The next day.
Ryle put the file in his hand down just in time as his driver stepped inside the office.
"Did you get in touch with Dexter?" Ryle asked.
The driver remained mum with his head lowered.
Ryle arched an eyebrow and pulled out his phone. He had last dropped a text to Dexter after the man had run away from the underground office, seemingly in discomfort.
Ryle did not have the notion that Dexter was uncomfortable after witnessing the gore yesterday. Before becoming his secretary, the man had to go through a round of tests so that he could qualify for the position. Dexter, apart from being his secretary, was also a bodyguard to Ryle as well due to his proficiency in martial arts. Hence, Ryle knew that Dexter was accustomed to the worst things.
But the man's behavior had been amiss for a long time, not just yesterday or the day before that.
Ryle had observed that it had been like that for the past month. Initially, he thought Dexter must have some personal reasons behind it so he had not bothered to have a conversation with the man regarding the same.
As Ryle looked at his phone, he noticed that the text he had dropped was still there as it was. There was no response.
''Boss, that...'' the driver hesitated.
Ryle's attention shifted back to the man, ''Hmm?"
''We can't find Dexter.''
Ryle arched an eyebrow, ''He must be engaged in some personal affairs for him to be acting so strange. Go to his place and see if he needs any kind of help, financial or whatnot. Ask him to not be shy.''
The driver's face twisted so badly that it looked like he wanted to cry but he could not.
Who in the company did not know how much their boss favored his secretary?
Ryle Harper was the kind of man who made investments in his valued assets. And one of his favorite, most cherished assets was none other than Dexter, his close-to-perfect all-rounded secretary.
But the news that the driver had was nowhere close to pleasant and he did not how to break it down to Ryle without inciting his wrath.
''Boss, Dexter has left.''
Ryle's eyes narrowed slightly.
''We even went back to his place but there are no traces of him. I had an uneasy feeling so before reporting back to you, I visited the IT department and asked them to track him down but they failed to locate him in the first place. All his traces are gone.''
''He ran away?" Ryle's forehead creased slightly, his voice calm.
The driver shivered.
''Without a proper resignation letter, without an explanation?" A hint of rage flickered in Ryle's eyes but in the next moment, a small smirk touched his lips, ''And he even made sure to erase his traces. How capable does he think he is!"
''Boss, he must be having his reasons,'' Despite trembling, the driver could not help but speak for Dexter. The man seemed cold and barely interacted with anyone but the driver felt like that was just Dexter's personality. He was openly favored by Ryle and his aloof nature got him quite a lot of enemies in the company yet never once did he try to oppress those people.
Ryle's eyes narrowed, ''I want him right in from me, down on his knees, begging for forgiveness," a calm note to his voice as he leaned back on the swivel chair and closed his eyes.
But that calm was the calm before the storm. And the driver knew it very well.
The driver's eyes closed in pity for Dexter. He tried his best but there was nothing he could do to protect the man.
''If you people cannot drag him here, then be prepared to lose your jobs,'' Ryle dropped the ultimate warning with the slightest touch of a smile on his face.
The driver felt a chill running down his spine.
Track Dexter down?
Dexter is a world-famous hacker, for god's sake!
One year later.
In Paris.
''Why are you panting like that?"
Si Yena walked past Daisy and entered the cozy apartment while rubbing her chest, ''It's because of my bodyguard. What else?"
''Your bodyguard? He seems like a nice man, what did he do?" Daisy thought about the middle-aged man whom she had always seen with Si Yena while growing up.
''He had to leave my side for a family emergency. Now I have a new bodyguard,'' Si Yena cleared her throat.
Daisy nodded in understanding. It has been over a year, approximately 15 months since chaos erupted in her life. In all those situations, Si Yena had stuck to her without Daisy asking for it.
Since the day she erased her traces from Los Angeles and moved to Paris, Si Yena had been visiting her twice a month, going back and forth from her home, situated in Beijing to Paris where Daisy resided.
And Si Yena was the only person by her side when she went into labor.
Although they grew up together, Daisy, despite being close to Si Yena, had always stayed on guard. That's the nature of the elite society where one cannot trust the other, and that was how the heirs and heiresses were groomed since childhood, especially the elder children like Daisy who were trained to take over the family business.
But in the past year, Daisy's bond with Si Yena had changed tremendously and Daisy knew that the woman was someone she could count on with closed eyes.
''And what did your new bodyguard do?" Daisy asked as she led Si Yena to the cot in the bedroom.
''He...'' Si Yena's eyes widened slightly and her lips parted. She licked her lips, ''He does things,'' she groaned.
Daisy, who was, focused on the child sleeping peacefully in the cot did not notice any abnormalities in her friend's behavior, ''It happens. With a new bodyguard, it will take you some time, sometimes months to adjust to the transition period,'' To people like them, having a bodyguard was almost like having someone by your side 24/7 and it was only normal to have personality clashes in the initial period.
''Woah!" Si Yena squealed suddenly, interrupting Daisy's trail of thoughts, ''Our little princess is sleeping so peacefully.''
Her squeal startled the little girl who opened her eyes for a moment before putting her thumb into her mouth as she sucked it and continued sleeping.
Si Yena was amazed by the sight of it, ''This is so beautiful.''
Before Daisy could respond to her, the phone in her hand started vibrating.
The moment she glanced at the caller ID, her face dropped immediately.
Si Yena noticed the change in her friend's expression, ''Is it them again?"