Kapitel 11: Daisy is gone

Benjamin, Ryle's driver, quietly followed him, a layer of cold sweat covering his forehead.

''Did you locate him?" Ryle turned to the four top-notch members of the IT department.

''Y-Yes, Boss. Dexter's last accessed location seems to be Beijing only, close to this place. But we were only able to break into his defense wall for a split second. There was nothing else we could pinpoint in that short amount of time.''

''Then, when will you be able to pinpoint anything?" Ryle asked casually as his fingers stroked the flower vase.

Benjamin shivered. He had been working for Ryle for long enough to understand that the calmer and the more playful he was, the more danger lurked beneath his persona.

It has been almost 16 months since Dexter disappeared from Harper Societies. One would think that Ryle would have gotten over it and moved on. But the truth was quite the contrary.

Till this point, a part of the IT team was assigned with the duty of tracking Dexter down. And that told Benjamin that Ryle still held the grudge. Ryle would stop at nothing to make Dexter regret his actions.

The four men looked at each other before one of them answered hesitantly, ''We… are trying our best to track Dexter but… he is always fast and he doesn't leave tracks..''

''Oh?'' Ryle quirked a brow, seemingly amused.

Another guy from the team quickly spoke up, ''Boss, we will track Dexter down this time. No matter what.''

Ryle did not respond as he turned around. He walked towards the French window and glanced up at the gloomy sky.

...

"Why can't we see our daughter?" Mrs. Lu asked cheerfully as she hugged Alice as if the family conversation in the private room had never occurred where they discussed about using and cornering Daisy.

Alice smiled elegantly and adjusted her hair. She looked at the altar where Lu Sheng was standing.

''Her father has gone to escort her. She must be on her way,'' Alice scanned the grand wedding hall, her eyes scanning across every member of the Lu Family that was present there.

Eventually, she looked back at Mrs. Lu, ''I see that your other two sons are absent. Are they not pleased with the rushed arrangements?"

Mrs. Lu's face stiffened and she quickly looked at her husband who was standing there with an equally stuffy face. She then turned to Alice, ''There is nothing like that. It was indeed your idea to prepone the wedding but even if you did not say it, then our children would eventually have gotten married within six months. It is not a good thing to postpone such an auspicious reunion…''

Alice smiled, ''Why are your other sons not a part of this auspicious reunion then, Mrs. Lu?" she phrased her words exactly like the woman.

Mrs. Lu choked on air, ''Cough… Ah Lan, my elder son, has been a sickly child since he was young. If he was healthy then my second son would not be taking over most of the family responsibilities,'' with a regretful sigh, she continued speaking, "And Ah Zian has always been an ambitious child. He can never take his attention off business. Even now, during a time like his brother's wedding, he is out there in the US, working on some project.''

Mr. Lu remained quiet, his silence seemingly acknowledging his wife's words.

Alice scanned the couple's expressions but did not say anything else.

She checked the time on her watch and turned around, her eyes spotting Diana in the crowd.

Her younger daughter was donned in a golden-colored gown, sitting elegantly in a corner as she drank her wine with poise while being surrounded by the socialites.

When Alice looked her way, Diana happened to look up too.

Alice took out her phone and typed a text.

'Where is Daisy? What's taking her so long?'

Soon, there was a response from Diana.

'Don't worry, mom. I met her an hour ago. She was ready.'

Alice breathed a sigh of relief when she read the text.

She glanced at the groom who was standing on the altar, seemingly distracted.

'Ding'

Her phone buzzed again.

Alice looked at her phone, anticipating a text from Diana again but her face fell when her eyes landed on the content.

'$100 million for a secret that can hamper the Chen Family's standing forever in the aristocratic society. I believe you are smart enough to make the choice, Mrs. Chen?'

Alice was about to dismiss those words and put her phone aside but the first text was followed by a second text.

'But you don't have a lot of time to decide. I want the money wired to my account right now, without any delay. Or else, not just you, but the whole world will know what your daughter has been up to in the past year.'

Alice's fingers trembled.

Suddenly, a servant rushed towards Alice, panic apparent on the woman's face, breaking the peaceful ambiance of the wedding hall.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

The servant gawked at all the guests whose attentions were focused on her, ''Elder Miss is gone.''

Alice inhaled a sharp breath, ''What nonsense is this? What do you mean by Elder Miss is gone?"

Alice had just finished her words when there were sounds of approaching footsteps near the entrance. Just as per the customs, the servants opened the grand door and in the place where there should have been Daisy standing there with her father, it was just Helian Chen standing there alone.

Noises erupted in the wedding hall. The guests started murmuring and whispering to each other.

''It seems like… there is something wrong with the bride..''

''It's Daisy Chen you are talking about. Did you not know about her notoriety? She might be beautiful but does she seem like the kind of woman who is not troublesome?'' A second generation heir mumbled, clicking his tongue.

''Did you not notice how the wedding is already so delayed? She already took a lot of time but now that Master Chen is standing here, she is nowhere to be seen.''

"...What do you think is going to happen now? Did Daisy forget that the man she is supposed to marry is not an ordinary man, but the third son of the Lu Family? Where is Lu Sheng going to put his face now after being abandoned by Daisy on the altar?"

''Shhh…''

All these gossips entered Lu Sheng's ear who was standing at the altar, looking towards the entrance where Helian Chen entered from, all by himself. Helian Chen kept calling someone while his eyes scanned through the crowd.

Lu Sheng's face gradually turned dark but he remained standing there without much of an expression.

"What happened?" Alice approached Helian Chen with a frown on her face, ''You just had to get her here but you can't even do that right?"

Helian Chen's brows tugged together, ''Alice, do you intend to drop your calm facade right in front of all the guests that we have here?" his voice was laced with mockery.

Alice immediately composed herself, looking every bit of her elegant self from 10 minutes ago.

The change in her temperament made him pause for a bit, a hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes that was quickly masked.

''Dad, what happened?" Diana approached them.

Helian Chen looked at the crowd full of people who were waiting to enjoy the spectacle, ''Daisy is not there in her room. She has left.''