Chapter 20: Working in a cafe

"I didn't know that really!" said Deborah. With widened eyes, Deborah felt her heart rate jump as someone appeared before her with a knife in hand. Her body instantly stiffened, and her eyes widened as the flash of the knife dazzled her. Her facial expression reflected confusion and fear, while her body shrank slightly, creating distance between herself and the unexpected threat.

"Can you lower the knife? Because I don't know anything," she said, pleading with her friend not to do anything that would hurt her.

"Hellen, stop it!" said a butler.

"He has to be threatened to confess. He must know where Sarah is. We must find her quickly before Lord Lucian gets angry with all of us. Do you all remember when Sarah and Marco left?"

All the servants were shocked by what they saw. The butler tried to calm Hellen down.

"Hellen, we need to talk things over with a cool head," the butler said.

Hellen slowly melted down. She threw away the knife in her hand. By the butler, Deborah was interrogated.

"Deborah, we all know that Sarah wants to talk to you. What did she say?" the butler asked.

"She..."

Her voice trembled. She was still traumatized by the knife that almost killed her. Because twice she had been threatened with a knife

"Deborah, it's okay. I won't say anything to Mr. Lucian. As long as you tell me what Sarah said to you," said Diana - the head waitress.

"She only said that she wanted to escape from here. She asked for my help. But I told her that I couldn't help her," he said.

Diana asked again, "Do you know where Sarah went? You can tell me everything you know."

Deborah shook her head. She replied, "No, I don't know, Diana. I swear."

"All right, I believe you," she replied.

After getting the answer from Deborah, Diana immediately said everything to the guards, "Deborah doesn't know where Sarah is. What is clear is that earlier, Sarah asked Deborah to help her escape. However, Deborah was not involved with Sarah's escape at all."

The guards immediately found out where Sarah had gone from the CCTV near the security post. They asked the security guards to cooperate in finding Sarah.

"Can I get the CCTV footage? I'm looking for someone who ran away from my master's house," said Lucian's bodyguard.

"Please," said a security guard.

While the three bodyguards were focused on watching the footage, one of them noticed something interesting. He turned to the security guard, asking about Marcus. "Where did you send him?"

"Who?" asked the security guard.

"This old man."

"Oh, that old man. I need to find out where he went. He made everyone here feel uncomfortable. He was yelling a woman's name. He said his son lives here. That's impossible. What's wrong? Is he the person you're looking for?"

However, at Sarah's house, they did not find Marcus. The house looked uninhabited. They met a neighbour who knew a bit about Marcus.

"Whom are you looking for?" the neighbour asked.

"Have you seen Marcus? He's a drunk who likes to gamble," asked one of the guards.

"I haven't seen him for a long time. This house has been sold. I guess he must have many debts," he said, shaking his head and leaving them.

With a clear clue, the guards decided to look for Marcus in another place that might be his hiding place. They decided to head to a gambling establishment that Marcus frequented and even Lucian himself frequented.

The guards immediately asked, "Where is Sarah?"

"What do you mean? I sold her to Lord Lucian. Is she missing? Why aren't you all taking good care of her?" Marcus asked.

Marcus' body felt heavy as the guards stomped their steps, dragging him out of the dark hallway into the bright room outside. His face was semi-conscious, eyes wide, reflecting the effects of the drink. One of the guards tugged roughly at Marcus' shirt collar, trying to get an answer to the question that had been hanging in the air.

"You're the one who took Sarah away, aren't you?" the bodyguard scolded sharply, smirking.

Marcus tried to regain his composure. "I don't know where she is, but I saw her when I went to Lucian's house. She hit my chest with her elbow. That damn girl!"

The guards looked at each other, trying to digest the information Marcus had given. One of them sighed, stopping his rude actions for a moment. "Where did you see her?" asked the guard with a serious expression.

Marcus, though still staggering, tried to focus. "Around the house," he replied briefly.

The bodyguard who asked reviewed his colleagues before looking back at Marcus. "Was he alone? What was he doing around the house?"

"I don't know, he's like a ghost that just appeared. I'm sure he's alone," Marcus said as he shook his head slowly.

"Never mind, there's no point in us trusting the word of a drunkard like him. We must quickly find Sarah before Lord Lucian comes again," said one of the guards.

Marcus was left alone. The next day, the bodyguards supposed to look for Sarah were fast asleep in their car. They still hadn't found any trace of Sarah.

"Wake up, we have to find Sarah," said one of the bodyguards.

Meanwhile, Sarah's whereabouts were no longer in Lucian's residence, which fueled her anger. She woke up with a smile on her face, realizing that she was in Hazel's house. The bright morning sky highlighted the room, giving her the freedom she had sought.

"This is the freedom I've been looking for. I'm so happy," she whispered, feeling the weight on her shoulders disappears.

Hazel, who had been awake earlier, noticed Sarah's presence. "What freedom do you mean?" she asked, her brown eyes flashing curiosity.

Sarah smiled slightly, hiding the secret behind her gaze. "It's nothing," she said, smoothing her messy hair.

Hazel gave her a sharp look but decided not to pursue her question further. "I've prepared breakfast for you. Let's eat before I put you to work at the cafe," he invited kindly.

They both sat at the small dining table in Hazel's kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee and fragrant toast filled the air. Sarah felt like she had found her proper place, away from the intrigue and pressure that had bound her.

"Hazel, why are you so nice to me?" asked Sarah, trying to understand the motive behind the woman's friendliness.

Hazel smiled as she poured coffee into Sarah's cup. "You need help, and I just want to help. There's no need for complicated reasons."

Hazel invited Sarah to go to a cafe owned by Hazel's friend. In the evening, Sarah was able to work at the cafe. However, Sarah saw three of Lucian's bodyguards enter the cafe.

"Are they going to make a scene here?" thought Sarah. Her eyes rounded. Her heartbeat was becoming more and more audible.