Chapter 209 A Misunderstanding?
Marcus is missing?
I instantly woke up, sat up abruptly, accidentally choked, and started coughing violently.
Lucas quickly held the phone between his shoulder and ear, hugged me, and patted my back.
I waved my hand, covered my mouth, suppressed my coughing, and signaled Lucas to listen to what Gale was saying.
"Bella? What's wrong?" Gale asked.
"She's fine," Lucas answered. "What happened to Marcus?"
"Lucas?"
"It's me."
Gale was silent for two seconds, then said, "Marcus has been out of contact since last night. I had Mole check Marcus's location, and he should be in Starstream City now."
"Where?" I finally caught my breath and asked anxiously.
Gale mentioned a place—a hotel on the outskirts of the city.
"I know that place. I'll go there right away."
"Okay, be careful. I'm about to board my flight. I'll contact you later."
The call ended. I looked down at my wrinkled clothes from sleeping in them. No time to change. I started calling Marcus while rushing out.
Lucas contacted Alfred, asking nearby Soldati to go find him first.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable."
Marcus's phone kept going unanswered. I felt my chest tighten.
Lucas put his arm around my shoulder, his voice steady and strong. "Don't worry. Marcus is a strong fighter. He'll be fine."
I hesitated for a few seconds, then told him in a low voice about Stephen and Roger's warning. "Could Marcus have disappeared because of me?"
"No." Lucas didn't let me finish my self-blame. He said decisively, "Don't overthink it. Even if they're coming after you, that's better—they definitely won't kill Marcus before they see you. Don't worry, I'll make sure Marcus comes back to us safe and sound."
I nodded randomly. With Lucas's reassurance, I gradually calmed down.
The car sped through the night. I called Marcus every minute and had Mole constantly monitor his location.
The closer we got to the suburban scenic area, the more vehicles and tourists there were. We hit traffic again. I couldn't help asking irritably, "Why are there so many people?"
A young girl in a car next to us with the window down answered me, "Aren't you here to see the meteor shower?"
"Meteor shower?"
"Yeah, you really don't know?" The young girl seemed more surprised than me. She was holding a cushion compact and touching up her makeup. The others in the car were girls around the same age. She said with a smile, "The first meteor shower of the year. The viewing platform on this mountain is the best spot. Lots of photographers, astronomy enthusiasts, couples, and people like us who just like to join in the fun have all come."
She asked curiously, "If you didn't know, what are you going there for?"
"Well, now I know." I thanked her. The traffic started moving again, so I closed the window. I wondered to myself why Marcus would come here.
Or was he kidnapped?
Why would kidnappers choose such a crowded hiding place?
Lucas thought this was the enemy's scheme. They might want to hide in the crowd and wait for a chance to ambush. So he warned me not to separate from him after getting out of the car.
My response was to tightly grab his clothes and nod hard.
Lucas pulled my hand off his clothes and held it in his.
When we arrived at the hotel, a somewhat familiar Caporegime walked over. He was one of Lucas's men. He said respectfully, "Mr. Valeri, Ms. Sorelli, Marcus checked into the hotel this evening. His room number is 1023. We didn't dare knock rashly, so we've surrounded the 10th floor for now."
"Can you confirm the guest is Marcus himself?" I asked, puzzled.
"Yes, I showed his photo to the front desk for confirmation," he said. "Marcus didn't come alone. He's with a woman."
Was Marcus being held by a woman?
Just then I got a call from Brian. "Bella, where are you?"
"I'm already at the hotel, about to go upstairs. Marcus is suspected to be in room 1023," I said.
"I'm stuck in traffic. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"I'll go find Marcus first. Brian, don't worry, Lucas is with me."
"Alright, give the phone to Lucas." Brian's tone was serious.
"Brian." Lucas's face was calm. I somehow heard a hint of obedience in his tone.
Brian didn't waste words. "Bella is in your hands. You must protect her."
"I will," Lucas answered solemnly. "I'll protect her with my life."
A few minutes later, outside room 1023, Lucas and I stood in front of the door. On either side of the door, a row of the most skilled Caporegime and Soldati stood against the walls.
I raised my hand to knock, when suddenly Marcus's voice came from inside. "Who's out there!"
Marcus's tone was stern. I asked alertly, "Marcus, is that you?"
"Bella? How did you get here?" Marcus seemed a bit surprised, and a bit flustered.
"Marcus, do you remember I had a teacup dog when I was little, named Happy?" I asked.
"Wasn't Happy a Pomeranian?" Marcus gave the correct answer. I breathed a sigh of relief and told Marcus to open the door, but Marcus asked me to wait.
My heart rose again. "Marcus, what's going on? Besides you, who else is in there?"
A few seconds later, Marcus opened the door. Lucas made a gesture, and everyone pointed their guns at Marcus and the woman behind him.
"Jacqueline?" I froze.
Marcus wasn't wearing a shirt on top, and had casually put on pants on the bottom. His chest had suggestive scratch marks and bite marks.
Jacqueline was wearing an oversized men's shirt, obviously Marcus's.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes held a moist desire. After quickly greeting me, she buried her face in Marcus's shoulder. Her two bare legs were slender and straight, and the skin showing through the loose collar was also covered with red marks.
I was all too familiar with these kinds of marks.
"What are you doing?" Marcus shielded Jacqueline behind him, glaring unhappily at Cole, Adrian, and Alfred. His gaze swept over Lucas, then looked at me with confusion and embarrassment.
"Is it just you two? You're here on a date?" A light bulb went off, and I seemed to understand.
"Of course it's just us." Marcus held the shy Jacqueline and stood by the wall, letting us in. He frowned and asked me, "What's going on?"
"I got a call from Gale saying you were missing. We thought you'd been kidnapped."
"Who could kidnap me?" Marcus laughed arrogantly.
Cole led people into the room and quickly checked it, then shook his head at me.
"Looks like it was a misunderstanding." I rubbed my temples, completely relieved.
Thinking about how Marcus's phone had been unreachable, he was probably "busy" just now.
I cleared my throat and said goodbye awkwardly. "We won't disturb you anymore. We'll leave now."
"Wait, there's a meteor shower tonight. Aren't you and Lucas interested?" Marcus found his phone in the room and muttered, "Strange, it seems to have gotten wet. When did it break?"
"Gale said you've been out of contact since last night," I answered casually, calling Gale.
"Last night?" Marcus frowned in confusion. "That's impossible. I talked to Gale on the phone last night."
I paused. Just then Gale answered the phone. I asked, "Gale, who told you Marcus was missing?"
Gale asked me back in confusion, "Didn't you say so? This afternoon, I got a call from you."