily from beginning to end.
Emily felt Daniel's gaze and smiled sweetly.
As if responding to his burning emotions.
She then held onto the railing and slowly came downstairs.
Daniel, as if afraid she might fall, quickly stepped forward and gentlemanly extended his hand.
Emily generously placed her hand in his palm, as if entrusting herself to him.
Daniel held that soft hand and walked down with her step by step.
Then they got in the car together and headed to the hotel.
On the road.
Daniel received a call from Oliver.
"Mr. Smith, we have a problem. Nathaniel has disappeared from the hotel. We checked the surveillance, but the footage from when he disappeared seems to have been tampered with. We can't see anything."
"Find him. Follow the lead with Zoey and investigate. You must safely bring him back before the ceremony starts."
Daniel's aura instantly turned cold as he commanded in a deep voice.
"Yes!"
Oliver didn't dare delay either. There was only a little over an hour left before the ceremony started.
Time was tight.
Emily vaguely heard the phone conversation and saw Daniel's expression wasn't good.
She first asked, "What exactly is the situation with Nathaniel? Do you think Zoey's side discovered something and deliberately hid him?"
Daniel frowned, "Not sure yet, but Zoey's side should be the main suspect."
Emily disagreed, "Based on Zoey's behavior these past two days, I don't think it's her. But since you've already had Oliver investigate, that lead can continue. However, we can't just focus on that one lead. Didn't Oliver just mention something about the surveillance?"
"Alright, I'll quickly get professionals to solve the surveillance video problem." Daniel didn't want Emily to worry and spoke in a deep voice.
Emily's eyes flashed as she hesitated.
A sentence moved in her throat several times before she finally spoke, "If it's a surveillance problem, maybe I can help. Why don't you have someone send over the video, and I'll try to restore it."
She was an expert in this area. Emily hesitated about whether to reveal her abilities.
But since she started dating Daniel, he had never hurt her and had even helped her a lot.
Perhaps she should trust him more.
So in the end, she spoke up.
From that bounty Emily posted on the dark web, Daniel knew Emily was skilled with computers, but even when he encountered trouble, he never thought of using her.
However, she was willing to tell him on her own that she had this ability. How could that not make him happy?
It meant she was actually starting to gradually trust him and open her heart.
"Alright, I'll have someone send it over right away." Daniel spoke with a smile, and he added, "Just do your best. I believe in you, and you don't need to feel any pressure."
"Don't worry. Since you trust me, I naturally won't let you down."
Emily flashed a confident smile.
Daniel's smile deepened at her words.
He called Oliver and had him arrange to send the video over.
There was a computer in the car.
As soon as the video was sent over, Emily got to work.
Once she entered work mode, she was completely absorbed, but she seemed to glow, making it impossible to look away.
Daniel wasn't in a hurry either. He just quietly watched her fingers dance rapidly across the keyboard.
She moved very fast, her fingers jumping at such speed that they almost left afterimages on the computer.
Time passed minute by minute.
Daniel quietly kept her company without rushing her.
She was even faster than expected.
The video was restored.
"Done. Take a look. These people had this planned in advance. If I'm not wrong, the cloth they used should have been drugged. Also, looking at how well-trained they are, they should have done this before. I estimate that somewhere inconspicuous downstairs, they probably had a car ready."
Emily pushed the computer toward Daniel, gesturing for him to look while sharing her analysis.
Daniel naturally leaned forward, moving closer to Emily, his gaze deep as he looked at the video.
After watching.
Emily asked again, "What do you plan to do next?"
Just then Daniel turned his head. They were very close, and with this turn, he almost touched Emily's lips. Their warm breaths intertwined at such close distance.
Both of them froze at the same time.
Fortunately, Emily quickly came to her senses, blushing as she turned her head and stepped back half a step, creating distance between them.
She coughed lightly to cover her embarrassment, "Let me check the license plate number and see if it matches my guess. If we can lock onto and track this car, we can find Nathaniel and bring him back as quickly as possible."
Daniel had almost no doubt about her abilities and agreed to her suggestion, handing the computer back to her.
His gaze, however, was especially intense.
Even a bit regretful.
Just now, if he had leaned in a bit more, could he have kissed her?
But would that have scared her?
Emily entered her work state and forgot about the earlier awkwardness.
Things indeed weren't as bad as expected. Just as she guessed, they had prepared a van early on, just waiting to take Nathaniel away.
Through her technical skills, Emily had already hacked into the surveillance and found the van's license plate number.
"I'll call the law enforcement team next and have them assist. You don't need to continue."
Although he trusted Emily's abilities.
Even if there was the slightest risk, he didn't want Emily to bear it.
This kind of traffic system intrusion didn't need to trouble Emily.
"Okay!"
Emily didn't insist.
Daniel took the license plate number and called Oliver, "Use the license plate number and work with the law enforcement team to quickly locate Nathaniel and bring him back as soon as possible."
He had already sent the license plate number.
Oliver was also surprised that Daniel had determined the license plate of the car that took Nathaniel so quickly. He immediately followed the instructions.
At this moment, Veda, who had actually taken Nathaniel, was still feeling quite pleased with herself.
She even secretly found Zoey.
"Zoey, let me tell you..."
Veda mysteriously leaned close to Zoey's ear, not even noticing her impatience, and said, "Nathaniel has been captured. We'll send him abroad soon. I got revenge for you!"
Zoey didn't expect Veda to get things done so quickly. Her mood improved a bit.
However, this wasn't what she cared most about right now. She held Veda's hand back, "Veda, I'm a bit nervous. What if Daniel suddenly doesn't come? He doesn't seem to be here yet."
With these words, she wanted Veda to take the initiative to ask Daniel.
As for herself, she had already asked once. Asking again might annoy Daniel, and it would make her seem too eager and lacking in restraint.