71

*** At Tristan's Office***

" I want you guys to search every nook and cranny. Every corner, alley, shop, anywhere. Just find her, dammit!", I said as I cut the call. " Sheesh! These guys can be so annoying", I thought. I was worried sick. " Where could she be?", I thought, " she couldn't possibly have gone too far, not in her condition", I muttered.

" Dring! dring!!", the landline rang. I picked it up.

" Yes, who is this?", I answered.

" It's time for your meeting sir. The members of the board are already seated", my secretary said.

" Hrrrgh!", I groaned, " can't we just postpone it?", I asked. I was way too tired for any meetings.

" If we do sir, that will be the fourth time it's being postponed", she said.

" Alright fine. Tell them I'm on my way", I said. " Damn these dumbass meetings", I grumbled as I got off my chair and headed for the door. " I sure hope it's worth it this time", I said as I shut the door behind me.

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* Madison's POV*~

" Clop, clop clop", Tristan's footsteps resonated throughout the floor, interrupting the serenity of the hallway.

" I'll be back in half an hour", he said as he walked past, his footsteps receding more and more until he got into the elevator. I stretched my neck to take a peek, and he truly wasn't here anymore. " I better call Justin", I muttered. I took out my phone and dialed him.

" Good morning Maddie", he greeted, " any news?", he asked.

" I just overhead Tristan on the phone, talking to some guy about finding a lady and I've got a hunch that it's Isabelle he's searching for", I said.

" If your hunch is correct, then it means that she is no longer in his possession", Justin said, " That makes it a whole lot easier to get her back!", he added excitedly.

" And makes her more vunerable too", I quipped, " Anyway I'll find a way to figure out where he lives. If Isabelle really ran away, she most likely couldn't have gotten too far away from where she escaped, due to her current state", I said.

" Sounds like a plan", he quipped," let me know if you get any more updates, okay?".

" Sure thing Jus. I'll talk to you later", I said before hanging up.

" I really do hope we can find her before Tristan does, if it truly is her Tristan was talking about, that is", I muttered. Then I opened my locket, which had a picture of Isabelle and I.

" Hang on okay? I'm gonna get you back", I thought aloud as I kissed the locket.

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*** Royal Resorts***

" What is it?", Janet asked me as I looked out the window. I remained silent for a bit as I spied on some suspicious men downstairs.

" You're not deaf now, are you?", Janet nagged at me.

" Just chill for a second. I'm tryna see something", I said.

" What's that?", she asked as she walked over to take a peek.

" See that guy over there?", I asked as pointed him out.

" You mean, the guy with the blue shirt on?", she asked.

" Yeah him. Now take a look at his left forearm", I said.

" Hmmmm", she hummed as she squinted her eyes, trying to get a good look. " All I see is a tattoo, sorta like a dragon", she said.

" Exactly!", I exclaimed.

" Exactly what?" she asked looking at me with a perplexed expression.

" You remember those guys that showed up at our house when we first got here? The ones I ... you know? did away with?", I said.

" Yeah I remember", she said, " what about them?", she asked.

" One of them had that exact same tattoo", I said.

" Uhun...", she said while looking at me like I was some crazy person, " and I don't suppose you think he's come back to life?", she asked.

" No not that. I think they're from the same gang, meaning they've come for us again", I said.

" Oh, now I get it", she said.

" So for the meantime, I don't want you going outside, okay? not until I've confirmed if it's safe to", I said.

" Sure, but I'm still gonna go visit Jeremy in his room", she said.

" Fine whatever, as long as it's within the hotel", I said rolling my eyes.

______________________________________________

* A few hours later***

" Tsk! So much for not going out", I grumbled as I looked out the window, watching him drive out. " Better find something interesting to do. I'm bored as hell", I thought as I searched the room for any cool magazines.

" Ain't hotels like this supposed to have some magazines?", I questioned as I looked around. Just then, something caught my eyes, something colorful. The nightstand drawer was slightly open, and I could see something colorful inside it. " What's that?", I thought and walked over to check it out. I drew the drawer open and......

" Ewww!!", I yelled. They were porn magazines. " Jared you imbecile!", I yelled as I slammed the drawer shut.

" Ding! dong!", the doorbell rang. " That better be you Jared", I muttered angrily as I stomped my way to the door. I took a peek through the fish-eyed lens and saw Jeremy standing outside. " Oh shit! it's Jeremy!", I whispered to myself. Then I took a deep breath and opened the door.

" Oh Jeremy, it's you ", I said in a tone of delightful surprise as I opened the door, " I was actually just about to come over to your room", I added.

" Yeah, I thought so and decided to check up on you for a change", he said. Then he tilted his head to the side trying to a take a peek inside. " I don't suppose your brother's around?", he said.

" Nah, he left rather early today", I responded, " wanna come in?", I asked him.

" Can I?", he asked.

" Sure, why not?", I replied and opened the door wider for him to come in, which he did before I shut the door.

" Whoa! This place is so cool!", he said as he looked around in amazement. " You guys must be rich as hell", he said to me.

" I guess so", I said with a shrug.

" What does your dad do?", he asked as he sat on the bed, bouncing on it to check out the softness.

" Well he owns a couple of hospitals and research facilities", I said as I walked to the kitchen to get us something to drink.

" That's insane!", he said with a mind-blown expression, " You guys must be like billionaires or something. Talk about the sweet life. Where's your dad anyway?", he asked.

" He died, not too long ago. About two weeks now", I said as I came out from the kitchen with two glasses of lemonade.

" Sorry about that", he said in a sombre voice.

" It's no biggie. Frankly, I don't really feel so sad", I said with a weird chuckle as I handed over one of the glasses of lemonade to him.

" About your Dad? why? It's a big deal, you know?", he said to me with concern on his face.

" Not when you barely know him", I said with an awkward giggle.

" Ouch. But regardless, it's still sort of a big deal", he said.

" Not to me", I shrugged, " he was never there when I needed him. All he ever did was send money and prioritize his work over us", I said as I took a sip of the lemonade.

" I can see why you're angry though", he said, " I would be too, if I were in your shoes. But then again, we all have our problems, your dad too. He probably wouldn't tell you if he were still here though, but I'm sure he cared about you guys more than you give him credit for", he explained.

" Well even if he did care, he sure wasn't doing a good job of letting us know", I said, " I mean, even when Mom died, he just acted aloof, almost like he didn't notice her absence", I narrated.

" I ain't particularly supporting him or anything, but that might just be his coping mechanism", he said with a shrug.

" Coping mechanism?", I asked.

" Yeah. Like a getaway from all the pain, you know?", he replied, " We all have one, and usually don't even know about it", he added.

" Humph", I sighed, " I guess you're right. You know? Now that I think about it, he always did seem depressed whenever he wasn't working", I told him.

" You see? What'd I tell you? You gotta cut your old man some slack, 'cause everyone's got it rough in one way or another", he said, " now how about we do something less depressing?", he suggested.

" Sure, got anything in mind?", I asked.

" You know? I was planning to visit home today. I haven't been there in a long time and frankly, don't have the courage to show up there alone", he said with a sombre voice as he stared at his lemonade. Then his eyes suddenly widened. " But with you around, I'd probably feel more comfortable meeting them", he added.

" Now it just sounds like you're making up excuses to take me out with you", I said with a chuckle.

" Yeah that's part of it, I guess. Plus, I'd like you to meet my family also", he said.

" I'd love to go out with you, but my brother told me not to leave the hotel", I said to him.

" Hmmmm", he hummed with his hand on his chin as he thought about what to do. " Aha!", he exclaimed with a eureka expression on his face, " who says your brother has to know?", he asked with a mischievous smile on his face.

" Okay, I have no clue what's going on in that little head of yours", I said as I twirled my pointed index finger at him, " but I don't think it's a good idea", I concluded.

" It's actually a foolproof plan", he said excitedly as he got off the bed and began prancing back and forth, " When will your brother be back?", he asked.

" I don't know. Probably before seven, I guess", I responded.

" That's perfect!", he exclaimed with a snap of the finger as he now pointed at me, " So now it's simple, we just have to get back before he does", he said with an air of cocky confidence.

" I don't know about that....", I said in a worried hesitant tone.

" Come on", he urged, " it'll be fine, trust me", he assured.

" Urrghh! okay fine", I agreed.

" Yes!", he exclaimed as he retracted his elbow in celebration.

" You'll have to give me a minute to get dressed", I said as I walked towards the wardrobe and took out some clothes.

" Sure. I'll wait and try not to take a peek", he said with a chuckle.

" Don't you even think about it", I said as I went into the closet.

" Yes ma'am", he said as he laughed.