Alma, John and Stella were together all the time because Albert told them to be with her so she wouldn't get lost in the city.
"I have to get away from them first, but how ? They're stuck to me like chewing gum !"
I thought of several plans to separate from them, most of which would have been feasible, but she had to choose the right timing.
"I'm going to take them to the big crowd first and then I'm going to step in and walk away. Originally I was going to part with them either here or somewhere else, if we get to the north, my lie will be revealed."
After an hour of wandering, Stella finally found the right place to implement her plan.
She noticed that Alma was a person who loved silk clothes, when they came, one of the merchants saw a large crowd selling this kind. She said excitedly, "Mrs Alma, look, don't these hanging dresses look great ?"
Alma was an honest person, and she didn't hide anything, she directly crossed over and said, "Yes, what a good taste you have."
"Thank you. I've been wanting to take a look at them since we came, Will you accompany me ?"
"Yes, of course."
The three went to see the dresses, the crowd was large. When Alma asked about the reason, they said there were high-quality garments.
"That's what I want, let's go in further."
While Alma remained hesitant because of the crowd, Stella kept persuading her to get closer, as there were not always good opportunities to acquire such quality.
They kept approaching until the crowd became dense. At that moment, Stella seized the opportunity and started to distance herself from them, seamlessly blending into the crowd.
When the two noticed, she had already distanced herself from the place.
"John, where's Alina ?"
"I don't know, mother !"
"Oh no, don't tell me she got lost !"
They called out her name several times, but she didn't respond.
They even asked passersby and people in the crowd, but everyone said they hadn't seen her.
Stella was watching them from inside one of the goods carriages when she noticed Alma starting to notice her absence, so she had to quickly hide.
"She almost caught me. Hiding is a better idea than wandering around the city now, especially since everyone is still here."
After searching long and fruitlessly, she decided to leave John behind and go.
"She must have gone to tell Albert and the others."
Indeed, as Stella anticipated, after a short while, they all gathered at the location and began searching and asking around.
"It's a good thing I did it today. I heard yesterday from one of them that they're running late and haven't been in the city for more than a day."
Everyone kept searching for her until evening, while she watched them from her unexpected hiding spot.
After searching all day, they all lost hope of finding it. If they had known it was just a few feet away from them, they would have been extremely frustrated.
Alma was tense as usual, while John was also searching with the others.
Albert stayed with Alma, discussing with her what happened, and the atmosphere between them seemed bad.
After they all gathered, they decided they would leave.
Stella was watching on their discussions from the carriage, "I apologize for causing tension in your relations, but I have to leave."
Indeed, they all left the place. After Stella made sure there was no one around, she decided to quickly exit the carriage.
"Alright, now I need to find a place to stay, but the problem is I don't have enough money, perhaps. What should I do ?"
Lost in her thoughts, suddenly without noticing, she was grabbed from behind by the collar.
Before she could scream, the person spoke to her with a cold voice, asking, "To where ?"