Ten minutes later, they were back at his motorcade. By this time, Richard's patience had been reduced to ashes
Seething, he turned to Gideon. "Where the hell is she?"
Gideon hesitated. "I don't know, sir. But I think…"
"Stop thinking and give me answers! How come she can't be seen anywhere in or around the airport? Did she disappear into thin air?"
Amusement flickered in Shantel's eyes as she watched their exchange from a hidden distance.
She couldn't hear the content of their discussion but she was sure it was about Elsa's absence.
He didn't recognize her… as Elsa, but that was no surprise. She had spent years ensuring her true identity remained a secret.
Initially, she had intended to keep things professional… just take his money, and forget about the past… After all, Richard had spent so much to ask for her help… a billion dollars was no small cash to part with… just to solve a problem that she had personally created.
But the way he'd again made no effort to hide his deep rooted disdain for her had triggered the vengeful side in her.
Besides, what fun would it be to make things easy for him after what he did to her? Now that he has fallen into her trap, she was not going to go easy on him.
That will teach him to watch his tongue in the future and not venture into matters he shouldn't.
She had longed for this moment. And now that it was here, she was fully enjoying every second of it. It feels so thrilling watching the all powerful and conceited Richard Domango feel slighted for once in his conceited life.
Messing with her a year ago was one of his gravest mistakes he'd live to regret and her plan to deal with him has just started.
"Let me see how long you will be able to stand by your word. "Every member of Jessica Hale's family deserves nothing but to be treated as trash!" He'd said in that press conference.
Not that she loved the Hale family, but unfortunately she was part of it and there's nothing she could do about it… after all one doesn't have the power to determine what family he or she is born into or the circumstances surrounding one's birth.
But she had made up her mind long before she got to her teenage years that her name would never be rubbed in the mud by anyone due to her family background… except she allowed it.
She slid into the backseat of her waiting car, crossed her legs then picked up her phone.
A couple of seconds later, Richard's phone vibrated.
"Sorry for your miss, perhaps, you're looking in the wrong places. Try again."
Richard's eyes darkened inexplicably as he read the anonymous message and Gideon, who was standing beside him by the car couldn't help but tremble.
He was furious already from not being able to meet Elsa, now this anonymous person chose now to joke with him. "Who the hell is this, messing with me? And how did he get my number?"
His company was crumbling, his investors were restless, and the one person who could turn things around was nowhere to be found. Who dares to pull a joke on him at a moment as crucial as this?
Sensing the eyes of the passerby on them, Gideon cautiously suggested, "Sir, we can sort the matter out in the car."
Richard ignored him and instead, his sharp gaze swept across the airport parking lot, searching for anything—or anyone—out of place. His instincts told him something must have gone wrong. Did something happen to Elsa?
Amidst the turmoil in his head, his mind snapped back to a certain redhead.
His fists clenched at the mere thought of that woman. It was bad enough that she had graced his morning with her presence, but now, his mind couldn't let go of that look on her face.
Did she know he was here for Elsa and did something to her?
Nah! She didn't have that ability, he quickly dismissed the absurd thought. Even if he didn't know how words got out that he was in need of Elsa's help, she was still just the spineless daughter of a despicable woman.
Focus, Richard. Focus!
He looked down at the message again. No name. No number. Just a taunt.
His gaze lifted once more, scanning the cars in the parking lot. And then— his already furrowed brow deepened further.
As if his thought had conjured her up, there she was… again, but now seated comfortably in the back of a black luxury sedan on the other row of parked cars with one slender leg crossed over the other and fingers tapping leisurely against her knee. A knowing smirk played on her lips as she gazed … right at him from the window that he guessed she'd deliberately wound down.
The way she watched him with those eyes glinting with amusement, made something snap inside him.
And almost immediately, his muscles coiled even when he forced himself to give heed to the tiny voice in his head.
Shantel Hale had been here, watching his every move. And now—this message?
But then again, coincidences didn't exist in his world. His gut told him it wasn't a coincidence.
Before Gideon could register what was happening, Richard was already moving.
"Boss?" Gideon called out as he hurried after him but Richard didn't respond.
Shantel watched them approach, and for the first time that morning, her smirk which seemed to be an integral part of her accessories today widened into a full-blown, wicked smile.
Richard reached the car just as the driver pulled away.
As the car slid past him, his eyes locked onto hers through the window, but she didn't look curious—if anything, she looked delighted.
He barely had time to process his next move before his phone buzzed again.
"Too slow, Mr. Domango. Try harder."
That did it.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He turned to Gideon and in a low, lethal voice gave an order. "Get someone to follow that car… secretly and report her location. Also find out everything about Shantel Hale. Now."
Gideon swallowed the questions at the top of his tongue and nodded sharply. "Yes, Boss."
He knew better than to question his boss's orders, even when they made little sense.
He had no problem with getting someone to follow Shantel Hale's car. After all, her action just now was strange enough to stir up suspicion.
But about the other matter…
What was there to find out about Shantel Hale that the world didn't already know?
'The Seventh Daughter of Jezebel.'
That title alone carried weight. It was a name whispered with either awe or disdain, depending on whom you asked.