Chapter 21 Chapter 21
“Great,” Thorne grinned. “Here’s all the information we have so far.” He handed her a folder, and she put it under her arm, intending to read its contents later.
“Remember to be careful, Valerie. I have a bad feeling about this. In fact, I’m only letting you work on it because I know you will be taken care of,” he added, sending Maxwell a pointed look which he returned with a cocky smirk. Thorne sighed at his attitude, secretly wishing he were dealing with Vaughn instead. Or Liam. Or someone else who wasn’t as arrogant as Maxwell.
“Thanks, Mr. Thorne. I won’t be disappointed,” she grinned. “I’ll try to have the first news article ready soon.”
“Don’t overwork yourself, Valerie,” Thorne reminded her, waving at her when she left with the white-haired demon.
They headed outside to her car, where she opened the folder and uncovered its contents. She was excited about this, skimming over the pages with interest. Maxwell glanced at her questioningly, unused to this kind of enthusiasm from her.
He let her read the file for about ten minutes until he became impatient, grumbling something under his breath.
“This is boring,” he complained, earning a dark look.
“Shut up, demon. Go back to hell if it bothers you that much,” she replied and closed the folder with a sigh.
“Only if you join me,” he said huskily, a devilish smirk growing on his lips, and promptly, her cheeks flushed. She bit her lip, looking out the car window instead. This damn demon.
“We have work to do. No time for trips to hell,” she said, turning on the engine and leaving the parking lot. “We’re paying the family of the first missing person a visit. Judging by what I just read, this could be a series of kidnappings or even murders, which I hope isn’t the case. If we’re dealing with homicides, I’ll have to back out and leave it to the police.”
Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, and she hoped the victims would be found safe and sound for the sake of everyone involved. However, she also knew that she shouldn’t expect happy endings. Those rarely happened in real life.
“You’re serious about this,” he remarked, watching her from the corner of his eye. Today, he had chosen to wear a tight black shirt paired with equally black leather pants. Thankfully, he had left the silver chain at home.
She could only imagine how the family they were about to visit would have reacted to it. He appeared intimidating enough as he was; he didn’t need any accessories to emphasize it.
“This has been my job ever since I finished school, and I’m passionate about what I do,” Valerie replied.
They fell silent after that, Valerie driving the car through the traffic on the busy streets of New York. She parked it close to an apartment building in the Manhattan District, located in the southern part of the city.
Leaving the car, she brought a notepad and her smartphone to record the interview. Eyeing Maxwell carefully, she pursed her lips, thinking it would be better if he stayed in the car.
“Do you have to accompany me?”
“Yes, and you can’t do anything about it,” he answered, grinning at her pissed-off expression.
“Fine, but behave yourself, demon.”
“You wish, human.”
She groaned, walking to the building and ringing the doorbell. Maxwell followed, climbing up the stairs when the door was opened for them. They soon reached an apartment on the second floor, where they were awaited by a man and a woman in their fifties, both looking worse for wear.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I’m the journalist working for Mr. Thorne,” she said politely. “My name is Valerie.”
“Thank you for coming by; please come in. You’re truly a blessing,” Mrs. Smith said, her eyes welling up with tears. Valerie heard Maxwell click his tongue and shot him a warning glare over her shoulder.
They followed the couple into the living room, where they sat around a coffee table. Valerie noted that the apartment was spotless and tidy, there wasn’t anything out of place, and no items were lying around either.
The absence of decoration stood out to Valerie—the apartment lacked the coziness of her own home. She prepared her smartphone’s recording app and took her notepad, smiling encouragingly at the couple.
“Can you tell me more about your daughter? Where was she last seen and when?”
“Yes, of course,” Mr. Smith said. “Violet was on her way back from her part-time job at the library. It was already late on a Thursday night. She wrote us a quick text before she left, telling us she would be home soon, but she never arrived. We received the text at 9.30 PM.”
“Did you look for her?” Valerie asked.
“Yes, we left at around 11 PM because we were worried and called the police too. We walked the entire way to the library, but she was nowhere to be found,” Mrs. Smith said, sniffling a little. “The police tracked her phone and eventually found it in a trash bin near the library.”
Valerie frowned. This didn’t sound good. Without her phone, Violet could not call for help, supposing she was still alive… “Can you describe what she was wearing when she disappeared?”
Mrs. Smith nodded and proceeded to describe her daughter’s clothing, consisting of a simple shirt and jeans, something inconspicuous that unfortunately didn’t stand out.
Valerie already knew that Violet was a 21-year-old university student, hard-working and not the kind of person who would run away from home just like that. It was likely she had been taken by someone.
“Her fellow students have put up posters all over the university, but it has been fruitless so far. They’re also using social media to spread the word. We’re hoping that your article will support their efforts,” Mrs. Smith said. Seeing the sorrow in her eyes, Valerie’s heart clenched, and she vowed to do all she could to help.