Chapter 22: First Mission

Claudia estimated that three days after warning Alice to stay alert for anything, Alice should have disappeared like the storyline of the original novel. Two days have passed, still nothing has happened to Alice. Claudia could only hope that this incident really didn't happen. 

Even though her schedule wasn't too busy today taking care of hotel work, Claudia decided she wanted to visit Alice when she got home from work. For some reason, before the day Alice disappeared, Claudia couldn't live in peace. All day long he kept walking back and forth while leaning on his chin. If she asked Sarah to escort Alice all day, then she would be considered a stalker. 

Meanwhile, if you look at Harry's movements since this morning, they don't show any suspicious movements. Harry looked like he usually worked at the palace. Claudia had no right to suspect Harry for a while, remembering Harry's words that night, for some reason Claudia felt like Harry knew everything. 

Today Claudia was a little distracted when calculating the hotel budget. Her eyes were always staring at the movement of the clock on the wall, every second passed, she didn't want any bad news to suddenly come. 

As a result, Claudia couldn't hold back her patience, in the end she contacted Alice even though it was still midday. She dialed Alice's contact number while looking at the wall clock. In less than a minute, the phone call was immediately connected. 

"You must be calling me, Claudia! Aren't you tired of calling me all the time?" Alice's shouting voice could be heard over the phone. 

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Now I'm tired of hearing your voice. For a long time I thought you were very obsessed with me!"

"By the way, where are you going tonight?" 

"Today I want to go to the bar. So what?"

"Haven't you been busy working lately?"

"I'm busy. But, I have a date with my secret lover."

"But-"

The phone call was immediately disconnected. It's very natural for Alice to get bored of receiving calls from Claudia because Claudia always calls her every morning, afternoon and evening. Claudia didn't even contact Harry this often. 

Talking about Harry, Claudia was curious whether she could have dinner with Harry today or not. If Harry could accompany her tonight and tomorrow, then it would be clear that Harry was not the perpetrator who kidnapped Alice. However, if the opposite really happened, this time Claudia would not hesitate to forgive Harry. 

Before asking for news via short message, Claudia received a message from her husband. When she read the short message, Claudia's eyes filled with tears as she placed her cellphone limply on the table. 

"You just go home first. I have important matters to attend to tonight."

This time Claudia will monitor Alice's movements until evening. However, she did not act rashly, she also invited Sarah to accompany him to monitor Alice all day. 

*****

Now Claudia and Sarah are carrying out a secret mission lurking in front of the elite company building owned by Alice's family. If you look at their current behavior, they are like a pair of detectives protecting eye witnesses. Even Sarah felt that she was crazy following her employer's orders to help scout all day long. 

"Speaking of which, should we go this far? Do you believe Alice's life will be in danger?" Sarah asked while holding the steering wheel. 

Claudia nodded. "My gut feeling says Alice will be kidnapped today."

"But, does this make sense? If our movements are caught red-handed, you will be accused of being a stalker!"

"I would rather be rumored to be a stalker than lose my life."

"Claudia!"

"Your job is only to guard me. I know you're good at self-defense. That's why you can be relied on." Claudia patted Sarah's shoulder casually. 

*****

As evening approached, there was still no sign of the car Alice was driving. Claudia had even written down Alice's car number plate so she could easily spot it if something bad suddenly happened. Meanwhile, Sarah sipped coffee first to fill her energy before facing the battlefield. 

At the same time, Claudia saw Alice's sedan coming out of the basement of the building, she quickly patted Sarah on the shoulder to follow Alice quietly from behind. Along the way following Alice's car, there weren't any cars that looked suspicious either. 

"Now what should we do?" Sarah asked while looking at Alice's car with focus. 

"Actually, I know where she's going," Claudia answered, looking at the window. 

Sarah rolled her eyes while patting her forehead. "Then why did we have to scout her all along if you knew her purpose?"

"I just wanted to make sure that Alice really wasn't lying to me when she was at the office."

Actually, Claudia's purpose in asking about Alice's activities tonight was to ensure that the storyline of the novel had not changed. However, who would have thought that the storyline changed a little. Alice was supposed to go to the bar tomorrow to date her secret lover, but the incident happened today. Until now, Claudia is a little curious about what other theories have emerged so that the storyline has changed slightly. Is it because she married Harry? 

"Sarah, now you listen to me carefully. I need you to take me to the address I entered on the dashboard."

*****

After thinking about it, Claudia was more curious about what kind of person the ex-lover Alice wanted to meet was like. Claudia and Sarah arrived at the bar first, choosing strategic seats to monitor the surroundings of the bar, which had few visitors. 

Not long after, a well-dressed young man appeared entering the bar. Staring at the young man's face made Claudia's eyes widen. Once again she saw the face of someone she knew in the world of this novel. It is revealed that Alice's secret lover is Alice's ex-boyfriend in the real world named Alfredo. Moreover, Alfredo was very cruel and always tortured Alice until she was traumatized. 

At the same time, Alice entered the bar with a nervous face, making Claudia have a bad feeling. This meeting didn't seem like an ordinary date.