Krystle and Linus joined Anya in the backyard where Zane was learning to ski from Alvin. The rest of the day was unexpectedly pleasant and undisturbed.
They didn't notice any move by Miles Johnson. The targeted number of students increased to five. One of the students and the other four students' parents were hospitalized in different hospitals due to different reasons.
The informers and cops were inconspicuously keeping an eye on the ones who were contacting those families. Meanwhile, Paxton kept an eye on phone calls, messages, and emails letting Anya spend time with her family.
Anyhow, Anya can't be involved directly until the major development in the mission. So she stayed low.
The Owen couple reached the Oasis mansion in the evening and joined them for the evening feast with the Collins family.
The celebration continued the next morning when Anya received an invitation letter for the national day as a recipient of the presidential award. Happiest was Zane when he heard Anya will be bringing him to the event as she could only bring one person with her.
…
Anya was reluctant to send Zane to school, Alvin assured her that he had appointed people to keep eye on Zane's safety, yet she was restless.
They weren't just guarding up against one but two, Miles Johnson and Casper Matthews. Miles seemed to be capable of doing terrible things and Casper has become numb to the illegal activities.
If those two join hands, then it would be dangerous for everyone Anya and Alvin cared about. Hence they didn't reveal the butler's acts to Casper to avoid the obvious.
"What is Casper Matthews up to?" Anya asked, driving the car into the Skylark building. Instead of traveling to and fro from the Oasis mansion to school, she was stopping by at the company, and she could have lunch with Alvin.
Alvin couldn't stop his wife from worrying about everything. He got out of the car and buttoned his blazer without responding to the employees who were greeting him. He stretched his hand once Anya passed the car keys to a guard.
Anya noticed most of the managers who arrived to receive Alvin were foreigners. Judging by their body language and expressions, they didn't seem to be new employees of Alvin.
She was silent when the managers were greeting and reporting about projects to Alvin. Hand in hand, she walked inside the company with Alvin, ignoring the eyes they were garnering.
Alvin responded once the elevator door closed, "Casper Matthews was busy with the company situation." He was expecting Casper to announce the CEO of the company. Because Liam wasn't going to fall for any more tricks.
Anya nodded to herself hearing him. She voiced her thoughts, "Secretary Harrison was aware of Casper Matthews giving hand for Harper Johnson to escape. I was expecting him to be aware of Casper Matthews's actions." She was staggered at the news of Harrison resigning.
Alvin glanced at her. Is she getting worked up or bothered by something?
Anya asked her next question, "What will Liam Matthews do? Did you send him somewhere too?"
Alvin did offer his hand for help. But Liam declined flatly when Rob approached him. So Alvin shrugged in response to Anya. Anya and Liam weren't close. So he didn't think anybody would use Liam against Anya.
Anya was about to ask another question, Alvin turned to her and watched her carefully. She wasn't just asking questions to know the response, she was dilly-dallying from speaking about something. "Why are you…." He saw her eyes wide and lips contracted, "... nervous?"
Anya awkwardly smiled and looked away. How did he read her mind?
She might leave the country, disguised as one of the students. She might not return for a day or two. She considered hiding it from Alvin as her job specifies but Alvin will flip the world to find her if she doesn't contact him for a long time.
He will break into her new office and even hold Jason's collar. She didn't want to return to the country to see Alvin behind the bars.
So she didn't know how to tell him and how he might react. What if he insists on joining her?
She breathed a long sigh when she came up with an idea. Jason will probably be furious if he gets to know she was revealing her mission to her husband. But it's for everyone's good.
searching through old emails on her mobile, she handed the mobile to Alvin. The latter read the email as they exited the elevator and entered his office.
Alvin's brows lifted in surprise, "You got a job offer from a dream company." Alvin was proud to know she had a job offer from the world's top software. "Why did you reject it?" He asked as he returned her mobile.
Anya shook her head in resignation. If Alvin didn't doubt the email, how could innocent students doubt it? She sighed, "It's fake."
Yes, she was targeted too when she was graduating because she had won the Hackathon and completed a full flexed mobile application alone.
Alvin sat with her on the sofa and Anya explained, "For over a decade, many talented students have been taken outside the country with fake job offers or higher studies. Many of them are found dead, entitling them to terrorists and most of them are missing." She didn't find the necessity to explain how missing cases were closed.
Alvin was glad she didn't fall for the trick. Then he flashed to him that it was her mission and Miles Johnson was probably a middle agent.
Judging by her words, it was a large organization and dangerous. His face darkened, discerning the danger she was provoking.
Anya slowly shifted to the far end of the sofa to be safe from the devil as she added, "I'm not behind the mastermind or the organization." That should appease him, "We are only catching the person who will receive students in a different country." She whined when his expression didn't change.
Looking at his face contouring sharply, Anya stood up and stepped backward, towards the door, ready to flee. At the same time, she tried to persuade the man, "Alvin, I will have a whole backup team if I sense danger."
Alvin: "..."
If she senses danger? Alvin wanted to scoff at that. She faces danger in the eye. How was she going to save herself if she was caught or was at a gunpoint?
Her backup team will have to go and collect her body. The thought of it made him mad and glare at her who flinched meeting his eyes.
Furious, he stormed to his desk and began working without uttering a word. He was itching to lock her in the room at the stake of his relationship with her. She will be angry at him, but he will handle it.