“I’m not a magician.”
“I know. However, with a skill like yours, I do not doubt that you can carry out my request successfully. Just name your price.”
“Well… I was under the impression that you wanted to find someone.”
“Yes. That was my initial plan but I think this new idea is much better.”
“Look, I find people. I don’t make them disappear.”
“Same difference. If you can find people who don’t want to be found, you can as well make someone vanish into thin air too.”
“Even if I could do that, don’t you think I might be in trouble afterwards?”
“How?”
“Who knows you’re here?”
“My COO and his brother-in-law who contacted you.”
“You see? If I make you disappear tonight, the trail will lead back to me. That’s not how it’s done. You should vanish wit
The news of Jake Turner’s sudden death sent shock waves throughout the country. Nobody had seen it coming, perhaps, not even him.The police began investigating the suspicious explosion that incinerated the Underdog Billionaire in his opulent residence. Everyone was a suspect including his newly widowed wife.“Why am I being interrogated?” Megumi wailed when the police detective showed up at the mansion yet again to question her about her husband’s untimely death.“As we have stated before, everyone is a suspect in this investigation,” one of the policemen explained calmly. “this is merely a routine process to rule out the possibility of your involvement in your husband’s murder.”“Are you kidding? Why would I want him dead?”“That’s exactly what we want to find out,” the second detective said patiently.“I don’t understand. Even if I wanted my hu
The animosity between Megumi and Victoria continued to worsen to the point where they no longer talked to each other.Jame’s third birthday was not celebrated but he got his favourite strawberry cupcake as a treat for the day.It was already a month after Jake’s tragic death and nothing had been done to commemorate his painful exit.Gregory, Pierce and Fletcher finally showed up at the mansion on the 31st day after the incident to discuss the way forward with the Turner family.“We think a memorial service will be a decent way to close this chapter and begin the journey to healing for everybody,” Pierce said solemnly.“You don’t have to worry about the planning, we’ll handle it,” Gregory told Megumi.“A memorial service without a body to bury…” Megumi sighed.“We could use the ashes salvaged from the explosion site,” Gregory suggested. “we&
“When is your family leaving this house?” Victoria asked Megumi the next morning while her stepmother sipped dandelion tea alone in the dining room.“What happened to ‘Good morning,’ huh?”“I’m sure we can both agree that there hasn’t been a good morning in this house since my dad died. Now, back to my question. When are your folks leaving?”Megumi lowered her teacup slowly and pinned Victoria with a blazing look. “Now, you listen to me very carefully, little girl. I will no longer tolerate your rudeness towards me. I am also grieving but you don’t see me going about insulting my elders.”“I only asked a simple question. When are they leaving?”“Not any time soon.”“Why?”“Look, I’m not in the mood for your tantrums this morning, Victoria. Leave me alone.”“I am going to move out of this hous
“What are you doing here?” Pierce asked coldly when he came face-to-face with Sandra in front of his house.“Hi, I’m Sandra Barnes.”“I know who you are. Why are you here?”Sandra swallowed nervously. “well, I was told that Victoria Turner is here. I wanted to find out how she was doing.”Pierce snorted. “Is this a joke? You show up to my house uninvited and ask to see the child of the same man whom you tried to destroy with your mountain of lies? Your audacity is amazing!”“I am sorry that everyone has developed the wrong impression about me. I wrote those articles out of ignorance and besides, Jake and I resolved that issue long before he died.”“I don’t know what you’re looking for, Sandra, but you won’t find it here. Please, leave my property right now.”She sighed in disappointment and took a step backwards. “I brough
“So… where are we going?”“Indonesia.”“For real? I’ve never been there before!” Victoria said excitedly.“Me too but I’m looking forward to exploring the place,” Gregory replied with equal enthusiasm.For the first time since her father died, Victoria did not feel that heavy weight of grief that constantly clouded her thoughts. For once, she felt eager and excited to see what the rest of the day would bring.The only thing she found odd about this trip was that Uncle Pierce had insisted that they travel without any of the bodyguards. She never went anywhere without them since her kidnapping, and she felt a bit nervous about not having them around this time.It didn’t matter that they were flying in one of her dad’s private jets. Not having an armed guard nearby just in case something unexpected happened, didn’t quite sit well with her.She could only
Victoria was silent throughout the boat ride. She was thankful for the noisy boat engine that made normal conversation impossible.The boat rider sat in front of them and looked straight ahead. Victoria wondered if the elderly man spoke English.Would he help her if she told him now that her father’s PA was kidnapping her and taking her to an unknown destination? Or was the man in on the plot?The ride took over an hour and by the time they reached their first stop, the sky was dark. They stopped on an island that was anything but secret.The place was alive with tourists and locals dancing to music, eating, drinking and laughing loudly. Gregory led her past the noise to a beach on the other end of the small island.They got into another boat and began another silent ride across the ocean. At this point, Victoria lost all hopes of ever getting found.Not even the FBI can track her to this remote destination. She should’ve probabl
San Fransisco, three months ago…“What you’re asking me to do is not impossible, but the time frame for its execution makes it seem… undoable.”“I’ll quadruple your fee if you can get it done in 24 hours.”The Ferret’s eyes widened slightly. His services didn’t come cheap, so earning four times that amount on a single job was too juicy to pass up.“If I may ask, why the urgency?”Jake shrugged. “Many people want me dead anyway, so I might as well beat them to it.”“You have an army of bodyguards to protect you. So why did you choose this drastic option instead?”“Do you want the job or not?”“I’m just curious.”“Don’t be. Pierce told me you’re very discreet. I hope that’s true.”The Ferret looked insulted. “Of course, I am discreet. I just like
“That’s incredible!” Victoria gasped after Jake had finished speaking. “So, it’s really you. You’re alive.”“Yes, Vicky. I’m alive,” Jake replied with an apologetic smile.Victoria’s eyes misted and she reached forward to embrace her father. He wrapped her in his arms and let her weep on his chest.Even he was overcome with emotion. It felt good to be reunited with his daughter.“I am so sorry for deceiving you like that,” he said softly as she continued to cry. “It was the only way to make sure that I could escape from Hawaii without being discovered.”She broke the embrace and nodded slowly. “I understand. You did what you had to do to protect yourself.”“You’re wiser than your age.”“You’re braver than you look.”“What about Megumi? Are you going to tell her the truth?”