Emily frowned, her eyes landing on a man in white standing beside her bed. He wore a uniform with an identification badge.
“Excuse me, Miss Emily,” the man’s voice was soft. “I’m here to change your IV.”
Emily nodded weakly, her thoughts drifting to Daniel, who was not in the room. The man efficiently replaced the IV drip. However, as the new fluid flowed, Emily’s head spun and her vision blurred. The world around her tilted.
“Miss Emily, are you alright?” the man asked, his face etched with concern.
Emily tried to speak, but only a faint sound escaped her lips. She struggled to open her eyes, but everything was dark. Her body felt heavy, and her consciousness slowly faded.
The man in white smiled, his eyes gleaming as he watched Emily drift into a deep sleep.
***
Meanwhile, Daniel sat upright at the conference table, facing a representative from a technology company he had invested in.
“Mr. Andrew, I’m very interested in the latest AI platform you’re developing,” Daniel said, his voice calm yet firm. “However, the AI market is highly competitive. How will you ensure that your AI platform can compete with other existing AI platforms?”
Mr. Andrew explained enthusiastically, “Our AI platform has several advantages. First, it’s designed to be user-friendly and easily integrated with various systems. Second, it utilizes more advanced algorithms, allowing us to provide more accurate analysis and recommendations. In internal testing, our platform achieved a 95% accuracy rate, surpassing the average 88% accuracy of competitor AI platforms. Third, our platform has a high learning capacity, enabling it to continuously evolve and improve its accuracy over time. We’ve seen a 5% increase in accuracy over the past six months.”
“I want to understand more about how you’ll measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaign and how you’ll gauge the success of this AI platform.”
“Certainly, Mr. Daniel. We have data and analysis that demonstrate the superiority of our AI platform. We’d be happy to share that data with you.”
Daniel nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Mr. Andrew. “I’ll carefully review this data and analysis,” he replied.
After the meeting concluded, Daniel left the room, accompanied by Mr. Andrew, who escorted him out.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Andrew,” Daniel said.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Daniel.”
As they walked towards the door, Richard approached, his face slightly worried. “Excuse me, Mr. Daniel,” he whispered. “Your phone has been ringing continuously. It seems Mr. Sean wants to discuss something.”
“Alright, I’ll call him back,” Daniel said. “Did you inform one of the housekeepers to go to the hospital?”
“I did, sir,” Richard answered.
“Good, thank you,” Daniel replied.
Daniel immediately took his phone and dialed Sean’s number. The phone connected, and a voice came through.
“Hello, what’s up?” Daniel asked.
“Where are you?” Sean asked, his voice urgent and laced with worry. “We need to talk. Now.”
Daniel frowned, feeling a sense of unease. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I need to see you. We’ll discuss it later. Where are you? I’ll pick you up,” Sean said, his voice growing more insistent.
“Just tell me where to meet. I’ll come,” Daniel replied.
“No need. I’ll pick you up.”
“Alright, then. I’ll give you my location now,” Daniel answered before hanging up.
Daniel felt a creeping unease after ending the call with Sean. For some reason, something about Sean’s tone felt off. It was as if he was hiding something. Richard, noticing Daniel’s unease, immediately asked, “What’s wrong, sir?”
“Nothing. I just felt something strange about Sean’s tone. Maybe it’s just me,” Daniel replied, trying to reassure himself.
A car screeched to a halt in front of the building, breaking the silence. Sean finally arrived, his face tense. His hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white from the pressure. Moments earlier, a threatening text message had appeared on his phone. It stated that his mother would be in danger if he didn’t bring Daniel to the designated location immediately.
“Damn it! I have no other choice,” Sean muttered, his voice trembling with anger. He dialed Daniel’s number with shaking hands, his eyes fixed intently ahead.
“I’m outside,” Sean said.
“Alright,” Daniel replied, his voice calm.
Daniel finally left the building and got into Sean’s car. The air inside the vehicle was heavy and charged.
“Why did you suddenly call me, Sean?”
However, Sean only replied briefly, “We’ll talk about it when we get there.”
Daniel furrowed his brow, his discomfort growing. Something was wrong with Sean. His tone, his expression, everything felt different, as if he was concealing something.
Sean had one thought in mind: freeing his mother. He had to take Daniel to the designated location, no matter the cost.
After a long drive, they finally arrived in front of an abandoned warehouse.
“Why did you bring me here?” Daniel asked, his voice tinged with worry, though he still tried to remain calm.
“I’m sorry, Daniel. I did this because I had no other choice,” Sean replied, his voice slightly strained.
As they arrived, a group of men dressed in black immediately surrounded their car. They looked menacing and threatening, with weapons likely concealed beneath their jackets.
“Get out of the car!” one of the men shouted in a gruff voice.
***
Meanwhile, Maria, frantic, finally arrived at the hospital and walked quickly towards Emily’s room.
“Mrs. Emily?” Maria called out. She looked around the room, but there was no sign of Emily. The bed was empty, the sheets neatly folded, leaving only a faint scent of medicine behind.
Maria immediately opened the bathroom door to look for Emily, but the room was also empty. Her unease grew. She knew that Emily was recovering and shouldn’t have been able to leave the hospital.
Maria stepped out of the room and quickly found a nurse who was passing by in the corridor.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for the nurse responsible for the patient in room 302. I can’t find the patient in her room.”
The nurse frowned and followed Maria into the room. The nurse was also surprised to see that Emily was gone. “She should be here,” she said.
“Did anyone see her leave?” Maria asked.
“No one saw her leave,” the nurse answered.
Maria, frantic, quickly reached for her phone. Her fingers trembled as she pressed Daniel’s number repeatedly, but her efforts were futile, as Daniel didn’t answer. Worry and fear began to gnaw at her. She didn’t know what to do.
Finally, Maria pressed Richard’s number, Daniel’s personal assistant.
“Hello, what’s up?” Richard’s voice came through the phone.
“Mr. Richard,” Maria’s voice trembled, “There’s a problem. Mrs Emily… she’s not in her room.”
“What?!” Richard gasped, his voice rising in surprise. “You mean she disappeared?”
“Yes, Mr. Richard. I’ve searched everywhere, but she’s not here. I also tried calling Mr. Daniel, but he didn’t answer,” Maria explained, her voice growing more panicked.
“Alright, I’ll be right there,” Richard replied, his voice serious. He knew that Daniel cared deeply for Emily and would be furious if he found out she had disappeared. But then a thought suddenly crossed his mind, recalling Daniel’s words before he met Sean.
“Could it be…?”