Belle nervously opened the door to the villa. She was quietly praying that when she got home, Tristan would be there waiting for her.
When she got in, it was only Frederick and John talking in the living room. Still hopeful, she quickened her pace and sat next to the old man.
“Is Tristan home? What about Jacob?”
The old De Clarion exchanged looks with the butler. “They’re not here, what happened?” John asked, worried and confused.
Belle started narrating what happened. Fiddling with her fingers, she couldn’t stop worrying although John had already told her that he was coming with her to look for them.
Meanwhile, outside the villa gifted to Vernice, Esme’s car was parked in a dark spot. Waiting for who knows who, she took out her phone and started dialing.
“Where are you?”
“We’re on our way. We got the girl.”
A smile broke on Esme’s face, she was already feeling triumphant.
Minutes later, a car parked next to Esme’s car. “Go right in. Tristan’s already there. CCTVs are everywhere in that villa so I can’t go with you. You know what to do, go!”
The man nodded and drove off while Esme remained in her car, making a call, again. After a few rings, “Joyce, go to the small De Clarion villa. You have to take care of Tristan, he’s so drunk and John’s not with him. I asked my driver to take him there because I can’t go to the main villa,” then she ended the call.
She didn’t give Joyce any chance to ask anything as it might take time and she was worried that the effect of the pills might wear off. They have to complete their plan no matter what.
Esme leaned back, she couldn’t help but smile. Finally, she can already get rid of the huge lump in her throat.
Once Belle’s gone, everything will be theirs. Yes, everything including Tristan. That is their main goal and having both De Clarion and Williams in their names, they’ll be untouchable.
Inside the car, she waited for her people to come out. It took them a while but when they did, they again passed by her car to let her know what she asked was done.
Before they left, Esme handed Irwin a thick envelope. The man peeked into the envelope and smiled widely. “If you need anything, you know where to reach me,” then they drove off.
The only person she was waiting for was Joyce. It’s been close to half an hour since she called and any time now, she’ll show up.
After five more minutes, a car stopped right outside the gate of the villa. Joyce came out and kicked the gate open. She had something in her hand but Esme wasn’t able to figure out what exactly it was.
When she’s certain that they’re close to achieving their goal, she decides to turn the car around and go home. On her way, she couldn’t stop smiling and was even playing music and humming along.
When she reached the Williams residence, she went straight to the mini bar and poured herself a glass of wine. She sat on the couch, pulled her legs up, and leaned on the armchair.
Busy daydreaming about her and her daughter’s future, she didn’t even notice that Lawrence came out of their room. She only realized he was watching her after he cleared his throat.
“Where’s your daughter at this hour?”
Esme looked at the grandfather’s clock sitting on the wall, right across from the couch. It was already past two in the morning.
She faced Lawrence with deep creases on her forehead. “She’s not home yet?”
His husband smirked, “Will I be asking you if she’s already here?” he snapped.
“But…” then she didn’t know what else to say. She fumbled while looking in her bag to find her phone. She checked her messages to make sure she texted Vernice and she did. The time was 12:26. ‘Where could she be?’ she thought to herself.
Since Lawrence didn’t get an answer from her, the man decided to go back to their room. Esme was left in the living room alone.
She leaned back and tried retracing what happened earlier. ‘I paid the waiter to add sleeping pills to Tristan and Jacob’s drinks. As soon as they dozed off, Irwin, with his men, picked them up and took them to the small villa. Then I rejoined Vernice and Belle while waiting for Irwin’s text. When I received it, I pinched Vernice to give her the signal. Then she said she wanted to go home, so I ordered them to finish their drinks. Midway, I left to give Irwin the signal. What happened then? Where did Vernice go to?’
No matter how she tried, she couldn’t think of any place where Vernice would be. Of course, there’s no way she’d go back to Lys. She’s over with Hans.
Esme tried dialing her daughter’s number. It was ringing but no one was answering it. She left several voice messages but after two hours, there was still no response. It’s already past four in the morning and she’s about to doze off.
‘She’s probably too drunk so she stayed in a hotel,’ she muttered before pushing herself up from the couch and heading to the bedroom. She didn’t bother washing up or changing her clothes. She just lay next to her husband.
The next morning, Lawrence woke up early. He felt uneasy as he didn’t see Vernice before he went to sleep.
After washing up, she went straight to her daughter’s room only to find out that the bed was untouched. There was no trace that anyone slept there, which means Vernice didn’t go home.
Lawrence was worried sick but he didn’t have any idea where to start looking for her. He was lost in thought until the maid called him out.
“Breakfast is prepared sir,” she informed her.
“Take it to the living room. I’m watching the morning news,” he instructed, and the maid quickly followed.
Before heading to the living room, he went inside the bedroom to wake Esme up but she wouldn’t budge. Afraid to miss anything important from the news, he decided to leave her to her slumber.
He went straight to the living room, sat on the couch, and turned the TV on. Good thing the morning news is just about to start. He surely won’t miss anything.