CHAPTER 0115
JULIAN’S POV
As Olivia and I walked down the hallway, heading upstairs to regroup, the door to my surveillance room suddenly creaked open. One of my team members, a lean guy with sharp eyes and a headset wrapped tightly around his ears, stepped out hurriedly.
“Sir, we got something,” he announced, his voice carrying a note of urgency.
I paused mid–step and turned toward him. Olivia gave me a questioning glance, her brows lifting slightly, mirroring the confusion I felt.
“On what?” I asked, not sure what new twist was about to hit us now.
“Emma Jackson,” he said.
Those two words froze me in place. Just moments ago, I’d been thinking about her, wondering how long it would take to finally track her down, to get the last piece of the puzzle. And now, just like that, we have something?
Talk about timing.
Olivia’s eyes widened as she stepped forward. “Wait- Has she been found?” she asked quickly, barely able to hide the anticipation in her voice.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a curt nod.
That was music to my ears. Relief washed over me like a wave. It had taken longer than I liked, but deep down, I’d known my team would pull through. They always did.
Olivia smiled to herself, then muttered, “I guess I’d better start packing,” more to herself than to me, her mind already racing ahead to what came next.
Then she turned to me, gently holding onto my left elbow. “Mom should be waiting for me upstairs. I’ll leave you to do your thing,” she said with a soft smile.
I watched her walk upstairs, and honestly, a part of me had expected her to join in the surveillance room and take over like she had earlier. But this time, she trusted me to handle it. I gave her a nod and turned toward the room.
I stepped into the surveillance room, screens lit up the dim space as usual, all displaying live feeds and tracked movement.
The lead investigator waved me over. “This way, sir,” he said, already back at his desk and typing rapidly.
I leaned over his shoulder, watching as he navigated through the video frames and GPS data. Within seconds, he clicked on an image that zoomed into a specific location.
“Here she is,” he said, pointing at a grainy but clear enough image. “She was last
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spotted entering a Catholic church just a few minutes ago.”
I stared at the screen, eyes narrowing as I studied her figure. Facial rec had already confirmed that it was her from the previous photos we got of her T Even from a distance, that posture and walk were too familiar to miss.
“After all the damage she caused, almost ruined someone’s life… now she thinks going to church will wipe it all away?” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head.
No amount of prayer was going to erase what she had done to Olivia.
Satisfied that it was her, I pulled out my phone from my pocket and dialed Ron’s number. Time to move in.
He picked up after one ring.
“Hey, we found the last person,” I said without delay.
“Took you long enough,” Ron replied, half–joking. “I was starting to think you were gonna terminate our contract.”
“How soon can you and the boys get here?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You know that’s never a problem. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Good. I’ll be waiting,” I said before ending the call.
I turned my attention back to the screen.
Just like he said, Ron arrived a few minutes later, right on time as always. I headed upstairs to bring them in, but apparently, I wasn’t fast enough. My mom had already beaten me to the door.
“Mijo, who are these strange men?” she asked, narrowing her eyes with suspicion as she stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. She stared at them like she was trying to
size them up.
Ron, cool and confident as ever, took a polite step forward and offered a slight nod. “It‘ s nice to meet you, Mrs. Blake. My name is Ron, and this is my crew. We’re working for your son,” he said with that familiar smoothness in his voice.
“Yeah, they’re with me,” I added quickly, hoping to avoid a full–on interrogation.
But with my mom, that was always wishful thinking. I could already see the questions lining up in her head, and sure enough, she fired off the next one without missing a beat.
“What kind of work are men like this doing for you?” she asked, her voice laced with
concern.
Jeez. Why must she always ask questions at the worst times?
Before I could come up with a reasonable excuse, Olivia entered the living room. She must’ve heard Mom’s voice from upstairs and come down to see what all the fuss was
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about. As soon as Ron laid eyes on her, his entire expression changed. The
professional demeanor disappeared, and the flirt surfaced.
He walked toward her confidently, flashing his signature grin. “Hello, beautiful. My name is…”
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” I cut in sharply, stepping between them. “She is a no- go area, playboy. Not today, not ever.”
Ron chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, message received,” he said, still stealing another glance in Olivia’s direction.
I jerked my head toward the hallway, motioning for the rest of the team to follow me.” Let’s move.”
“Olivia, why don’t you take Mom back upstairs? I’ll handle things from here,” I said, hoping Olivia would distract her long enough to prevent more awkward questions–or -worse, one of Mom’s infamous dramatic outbursts.
Olivia gave me a small nod, then gently guided my mom away. “Come on. There’s still a lot I haven’t told you,” she said, her voice calm and sweet. Olivia had that effect–she could diffuse a bomb with just her tone.
Once they were out of sight, Ron leaned in closer as we walked down the hall. “You didn’t tell me you had a beautiful sister,” he said with a grin.
I raised an eyebrow. “How did you know she was my sister?”
“Come on,” he scoffed. “We both know you can’t get a girl that beautiful. Plus, the way you stopped me, I saw it in your eyes, like a brotherly guardian angel.”
I rolled my eyes, even though I knew he was half–right. “For your information, I can get someone as beautiful as Olivia. I just… don’t have the time for that right now,” I said, mostly to defend myself, but maybe also to convince myself, too.
We reached the guest room where they had once stayed. I pushed the door open and motioned for everyone to enter. One by one, Ron and his crew filed in, taking their Places. It was time for our usual briefing before heading out. Emma Jackson’s time was running out, and we were finally closing in on the final piece of the puzzle.
CHAPTER 0116
CHAPTER 0116
