The party had began and Adrian hadn't returned home yet. Aurora distracted herself by interacting with the present guests. Everyone enjoyed her company.
She had the most fun chatting with his company employees.
"Hi, pretty. You must be Aurora," a tall man with green eyes said, approaching her, followed by two other men.
She gazed at him, scanning his looks. "Yeah," she said in a low voice.
"I'm Kristen," he introduced.
"Alex," the guy behind him said.
"Fred," the last guy said.
She smiled in appreciation. "Oh, welcome. Thanks for coming. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Let me get you guys something to drink."
"No, we're fine," Kristen said, making her assume he was their spokesman.
"Sure?" she asked, turning to the three, individually. They nodded in response.
"Yeah. Isn't Adrian home yet?" Fred asked, surprised.
"Uh… Maybe he's stuck in a bad traffic, but he would be back soon," she said, hoping.
"Alright. Please, wish your daughter a happy birthday on our behalf."
"I will. Thank you once again. If you guys need anything, please let me know. I'd be assisting in the kitchen."
Alex frowned. "An excuse to keep your guests bored? I mean, there's a cook and you don't get to do any work here."
"If that's the case, I'll call Stacey downstairs. While we wait for Adrian to return, we will sit, dine, wine and talk," she suggested.
They burst out in laughter when she stopped talking, making her raise a brow at them.
Adrian had described how much a talkative she was.
"We're sorry," they apologized, trying hard not to laugh again.
"So, what were we saying?" she asked.
It didn't seem like a bad idea, so they all agreed.
…
"Blondie, your eyes… they are red and puffy. Have you been crying again?" Adrian asked, hugging her.
"What does it look like? Tears of joy? Can't you sense that something is wrong?"
"I know. You were missing me, that's it. But I'm here with you, now and I'm sorry."
"Where the fuck have you been all day? I tried giving you a call, but it didn't get through," she yelled, pulling his shirt.
"Don't get mad at me, babe. We will talk about this after Anastatia's party, okay?" he said, changing his clothes.
"The celebrant is missing!"
He chuckled over it. "Jokes on you, duh."
"Stacey is nowhere to be found. She was right here with me, then the lights tripped off. When power was restored, she had disappeared–"
"Stop playing."
Aurora looked into his eyes, hurt. "Why will I be joking about serious matters? We have searched everywhere, but to no avail. We… we couldn't find her."
"What do you mean you couldn't find her? How could you be so careless about our little girl?"
"And why did you show up right after Stacey went missing?" she asked in return.
His brows scrunched up at her. "Seriously? Am I a suspect, now?"
"Everyone is and that's why I called the cops over. I ensured no one left this vicinity. I have also filed a missing case and a proper investigation is ongoing."
"Withdraw the case."
"Not until Anastatia is found," her tone was deep and serious.
"The cops won't do anything about it. It will be in vain. That was what happened before my parents were declared missing up till date," he explained his point.
Her jaws dropped. "Your parents?"
"The news went viral– I really don't want to talk about their case."
"So, you mean St-Stacey is never going to come back to us?"
He cupped her chin, pulling her cheeks. "I never said that, blondie. I promise, I will bring her home."
"You couldn't bring your parents home, so how will you?" she asked, downcast.
"The culprit isn't far from us. Everyone has a special invitation, right?"
"Yes. I used your laptop to mail your friends and employees. Is there anything wrong?" she asked.
"Recheck the names and ensure they are all present. I will check the CCTV footage," Adrian ordered.
"Okay."
The room went into silence as they carried out their assignments.
"Damn! There is nothing appearing on the screen. The cameras are covered," he sighed in frustration, ruffling his hair.
"Everyone is here with us…" she said, still checking. "Except a few employees and two other friends," she added, closing the laptop.
He clenched his fists into a ball, his nose flaring. "I have been quiet for too long. This time, I won't spare anyone responsible for this…"
Adrian's voice trailed off when his phone beeped.
It was an unread message from a private number. He opened the text and read:
Greenville Hotel, Room 404, 11:00 PM.
"What's that? Let me see," Aurora said, snatching the phone from him.
He shrugged. "I think it's the person that has Anastatia. He or she wants to meet me, I guess."
"Then I will come with you. We can arrange for securities, right?" she asked.
"Uh, I–"
Another beep.
It was a second text message from the same anonymous sender.
Aurora read it out:
Don't play games with me. Come alone.
Her hands were shaky and the phone dropped to the tiles. "This is scarier than I imagined. I feel like someone is monitoring us and knows our next moves."
"You might be right, but relax. I will handle this alone."
"I– I'm scared something bad might happen. Please, let me go with you."
"No, you won't. It's my responsibility."
"You always do this– We should work together as family."
"Blondie."
She rolled her eyes. "Alright. Stay safe. I love you," she stood on her toes and kissed his lips.
He shook his head, tasting her lips on his. "You're such a drama queen."
"So, aren't you going to say back those three words?"
He grabbed his car key and turned to her before exiting the room. "Not just yet, blondie. I'm not sure I will mean them, now. Bye."
Those words crashed her little hope.
At least, he was being honest.
She bit her nails, watching him leave. There were a million thoughts running through her mind.
Aurelia. Adrian. Anastatia. Everyone had become her problem.
And who was the guest Adrian was meant to have brought home?
Perhaps she was fooled once again. Who knows?
What if Adrian was the mastermind behind everything and was playing dumb?
He had been staying out late with her best friend, so it could be possible they planned this– Stacey's disappearance, the hotel.
But why would they stoop so low?
Aurora couldn't just believe it. She was forced to stick with her postive mindset, that they had nothing to do with either of them.
Although, her instincts said otherwise.