Patrick asked Trace over once again, his voice tinged with a hint of doubt. “You’re absolutely certain she wasn’t caught leaving on the surveillance footage?”
Trace replied, “Mr. Hayden, we’ve reviewed the surveillance multiple times, but there’s no sign of her leaving.”
Patrick couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at Trace’s words. “Do you honestly think she can vanish into thin air and slip away without anyone noticing?”
Trace dared not utter a word.
However, he had indeed watched the surveillance footage repeatedly, and Aimee was nowhere to be found.
He couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to elude the surveillance.
A brief silence fell upon Patrick before a sudden realization struck him. He turned to Trace and said, “Fetch me the surveillance video. I want to take a look.”
“Yes, Mr. Hayden,” Trace promptly retrieved the footage and projected it onto the wall.
Patrick studied the monitor for a moment, and to his surprise, he couldn’t find anything amiss for the first time.
He asked Trace to play it again, and this time, he quickly noticed something off.
“Freeze the frame at one forty-seven,” Patrick instructed.
Trace glanced at Patrick with suspicion, but upon seeing his pensive expression, he complied with the request.
The video paused, and Patrick stared at the screen for a while before chuckling softly.
“She’s quite impressive,” Patrick remarked.
Trace was bewildered, unable to grasp Patrick’s intended meaning.
Patrick guided Trace through a series of computer operations, and soon, the surveillance footage was restored to its original state.
At 1:35, Aimee emerged from her room, but instead of leaving straightaway, she glanced up at the surveillance camera.
Then, she pulled out her cell phone and manipulated it for a while, and soon enough, she vanished from the monitoring system.
At 1:47, the surveillance returned to normal.
Patrick instructed Trace to perform a few more actions, and another video played.
This was what the camera should have captured after Aimee tampered with the surveillance.
It showed Aimee stepping out of her room, appearing casual and self-deceiving. She went to the kitchen to heat a glass of milk. After drinking it, she received a phone call. Once she washed the glass, she headed to the entrance of Hayden’s Mansion and walked out.
The person on the other end of the call was likely a taxi driver she had summoned.
From the moment Aimee left her room until she got into the car, twelve minutes had elapsed.
She had expertly manipulated the surveillance screen to shield herself.
What surprised Patrick the most was Aimee’s remarkable skill set.
Even Trace was not capable of such feats.
Patrick found it intriguing, completely taken aback by this woman. How many hidden talents did she possess? Her ability to continuously astonish him left him dumbfounded.
Trace, too, was astounded by what he witnessed, rendered speechless.
If he hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, he would never have believed that Aimee possessed such capabilities.
Casting a furtive glance at Patrick, Trace anticipated his anger, but to his surprise, Patrick wore an expression of utmost fascination.
It was the first time in many years that Trace had seen such a look on Patrick’s face.
Overwhelmed by astonishment, Trace couldn’t shake the feeling that something was subtly changing.
Perhaps Patrick’s interest in Aimee meant something more.
But Trace didn’t dare to continue speculating. He silently made a decision to seize any opportunity to benefit from Aimee’s presence, hoping it would secure his future.
Lost in his own thoughts, Trace failed to notice that Patrick had already adjusted his expression and was giving him a peculiar look.
“What? What are you thinking about?” Patrick suddenly asked.
Startled, Trace shook his head quickly and replied, “Nothing, I wasn’t thinking about anything else.”
“Really?” Patrick clearly didn’t believe him, but he didn’t press the matter further. He simply asked Trace to investigate Aimee’s whereabouts.
Trace immediately set off to fulfill the task, but soon returned with a downcast expression.
“I’m truly sorry, Mr. Hayden. I couldn’t find any information,” Trace said dejectedly.
Patrick was on the verge of laughing in anger at Trace’s incompetence.
How could his subordinate be so foolish as to fail at such a simple task?
If Patrick hadn’t been physically incapacitated, he might have considered giving Trace a good thrashing.
“What use are you to me? You can’t accomplish anything,” Patrick berated him.
Tears welled up in Trace’s eyes as he realized that he might not be compatible with Aimee, who seemed to have been sent here to thwart him.
In the past, he had been the most capable person around Patrick.
However, ever since Aimee appeared, he had come to the painful realization that he was utterly useless.
Every attempt to investigate Aimee ended in failure.
Trace wanted to convince himself that it was all just a series of coincidences.
But there were so many coincidences that he couldn’t help but think his days were numbered.
Patrick no longer relied on Trace. He dismissed him and set the matter aside for the time being.
Aimee remained enigmatic, with a multitude of secrets hidden within her.
This piqued Patrick’s interest greatly.
He lightly twitched the corner of his mouth, eager to see how long she could keep her secrets.
Meanwhile, Aimee had actually gone to the airport.
Matilda, fearing Aimee might be in a rush, diverted the plane’s route, convinced the captain to disembark, and personally delivered the item to Aimee. Matilda then piloted the plane back to Lasnain.
Aimee only learned of this when the captain was about to land.
At the time, she had been preparing to administer the medication to Patrick later the evening. Upon receiving the news, she disregarded her initial plans and immediately left Hayden’s Mansion.
After arriving at the airport, Aimee purchased a ticket, entered the waiting area, met with the captain, and retrieved the item from his hands.
The captain didn’t fly directly to Innisrial, but made a stopover, ensuring that even if his location was discovered, Aimee would remain hidden.
Deliberately purchasing a ticket to Canport, Aimee flew there in just 40 minutes, spent two hours in Canport, bought a return ticket to Innisrial, and made her way back.