"I'm glad you came quickly." Bellatrix smiled as she looked at Ollie standing before her. "What can I do for you, ma'am?"
Bellatrix took out her phone, showing a picture of Serena. "Look at this woman's face, and remember it."
"Isn't this—"
"Yes, she's the woman I've been targeting all this time!" Bellatrix cut off Ollie's sentence, making him instantly silent while staring at a visibly annoyed Bellatrix. From her expression, Ollie could see that the woman was truly uneasy about Serena's presence. "She's inside now, and your task is to watch her. Follow her, and don't let her slip away! Once you find out where she lives, you must report it to me. Understand?"
"Alright, ma'am. I understand."
"Good! I need to kill that woman quickly so I can live in peace!" Bellatrix left Ollie alone. The woman intended to go shopping with Sophia.
After Bellatrix left, Ollie immediately entered the restaurant and observed from a table not too far from where Serena was. Upon entering and searching for a table, Ollie could immediately see Serena sitting at a table near the window. She was making a phone call with someone.
Ollie fell silent while watching her. But shortly after sitting down and continuing to observe, Serena got up from her seat. Ollie, realizing this, quickly followed her until he arrived at the office building where Serena worked.
Ollie snapped out of his reverie. He had been waiting outside the office for hours, diligently observing. Growing almost bored as Serena hadn't shown herself since lunchtime, he resisted the urge to leave to avoid Bellatrix's reprimand. Determined to be patient, he continued his watch. The man could only endure the wait until the end of the workday approached. As the office employees streamed out, Ollie scrutinized the door intently, trying to spot Serena among the crowd.
"Why hasn't she come out yet? I hope I haven't lost track of her," Ollie muttered, keeping a keen eye on the door.
*
Hugh momentarily shifted his focus, pressing a button on the steering wheel that instantly connected a call to Serena's phone. He had sent a message when Serena mentioned arriving at the office after lunch, planning to pick her up accompanied by Shawn.
While Hugh was busy trying to get in touch with Serena, Shawn was playing with a new toy that he got as a prize. He seems very happy to get a new toy, and Shawn can't wait to show Serena the toy.
Hugh smiled as his call finally connected with Serena. "Babe, Shawn, and I are on our way to the office. We'll pick you up. Are you done with work?"
"Hugh, I think you should cancel your plan to pick me up." Hugh could hear Serena's voice from the other end, but there was something peculiar about his wife's tone. She sounded restless, as if something was happening to her, instantly causing Hugh to feel anxious. Worried that something might be wrong with Serena while he wasn't with her. "What do you mean? Why are you suddenly saying that?" Asked Hugh, trying to stay calm.
Serena went on to explain her situation to Hugh in detail—about her instinctive sense of someone following her and her growing suspicion after seeing the same car parked in front of her office. Hugh, hearing her words, became even more uneasy. The man gripped the steering wheel tightly, truly afraid that something might happen to Serena. "Could it be them?"
"I also thought so. That's why it's better if you cancel your plan to pick me up. I don't want anything to happen to Shawn. You don't need to worry about me. I'll try my best to find a way to escape from here without them knowing."
Serena spoke, but Hugh couldn't fully focus on the rest of her sentence, as his mind was too busy figuring out a way to solve the problem. Once he came up with an idea, Hugh immediately rejected Serena's plan. "No! That's too risky. I'll still pick you up."
"Hugh!"
"Listen! I promised to protect you and Shawn. I can't just leave you like that. What if they manage to capture you? That would be a big problem!"
"But—"
"Just follow my plan. Stay inside for now, and don't go out until I tell you, okay?" Hugh briefly shifted his focus, glancing at Shawn in the back through the rearview mirror. His son was still engrossed in his new toy, seemingly completely unaware of his conversation with Serena, as he was too immersed. Hugh redirected the call, connecting it to his hands-free device, allowing him to speak more freely without worrying that Shawn would overhear his conversation with Serena.
"If you insist on doing this, they might find out that I have a child, and they could use that against me. They might kidnap Shawn to capture me!"
"I won't let them touch a single hair on my son's head. You trust me, right?" Hugh kept his focus on the road ahead while his hand was busy pressing several buttons on the steering wheel, causing a screen to emerge from the dashboard of his car. The screen lit up, and Hugh was now occupied pressing various buttons until a map appeared on the screen, clearly indicating a specific location.
On the map, there were three different points. One point moved along the roads on the map, representing the tracker installed on their car, currently heading towards Serena's workplace. Meanwhile, the other two points were at Hugh's intended destination, the office.
One of the points shared the same color as the moving one. This similar-colored point marked Serena's location, while the differently colored point indicated the person Serena was referring to.
Hugh briefly diverted his attention to the map, studying it. Across the phone, he could hear Serena saying, "Yes, I trust you—"
"That's why you should follow my instructions. I'll make sure you and Shawn are safe!" Hugh cut off Serena's words and immediately pressed a button on the point representing Serena's location. In an instant, the map displayed possible routes that could be taken by someone at that location. Hugh now knew how he could pick up Serena without being successfully tracked by the person waiting outside the office.
He decided to end the call with Serena. His hand went back to pressing buttons on the steering wheel, and now he dialed another number.
"What's up? Why are you calling me? Do you need something?" A woman's voice immediately sounded from the other end as soon as their call connected.
"I think there's going to be a problem. They've become aware of our presence."
"What? How could that happen?"
"I don't know, but Serena is now panicking because they've been following her since she returned from lunch."
"But she's okay, right?"
"Yes, just a bit trapped inside the office. If she leaves, they could easily capture her. Fortunately, Serena became aware as soon as she felt someone was following her."
"Thank goodness she's okay. Keep me updated. Oh! I'll come over as soon as I finish up here."
"All right, I understand!" Hugh unilaterally ended the call. Without hesitation, he pressed the gas pedal of his car, speeding up along the route indicated on the map.
*
Serena continued to stare anxiously outside. She would never be at ease until the car left the area.
"Hugh, what's your plan?" Serena murmured softly. She couldn't stop looking at her phone, continuously checking for any new calls from Hugh. It had been a while since her last phone call with him. Serena noticed people in the office starting to leave the building. Now, only a few employees remained who had just arrived in the office lobby with their work bags.
Serena's attention shifted when her phone rang, and she saw Hugh's name on the screen. Quickly, Serena answered the call.
"Hello? Hugh, what are you planning?"
"I've arrived at your office," Hugh said without answering Serena's question.
"What?" Serena fell silent for a moment. "You're already here?" She diverted her attention outside, but Serena didn't see his car anywhere.
"You won't find my car anywhere because I didn't stop at the usual spot." Hugh seemed to know what Serena was doing. "So, where are you now?"
"Head towards the emergency stairwell, and you'll find another exit door. I'm waiting for you there. The door leads directly to the other side of the building."
Serena scanned her surroundings, trying to find the door Hugh mentioned. Serena didn't know how Hugh could know about that exit door, but due to her trust in Hugh, Serena spontaneously followed his words. She now walked along the corridor, heading back to where the elevator she usually used was.
Usually, the emergency stairwell is not far from the elevator, Serena said to herself while continuing to search for the location of that door. After persistent searching, Serena finally found the door Hugh referred to. As she suspected, the door was not far from the elevator. "I found it," Serena murmured softly.
"Alright, I'll wait for you here," Hugh said on the other end.
Serena stepped toward the door, pushing it open and entering the emergency stairwell. Directly facing the door where she emerged, Serena could see the exit door that Hugh referred to. She quickly approached the door, but just as she took a step, someone suddenly grabbed her hand, causing Serena to stop abruptly.
"I've got you!" Ollie smiled, locking eyes with Serena, who now looked surprised by his sudden appearance.
Serena's body immediately froze in place. Her eyes widened, and her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment as she saw Ollie suddenly appear, gripping her wrist tightly. "Y-you..." Serena's voice faltered. She was genuinely shocked by his sudden appearance. Although she didn't know who the man in front of her was, Serena could immediately conclude that he was one of Bellatrix's henchmen who had been following her since earlier. Her assumption became clear as Serena observed Ollie's face, which seemed so pleased to have caught her.
"Now, you have to come with me!"
"No! Argh!"
***