Chapter 442
Aria’s heart skipped a beat. She sprang to her feet and immediately dialed Valerie’s number.
The call was promptly answered. Valerie asked, “Miss Saxon, what’s the matter?”
Grabbing her car keys, Aria headed out and explained, “Ms. Gibbs, Lily said her deskmate Kayle wanted to meet her, but she’s been unreachable since she left, Could you please contact Kayle for me right away?”
With the SATS the next day, Lily going missing was serious trouble.
Valerie tensed up. “I’ll contact her right away!”
‘At a time like this, a girl like Kayle wouldn’t bother Lily,‘ Valerie thought.
The call confirmed her worst fears.
Kayle’s mother told Valerie that Kayle had been home all day and hadn’t left the house.
Valerie tried to steady her nerves. “Mrs. Yamn, could you please put Kayle on the phone? I need to confirm something with her.”
Kayle’s mom replied, “Of course, Ms. Gibbs.”
Once she had confirmed everything, Valerie felt like her world was collapsing. She hastily got changed and, in a panic, called Aria to report the situation.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Gibbs,” Aria said firmly. “I’ll find Lily.”
Other than this, Lily had never lied to Aria before. Trusting her completely, Aria didn’t bother to check with Valerie whether Lily’s story about her deskmate wanting to meet her was true.
Aria went upstairs and pressed the doorbell. After waiting for what felt like ages with no response, her suspicions only deepened.
Aria quickly pulled up Orlando’s contact and called, but he didn’t pick up.
Aria checked Lily’s location tracker–the signal was fixed at a study lounge.
But there was no guarantee Lily was still there.
As the elevator doors opened, Aria was just about to call Owen.
“Madelyn,” Owen called out.
A familiar voice called out as Aria hurried over. “Owen, Lily went to meet a classmate, and now she’s unreachable. Her location tracker hasn’t moved. I need you to check the scene while I go find Orlando.”
Aria thought, ‘If Lily can’t be reached, it must have something to do with Rachel.’
“Got it,” Owen responded immediately.
Aria and Owen split up without hesitation, each heading off on their own mission.
As Aria was approaching the Cole Group, Owen called. “Lily’s phone was found switched off at the scene, but she’s gone. Security footage shows she left with that girl Rachel–the one who practices hypnosis.”
Owen’s organization had experts in hypnosis, which was how he recognized the telltale signs that Lily was under its influence when she left.
“Don’t worry, Aria,” Owen reassured her. “My team is pulling the security footage right now.”
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Chapter 442
Aria stopped the car. “Okay,” she said tersely.
After hanging up the phone, Aria marched straight toward the Cole Group.
The receptionist’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw her and blurted out, “Ms. Saxon?”
Aria got straight to the point. “I need to see Orlando. It’s an emergency!”
Seeing how anxious Aria was, the receptionist skipped the usual protocol and immediately led the way. “Right this way, Ms. Saxon,” she said.
“Ms… Ms. Saxon, Mr. Gallagher is currently meeting with some very important clients. We really shouldn’t interrupt. Perhaps you could wait? I’ll inform you the moment he’s available.”
The young receptionist regarded her former boss with both awe and fear. ‘If I interrupt Mr. Gallagher’s meeting, I’ll definitely lose my job, she thought.
Aria said bluntly, “Don’t bother coming with me. Just tell them I barged
lin.”
Aria pressed the elevator button, and the receptionist hastily stepped aside.
In the conference room, Orlando, representing the Cole Group, was hosting the delegation from Masmubia Ivy Hospital to discuss collaboration on medical chip technology.
Orlando had invited Culver, a former employee of Masmubia Ivy Hospital, to act as a go–between and help broker this partnership.
The Cole Group had begun preliminary domestic collaboration on its medical chips, with its partner being Heffner Hospital, where Liam worked.
Liam and Diego were also present at the meeting.
Culver sat at the head of the table with an air of superiority. “The Cole Group’s medical chip technology has reached maturity. A partnership with Masmubia Ivy Hospital would be mutually beneficial.”
The director of Masmubia Ivy Hospital exchanged a glance with Culver and smiled. “With Mr. Webster personally vouching for us, we have every confidence that the Cole Group can execute this project to perfection.
“To be frank, Masmubia’s medical technology is already quite advanced. In some respects, collaborating with Cole Group on medical chips seems rather
redundant.”
“Honestly, what truly interests us are fields unique to Huthailia–areas not commonly found in other countries,” he said.
A
