"Tatiana, we want to borrow all your videos and investigate the contents. There is a possibility that the criminals who kidnapped Vega had been watching her every movement in Paris and Bordeaux. We suspect they are following her everywhere. So, we hope to see if there is any chance of those people caught in your camera," Nicolae said as they ate breakfast.
"Of course, Sir. I don't mind," Tatiana said.
"We will buy you a new cellphone and camera equipment so you can stay in touch while we borrow your cellphone."
"Thank you."
Tatiana really trusted Nicolae. She was neither worried nor afraid of being in the penthouse with this man present. Therefore, she became disappointed when Nicolae called the two bodyguards who brought Tatiana to the penthouse and told them to take the girl back to the Amarylis Hotel.
"Then ... will Altair also come back to our hotel?" Tatiana asked before leaving the penthouse.
Nicolae shook his head. "No. Altair will stay here with his family. I will call Pierre and explain everything. You must go home. Steve will drop you off and buy you a new cellphone. Later, when we have finished transferring your video data, we will return all your equipment..."
"Uhm ... okay. Thank you, Sir."
Tatiana had no choice but to return to her hotel. She couldn't help much in the penthouse anyway. She then said goodbye to all of them and returned to her hotel, accompanied by two guards provided by Elios.
"Come on, Altair, we have to move and inspect all the video recordings here and look for clues," Nicolae said as he brought all the equipment to the study.
There, he and Altair immediately worked to check all the videos taken by Tatiana. There were hundreds of long and short videos that they must examine. Nicolae then sent some to Marie so that the girl could help him check too.
Meanwhile, Elios cleaned Mischa's wounds in one of the rooms and Lauriel immediately came to help him care for Mischa. They didn't say anything while they cleaned and treated Mischa's wounds. They didn't want Mischa to be more depressed than he already was.
After they finished, and Mischa was lying in bed with clean clothes and his wounds treated, the three talked to find out what really happened and why Mischa could be injured in Provins last midnight.
Mischa was very upset and angry, but he tried to hold back his feelings and told them what happened with a hoarse voice. He claimed to get an SMS from Vega, who invited him to dinner at a restaurant on top of the Eiffel Tower before the girl left Paris.
Mischa agreed because he really wanted to meet Vega again. He thought Vega would come with Altair. However, suddenly Mischa received a message from a mysterious person who sent him photos of Lisa being held captive.
Mischa was forced to drive to Provins to save her. At that time, he had no idea that something bad would happen to Vega. He did not suspect that, in fact, Vega was actually the main target, and they just wanted to distract him.
Mischa knew that three reliable bodyguards were always protecting Vega and Altair from a distance, so he was not too worried.
"I didn't know ... they kidnapped Lisa just to lure me out of Paris ..." The man whispered with wet eyes. "Had I known this ... I would protect Vega with my life ..."
Elios was speechless at Mischa's words. His hands were clenched, and his chest felt tight with anger. He couldn't blame Mischa for choosing to go to Provins to save Lisa. He understood how it felt like to be a man in love. Lisa, after all, had been Mischa's girlfriend for many years.
If he received any threats on Aleksis' life, Elios would leave everything to save his wife.
He patted Mischa's shoulder. The man looked so sad, so Elios spoke to him in a soft voice. He now sounded exactly like Alaric Rhionen, who coaxed little Mischa 35 years ago to stop crying when his parents were lying dead, and he asked the boy to come with him.
"Mischa ... you are innocent. Don't blame yourself for what happened to Vega. I will catch the culprit and avenge Lisa's death. No one can touch my family and escape punishment. I will go after them, even to the ends of the earth. ... "
Elios looked at Mischa with sharp eyes. His foster son stared back at Elios and both seemed to make a silent promise to avenge Vega's abduction and Lisa's murder together.
Lauriel looked away while taking a deep breath. He was despondent and depressed. During his life for almost six centuries on this earth, only twice did he experience situations that were this heartbreaking.
One was when he lost the woman he loved, his sons' mother, Luna, and the other was when his beloved goddaughter, Aleksis was kidnapped when she was two years old and almost died.
Based on Lauriel's knowledge, the longer they could find Vega, the less likely they will find her alive. He could not imagine how heartbroken his family would be, especially his sons and goddaughter, if Vega ended up dying at the hands of her kidnappers.
He had also asked for help from all members of the Wolf Pack, his former team, and they were all ready wherever they were to wait for orders from him. If Lauriel got word that Vega was brought to Asia, Peach and Endo would search the entire continent to find her tracks.
He had Neo in Australia. They could also count on former Rhionen Assassins members who were still spread all over the world. All were awaiting orders.
"Alaric ... you have to see this!" Suddenly Nicolae went inside and showed the tablet in his hand. Lauriel and Elios looked up and stared at him attentively.
"What is wrong?" Elios asked. He stood up to approach Nicolae and looked at the tablet in his brother's hand. Instantly, his expression turned very murky. His hands were clenched into fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Who is it?"
Lauriel got up and looked at the contents on Nicolae's tablet. His face also turned murky. His blue-green eyes flashed with anger.
"I recognize that person ..." he hissed.