Chapter 107
With Jacob suddenly going off the grid, those scheming people inside the Smith Family have probably already started making their moves.
Although Tina was Jacob's trusted confidant, she was still just the head housekeeper. With Jacob's fate unknown, it would be hard for her to keep everyone in line, especially those senior family members with ambitions.
"Got it. You focus on investigating external leads like I said," Elizabeth said in a low voice. "I'll handle things inside the estate."
After hanging up, Elizabeth's face had turned ice cold.
She told the driver, "Take me straight to the main house meeting hall."
Samantha asked in confusion, "Elizabeth, what's wrong? What happened?"
Elizabeth didn't answer. The coldness in her eyes made Samantha instinctively shut her mouth.
The car stopped in front of the main house. As soon as Elizabeth got out, she saw the meeting hall brightly lit, with the faint sound of noisy voices coming from inside.
She walked quickly toward it. Just as she reached the entrance, two unfamiliar bodyguards blocked her way.
"Ms. Windsor, please stop. Several grand-uncles and Mr. Richard Smith are inside discussing important matters. They've ordered that no one is to disturb them." The bodyguard's tone was stiff, his eyes scrutinizing.
Elizabeth's eyes turned cold. "Discussing important matters? Mr. Smith isn't here. Who gave them the authority to call a meeting? Move aside!"
"Ms. Windsor, please don't make this difficult for us." The bodyguards wouldn't budge.
"Whose men are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"We're following orders from Mr. Richard Smith and the grand-uncles," the bodyguard replied.
Richard?
His leg injury hadn't healed, yet he was already able to take charge.
And Dave, that old bastard who'd been hospitalized after being burned by Jack, was out too?
They moved fast.
Elizabeth knew forcing her way in wouldn't be smart. She took a deep breath and turned to Samantha, who was following behind her. "Samantha, you heard them. Jacob might be in trouble. Right now, people inside are having a meeting. As a young lady of the Smith Family, shouldn't you go in and hear what they're discussing?"
Samantha froze. Though spoiled and foolish, she knew that Jacob being in trouble was serious. Thinking back to Elizabeth's tense expression earlier, she started to panic too.
She looked at the two bodyguards, then at Elizabeth, and said hesitantly, "Can I go in?"
"You're a young lady of the Smith Family. Who would dare stop you?" Elizabeth looked at her. "Go in, listen to what they're saying, then come out and tell me."
Intimidated by Elizabeth's gaze and tone, and thinking that she was indeed part of the Smith Family and had the right to enter, Samantha straightened up and said to the bodyguards, "I'm Samantha. Let me in!"
The bodyguards exchanged glances. They'd clearly been given instructions and didn't dare to physically block this young lady, so they stepped aside.
Samantha gave Elizabeth a somewhat smug look before pushing the door open and entering the meeting hall.
Elizabeth turned and walked quickly toward her guest room.
She knew Samantha might not hear anything important inside, and might even be won over or deceived by the people there.
She had to prepare backup plans.
Sure enough, before long, Samantha came out with a trace of panic on her face.
She ran to Elizabeth's guest room, knocked and came in, lowering her voice. "Elizabeth! This is bad! They're saying Jacob might have met with trouble at the casino! Now the family has no leader. Richard and the grand-uncles say they need to temporarily take charge to stabilize everyone! They also said you should rest in your room for now, to avoid gossip that might affect the Smith Family's reputation and the investigation into Jacob's whereabouts!"
"Rest?" Elizabeth laughed coldly. "You mean house arrest."
Samantha's eyes flickered. She didn't deny it, but instead urged, "Elizabeth, don't get worked up. Richard and the others are doing this for your own good, and for the Smith Family's good. The situation is unclear right now, and you're Jacob's fiancée, your position is sensitive. It really wouldn't be appropriate for you to be out and about. Just stay here for now, and we'll talk after things are cleared up."
Elizabeth looked at Samantha's expression, which was eager to distance herself and even faintly carried a hint of schadenfreude, and she understood clearly.
Richard and the others must have promised Samantha something, or fooled her with talk of family duty, getting her to side with them.
This idiot couldn't see the situation clearly or realize that if Jacob really was in trouble, her good days would be over too.
Though Jacob didn't exactly care about Samantha, he'd let her do as she pleased. Someone else might not be so tolerant of their father's illegitimate daughter.
"I understand." Elizabeth didn't argue, just said flatly, "You can go now."
Samantha hadn't expected Elizabeth to be so cooperative. Relieved, she offered a few more fake words of comfort before hurrying away, probably to report her success to Richard and the others.
The door was gently closed from the outside, followed by the sound of a lock clicking.
Outside the window, there were faint figures moving, clearly under surveillance.
Elizabeth sat in the darkness, her face showing no trace of panic.
She took out another absolutely encrypted satellite phone and contacted Lynx directly.
"Noel," Lynx's voice came through immediately, with some noisy background sounds. "Our people are in position, but Golden Pit Casino is surrounded by an unknown force. Security is extremely tight - we can't get in. Their methods are professional, not like ordinary gangs."
"Jacob is very likely inside, his fate unknown," Elizabeth said quickly. "The Smith Family is in turmoil internally. Richard and Dave have joined forces with some elders to try to seize power. I've been placed under house arrest. I need you to do several things immediately: First, mobilize all of Nightfall's undercover personnel in the city. At any cost, find out what's happening inside Golden Pit Casino and locate Jacob. Second, find out who's surrounding the casino and whether they're connected to the Aiden Family, Moretti Family, Pacquiao, or Sawyer. Third, prepare evacuation routes and pickup points, just in case."
"Yes!" Lynx acknowledged, his voice solemn.
Elizabeth put down the phone and walked to the window, looking out at the heavy night and the moving shadows of the watchers.
She couldn't just sit and wait for death.
Jacob's fate was uncertain, the Smith Family was in chaos, and there were powerful enemies outside. If Jacob really was in trouble, all the arrangements she'd made using the Smith Family's influence could be wasted, and she and Jack would be in extreme danger.
She had to get out!
She had to go to Golden Pit Casino herself and see what was happening!
At midnight, most people in the estate were asleep, and the watchers had changed shifts and seemed tired.
Elizabeth changed into black tight-fitting clothes suitable for movement and silently pried open a hidden compartment in the guest room that she'd secretly modified.
This was one of the escape routes she'd had Nightfall's people secretly prepare after moving in, just in case.
After crawling through a narrow, dirty pipe for some distance, she emerged from a hidden drainage outlet on the estate's perimeter, like a shadow melting into the night.
Lynx had already arranged for a vehicle to pick her up at the agreed location.
"What's the situation?" Elizabeth asked immediately upon getting in the car.