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All the identities were real. Even though every movement abroad was legitimate, only the name had been changed.
Given how little the Harrison family knew about Mario, even if they saw photo, they wouldn’t have recognized him, let alone with a different name.
“Larry and Henry got into it at the Harrison residence,” Wendy said as she returned from next door, taking Chase’s place in the conversation. “Larry blamed Henry for messing things up. Said he lost the rights because of him–and you got lucky instead.”
Lemon didn’t look surprised at all. “Those two were always going to fall out. This time, Chase just happened to be the excuse.”
Dinner was nearly done when Waylon showed up late. He walked in, paused at the sight of Caesar, and then glanced over at Mario beside him, realizing who he was. That made it all the more interesting.
“The guy the Harrison family’s been breaking their backs trying to find overseas,” Waylon said, raising his eyebrows, “just waltzes back home and sits down in the middle of a room full of elites–and not a single one recognizes you. I guess you really don’t look like your father.”
Mario had heard plenty about Waylon. He lifted his glass and clinked it across the table. “Of course not. I take after my mother–about 70 percent, especially the eyes. Practically identical. But my father kept her hidden well. No one in the Harrison family has ever seen her.”
Which meant that from the beginning, he and his mother had been kept far outside the circle.
All for the sake of their safety.
“Let’s talk business,” Waylon said, ignoring the food, his tone serious as he turned to Chase. “I might need your help. Remember that woman Aimee from 316 that you mentioned last time?”
“I remember.” Chase nodded. “What happened?”
“She’s been kidnapped,” Waylon said flatly.
The whole room froze. Chase instinctively turned to Wendy. She had clearly assigned someone to watch Aimee–there was no way she could have been taken.
Wendy paused, clearly stunned. “I sent Dawn overseas to find someone for me. He just left yesterday…”
“She was taken last night.”
It must’ve been in the middle of the night. Aimee was still recovering from her injuries–no one knew why she even went downstairs. But just like that, she was gone. The family got a call from the kidnappers this morning.
“How much are they asking for?” Lemon asked. “If I remember right, the Duncan family’s just middle–class. They’d struggle to pull together anything over 150 thousand dollars.”
Waylon shook his head. “They don’t want money. They want a hard drive.”
Aimee was a journalist–an international one no less
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At first, Chase didn’t think Aimee had anything to do with Madeline. But after reading her reports, he realized that Aimee might be Madeline’s next target.
Silence fell over the room. Even Mario, who didn’t know much, sat up straighter.
No one had expected Waylon to bring such explosive news.
“We’ve already started investigating,” Waylon continued. “Because of Madeline’s movements, we’ve merged Aimee’s case with our task force. Now we need a breakthrough.”
Chase understood what he meant.
The task force was screening everyone Aimee had been in contact with. Her parents claimed she was kind and well–behaved. They couldn’t imagine anyone holding a grudge–let alone kidnapping her. And they had no idea what hard drive the kidnappers were talking about.
“We turned her room upside down and still didn’t find any sign of a hard drive.”
Right now, the only one who might know the truth was Madeline.
Whoever kidnapped Aimee had to be the same person behind the scenes.
“Alright, got it,” Chase said after a moment’s thought. He sent a message, calling Melody over.
Melody and Sammy were next door, along with the rest of the PR team. The department was in full swing. Zynn was drinking with his people, and Maurice’s secretary from Windwell Pharma Group, had already joined the scene.
When Melody got Chase’s message, she brought Sammy with her.
“Melody,” Chase said, “I need you come up with an excuse to get Madeline to my office tomorrow.”
Melody nodded, instantly understanding. Chase added, “Keep it quiet. Don’t alert too many people.”
Right now, the hospital clearly wasn’t secure. Madeline wasn’t the only outsider involved.
One of Melody’s best qualities was that she never asked why. The boss gave the order–she figured out how to get it done, no questions asked.
Sammy stood behind Wendy, listening quietly.
“Dawn left, and she got kidnapped right after?” Sammy asked, surprised. “You think Dawn was discovered?”
Waylon shook his head. “I doubt it. I know what Dawn’s capable of. If he wanted to stay hidden, no one would’ve found him. I think the timing was just right for them.”
And yesterday’s timing lined up with Windwell Pharma Group.
Everyone had been too busy fighting for usage rights and agency contracts to notice Aimee. But once the dust settled, and the kidnappers realized there’d be no resistance—that was when they struck.
Which meant the culprit had to be on Windwell Pharma’s list.
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“Understood,” she said. “Oh–chief, the signing with Windwell Pharma is at nine tomorrow morning. I’ll be waiting downstairs at 8:10,”
“Alright. Thanks.”
