Andrew's red eyes were filled with anxiety. He had come all the way, breaking three red lights, and also crashing into a construction vehicle parked by the side of the road. As a result, his car's left rear view mirror fell off. But only one thing was on Andrew's mind at this point.
"Mellisa disappeared? Are you sure?" As soon as Andrew sat down, he immediately asked about it. He reached out and took a glass of mineral water that had been prepared on the table. But his hands shook so badly that he splashed water on his shirt without realizing it.
Lilia described the situation they knew up to this point, then she asked, "Brother Andrew, can you please ask a police inspector you know to help with the investigation?"
"Leonard, you mean?" Andrew frowned. "I can ask my family's information network to..."
"Ah, we have checked the CCTV cameras around where Ms. Mellisa disappeared," Lilia immediately explained. "But the area has been neglected for long and there are very few monitoring points. The place where Mellisa dropped the phone happened to be a blind spot, so there wasn't a single camera there,"
Andrew took a deep breath. "I get what you mean now. I called Leo while I was on my way here. He just went out of town to take care of a case this morning. I think Leo will be back early tomorrow morning. When he comes back, I'll ask him to help," he said.
After saying that, he turned to look at Herri and the other two men.
"Is there any enemy targeting Mellisa lately?" Andrew asked firmly.
Mellisa's whereabouts were always uncertain because she frequently changed locations. If not for someone deliberately targeting her, it would be very difficult to catch Mellisa.
Herri was horrified when he saw Andrew's sharp gaze. He immediately replied, "No, no! We are usually just professional debt collectors, how can we have enemies. Besides, after the last incident, we didn't do it anymore,"
Rion and Roy also nodded in agreement. Even though they had stopped being debt collectors, their captain was always mysterious. They didn't know much about Mellisa other than the fact that she had lived a hard life.
Lilia's face looked paler as time went by. She was worried about Mellisa's situation, but without a clear direction, they were like looking for needles in a haystack.
Andrew noticed Lilia's pale face and hurriedly calmed her down. "Lilia, you don't need to worry too much. I will use my family connections to help find Mellisa. Leonard will also be back soon, so Mellisa will definitely come back to you soon!" Andrew tried to cheer her up.
Clifford, Herri, Rion, and Roy immediately nodded their heads to support Andrew's words. They all didn't want Lilia to fall ill because of worrying about Mellisa.
"Alright," Lilia forced a smile. "I believe in Brother Andrew,"
*****
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. However, there was still no news about Mellisa.
Lilia was sitting in her bedroom in the apartment. At five o'clock this afternoon, the birthday party would begin.
Lilia stared at the reflection of her face in the makeup mirror. Her expression looked grim and tired, as if she hadn't slept for several days. Even if she put makeup on her face, she couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes.
During these two days, she thought there would be a miracle and Mellisa would be able to return to her safely. But no matter how long Lilia waited, Mellisa's whereabouts were still unknown.
Andrew was already using the Austin Family's information network to find Mellisa. He also registered the woman as a missing person at the police station, but he hadn't heard any news about Mellisa.
The alley where Mellisa disappeared was far from the crowd and there were no eyewitnesses at all. Apart from the cell phone, there were no other clues to be found. Even the police had a hard time tracking down someone with that few clues.
Another thing that made Lilia even more depressed was the fact that Jean hadn't arrived in Jakarta yet. Two days ago, Lilia firmly asked Clifford not to reveal the news of Mellisa's disappearance to Jean. She didn't want to disturb the man, who was still busy dealing with the problem of Chris' attack in Surabaya.
What's more, Clifford was already using the Widjaya Family's technology, but still failed to find a clue. Lilia could only guess that Mellisa's disappearance was planned.
As for Leonard, the police inspector never showed up from start to finish. Andrew and Lilia had given up trying to contact the man.
*****
At around four in the afternoon, Lilia got on the bus to the Irwan Family house. Jean hadn't arrived yet, while Lilia turned down Clifford's offer to escort her. She told Clifford to stay in the apartment and search for Mellisa with such force that the man could not protest.
The Irwan family house was located in the center of Jakarta. Although the house had a strong ancient look, it also expressed an antique elegance. The entrance to the rectangular courtyard was wide open in all directions, and the carvings on the gate were magnificent.
Lilia arrived at the mansion around half past five. She was wearing a knee-length dress which was plain black with a pattern of roses embroidered along the length of the dress. The motif was sewn with red thread and looked striking. The simple dress accentuated Lilia's natural beauty.
Even though she was very well dressed, her enthusiasm was lost because Mellisa was not there. This dress was an outfit she ordered for a long time and should be worn with her partner's dress. The couple's dress was plain red with a black rose motif specially prepared for Mellisa.
Lilia took a deep breath and patted her cheeks. Even though Mellisa wasn't there, she still had to carry out their plan. She would help Mellisa regain her position in the Irwan Family!
The model reorganized her thoughts before heading to the front door of the house. She handed the invitation card to the maid outside the door, then she was ushered into the garden by a woman in charge of welcoming guests.
Strict security measures were applied around the yard tonight. If anyone walked a few steps near the wall, they could see a line of bodyguards. They were all dressed in black suits and stood with wary gazes.
Lilia walked around a garden that was much more majestic and beautiful than any other garden she had ever seen. Yet she simply couldn't appreciate the sight she was enjoying alone.
Jean had told her to come to the Irwan Family's house first. Maybe the man got delayed by some business, but Lilia didn't ask him about it. She only believed that Jean would not break his promise.
The front yard of the house was an open terrace filled with lanterns, creating a warm and peaceful atmosphere.
Lilia carried a gift box in her hand. The box contained a set of ink that painters used to use. Since Simon Irwan was a painter, she deliberately bought a gift that the elderly man could use. Lilia bought it on the day Mellisa disappeared, right after she met her uncle.
During the past two days, there was one question that had always haunted Lilia. If she didn't part with Mellisa that day, would her sister still disappear?
After an incident happened, one would always question what would have happened if they had taken a different decision.. But no one could predict the future, and they could never predict the changes that would occur.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om