Chapter 3: Chapter 3 New identity
Kathe pulled out a chair and sat down. She kept glancing at the stairs but didn’t touch her food.
"Why aren’t you eating, Ma’am?" the old lady asked with a smile.
"It’s nothing. I’ll eat."
She pulled the plate closer to herself, but her eyes remained fixed on the stairs.
"He’s not around," the old lady informed her with a knowing smile.
"Huh? Who isn’t around?"
"Boss. He’s already left for work."
"Does he leave for work that early?"
"Yes, he does," the old butler replied with a sad nod.
"Then who is supposed to eat all this food?" Kathe asked as she looked at the dishes on the table.
"They’re all for you, Ma’am," the old lady replied with a smile. "And don’t ask, Boss hardly eats at home, especially breakfast."
"Please eat before the food gets cold," the old butler added.
After chatting with Kathe for a while, the two butlers left, leaving her alone at the dining table.
When she finished eating, Kathe explored more of the mansion. She missed her home deeply, especially her mother, and silently prayed that nothing would happen to her.
Douglas Mansion
Things were not going as Douglas had expected.
"I’ll give you two weeks to bring your daughter to me, or our deal is off," Mr. Neel said angrily.
"Please, give me more time. I’m still trying to gather information about her whereabouts."
Douglas was doing everything he could to calm Neel down.
A proud businessman who had never imagined himself begging anyone was now forced to do exactly that.
"I can’t believe a little girl could disappear without leaving a single trace, and you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it. You know how much I needed her for my research, Douglas!"
"Believe me, Neel, I have nothing to do with this. I’m just as shocked as you are that she disappeared without a trace. Please, give me more time. I promise I’ll find her and bring her back to you."
"Fine, I’ll give you more time. But if she isn’t brought back to me, I promise to destroy everything you’ve worked for."
Mr. Neel stood up and stormed out, still consumed by anger.
Meanwhile, Kathe’s mother, Sarah, had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Relief washed over her when she realized her daughter hadn’t been found. She was glad Kathe had managed to escape without leaving a trace.
Just as she was lost in thought, the sound of shattering glass came from the meeting room.
Breathing heavily, she hurried inside to see what had happened.
"Honey, you’re bleeding! Let go of the broken glass. You’re hurting yourself."
She tried to pull the shards from his hand, but instead, Douglas shoved her away.
"This is exactly what I’ll do to that daughter of yours when she comes back from wherever she’s hiding."
"Honey, she’s just a child. She was scared, that’s why she ran away."
Those words only fueled Douglas’s anger.
He grabbed Sarah’s wrist roughly, forcing the sharp glass shards deeper into her skin.
"Just pray I find her in time. And if I find the person behind her escape, I won’t spare them."
He stared deeply into his wife’s teary eyes before adding,
"And if it turns out to be you... I won’t spare you either."
He shoved her against the wall before walking away.
Sarah gently rubbed her injured wrist. Instead of crying, however, a faint smirk appeared on her face the moment Douglas left.
She slowly lifted her bleeding hand to her mouth, licked the blood from her palm, and smiled to herself.
Kathe spent almost the entire day wandering around the mansion.
In the afternoon, she helped the old lady tend to the garden by planting some beautiful flowers. From time to time, she looked around, but there was still no sign of Mr. Unknown.
Since she had nothing else to do that evening, she joined the old lady in preparing dinner.
"Does he always come home this late?" Kathe asked.
The old lady paused for a moment before nodding.
"Yes. Sometimes, he doesn’t return home at all."
"If I may ask, what kind of work does he do?" Kathe asked curiously.
The old lady glanced at her briefly before replying,
"Some questions aren’t meant to be asked. But if you really want to know, you can ask him yourself."
"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked."
Kathe lowered her head as she continued preparing the food.
The old lady smiled gently.
"It’s alright."
They spent the rest of the evening chatting about different things. Even during dinner, Kathe ate alone because Mr. Unknown had still not returned.
She decided to wait for him.
Late that night, he finally came home, looking exhausted. The moment he entered the living room, he was surprised to find Kathe waiting for him.
"Are you always awake this late?" he asked as soon as he saw her.
"No, I’m not. But it seems I’m becoming one because of you," she replied.
"Don’t wait for me next time. I hate people waiting for me."
He tossed a file onto the table in front of her.
"Then try coming home early." She picked up the file. "What’s this?"
"Those are your new identity documents—your passport, driver’s license, and every other document you’ll need."
She opened the file and carefully looked through its contents.
It was all true.
"You even changed my name... from Kathe Douglas Stone to Kathe Mike."
"Hmm. You need a new identity."
He turned to leave before stopping.
"Get ready. In two days, we’ll be traveling to Washington to spend time with my family. Remember our agreement. We have to act like a real couple. Understood?"
"Mmm... I understand. But at least tell me your name. I’m tired of calling you Mr. Unknown."
He couldn’t help but find her nickname for him amusing.
"You don’t need to know my name."
"But why?" she pouted adorably.
"You don’t need to pout. It makes you look ugly, not pretty," he teased.
"Oh? So you think I’m pretty?" she teased back with a smile.
"You can call me Jark."
He was about to head upstairs when his phone vibrated.
A message appeared on the screen, causing him to stop in his tracks.
Just as he was about to continue walking, another message popped up.
’We found the kidnapping victim. Not only that, we managed to get half of the mysterious boss’s face. She looks like...’
Before he could finish reading it, the message suddenly disappeared as though it had never existed.
Jark’s expression darkened.
At that moment, he knew something was wrong.
It would take an exceptionally skilled hacker to erase a message completely as if it had never been sent.
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