At the Whitmore ancestral house,quite oblivious to the turmoil unfolding outside,the hall is a picture of elegance. Chandeliers sparkled and soft classical music played in the background. Esteemed guests arrived in droves, exchanging pleasantries and connecting with the city's elites.
Lisa Stone, dressed in an elegant gown, becomes the centre of attention. She smiled graciously as she moved amongst the guests. She overheard conversations of some of the elites whispering among themselves:
"Miss Stone, is sure beautiful and perfect".
"She is truly the pride of the Stones and Whitmore. Such a perfect match for master Louis."
Another guest chimed in and whispered to her ears "Miss Lisa, can't wait for the official announcement of the engagement", you must be excited.
Lisa smiles softly, masking her inner turmoil, Excited? No, she wasn't excited—she was calculating. Every smile and nod she gave masked her anxiety. Every second she glanced at the entrance expecting him to arrive.
"Where is he?", "Why has he not arrived?",she thought,her smile almost faltering for a second but quickly composed herself.
Meanwhile at the shopping mall,Louis strode in with giant steps that sent shivers to anyone that crossed his paths. His fierce gaze scanned the entire area as he barked orders to his men.
"Check all the CCTV footage" he commanded.
John,who was already working on it,looked up pale. "Boss,the cameras have been tampered with. The cameras had stopped working ten minutes before madam Star went missing."
Louis clenched his fist,his mind racing. "This is all planned,not just a random thing."
Before he could process further,he heard a familiar voice calling out to Maria.He turned only to see Raymond,rushing towards Maria, his face etched with panic.
"Where is my niece?", "Where is Star?", Raymond demanded,his voice trembling.
Maria, who had been sobbing uncontrollably,looked up as Raymond approached her. "I-I don't know what happened,one minute she is in the fitting room, and the next….. she is nowhere to be found.
Raymond crouched down beside her, trying to calm her as he held her hand and gently patted it, "you can tell me everything", he said firmly but gently.
Maria recounted the events as best as she could,her voice cracking with every word. Louis standing a few feet away, listened intently,and his jaw tightening with every detail. "She didn't even scream, she…she just …disappeared," Maria finished,tears streaming down her face, "If I hadn't dragged her to the mall,she wouldn't have just disappeared like that".
Raymond stood, turning to Louis. "This is all your fault". His voice was sharp,"you brought her into this mess."
Louis couldn't respond immediately,his mind racing while piecing the puzzles together.
"John", he said coldly, "mobilize all the team,I want all the exits in the city monitored. Check traffic cams,street footage–everything. There should be a clue or a slip somewhere."
"Yes sir", John replied, immediately pulling out his phone and issuing commands.
Raymond wasn't done. "If anything should happen to her—".
"Nothing is going to happen to her," Louis interrupted,his voice firm. His eyes burned with determination as he added, "Not on my watch".
At that moment,his phone buzzed. Another message popped up: "She is in safe hands…..for now".
Louis gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Whoever has taken Star wasn't just skilled–but very bold. And they wanted him to know they had the upper hand.
Back at the ancestral house,Selene glanced around,not a sight of Louis anywhere.
"Where is Louis?", she asked the butler.
"He is not yet back,maybe he is probably held back at work" the butler replied politely.
Lisa overhearing the conversation excused herself from a group of guests and approached Selene. "Don't worry,mother Selene", she said with a warm smile. "I am sure Louis will be here soon. He is probably rounding up now,it must have skipped his mind to place a call through."
Selene nodded but couldn't shake off the unease creeping in her mind. "Place a call through to him while I attend to other guests", she instructed.
Lisa,on the other hand,forced herself to be composed. She had become nervous twisting her fingers together but she quickly calmed herself and put on a smile. She couldn't afford to let anyone suspect that something was amiss. She needed to stay in control now–more than ever.
As the night deepened, Lisa excused herself from the lively party, stepping into a quiet corridor. She pulled out her phone.
She glanced around ensuring no one was coming or around before dialing a number. The call connected almost instantly.
"Hello, what's with the update?" She asked,her voice sharp and authoritative.
"We are on it, ma" the voice on the other end replied.
"On it", Lisa sound icy cold. "That's not good enough. I need to know everything is under control. Do I make myself clear?!"
"Crystal clear", the voice replied.
"Good,keep me posted on the progress and I do not want any loose ends" gripping the phone tightly,she instructed fiercely.
She ended the call without waiting for any response and stood still for a moment her mind racing. With a deep breath,she adjusted her expression, smoothened her dress, touch up her makeup and lipstick. She strode back into the hall plastering her face with the so practiced smile firmly in place.
The party continued in full swing with no one having a knowledge about the conversation that just ensued.