As Abigail pursed her lips, James’s eyes were red as he sat nearby, and he was not doing any better than Abigail.
He was a full-grown man, but he was almost falling apart too.
The two bodies that were found were just… horrible!
Bzzt—
His phone suddenly started to vibrate then, and he whipped it out to answer.
“Hello?” he rasped.
“James…”
The voice on the other end was very familiar.
“…Stan?!” James cried, springing to his feet when he realized that it was Stan!
When Abigail heard James say ‘Stan’, she rushed up to him, grabbing his arm. “Who was that?”
James gulped, putting an assuring hand on Abigail’s to calm her and get her to stay quiet before asking, “Stan? Is that really you?”
He almost could not believe his ears.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Stan replied from the other end.
James inhaled sharply. “Where are you right now?!”
“Franconia…”
“Hold on,” James was stumped for a moment. “You’re in Franconia?”
“Yeah,” Stan answered confidently, before adding urgently, “This is urgent. Where are you right now? I’ll come to you.”
“Where do you think?!” James actually snapped. “The plane you boarded with Mr. Althoff crashed in Dunesia, so we’re here searching the place!”
“Then hurry back right now,” Stan urged.
It only left James more confused. “What the hell is going on here?!”
“It’s complicated. We’ll talk when we meet,” Stan told him. “Just come back. Mr. Althoff isn’t there.”
“Well, where is he?!” James asked.
“Just come back for now—”
Stan did not manage to finish when static cracked, and the call was cut off as the cell signal went out.
James hung up and turned to Abigail and Zachary. “It’s Stan. Mr. Althoff just might be fine after all.”
“Really?” Abigail exclaimed excitedly.
James nodded. “Anyway, we need to go back to Franconia. He just said that Mr. Althoff isn’t here.”
Her hope kindled, Abigail was in turn spirited and she quickly said, “Alright, let’s go.”
However, she walked too fast, and her swollen ankle hurt so much she dropped to the floor.
Zachary hurried to her and put a hand on the swell, and she frowned from the pain of his touch.
“You bruised your bone,” Zachary said, leveling a stern look at her. “You’ll fall apart before you find him.”
Even so, Abigail stubbornly rose to her feet and said, “I’m fine. We have to go right now.”
She could not wait to see Diarmuid sooner, and she had no time to care about her leg.
Zachary was furious. “By the time you reach the car, your leg would either be disabled or you’d suffer a chronic condition. Here, I’ll carry you.”
He dropped to a crouch, offering her a piggyback.
Abigail waved him off—she should not burden him further, since he had not been sleeping too.
“I’ll just lean on you,” she said.
Zachary sighed and rose to his feet. “Why are you being such a stranger?”
Abigail simply pursed her lips and took hold of his arm, saying, “Let’s go.”
James stayed behind to liaise with the Dunesian and Zidonian embassy volunteers.
Once they confirmed that Stan and Diarmuid were not on the plane, they could call off the search.
Zachary and Abigail left first, and James would catch up.
However, Abigail did not want to put pressure on her sprained foot, since it hurt a lot if she did.
She bore with the pain and walked for a long while before they eventually reached their car.
James soon returned as well, and he sped the car once everyone got in.
“Make a stop if you see a pharmacy,” Zachary said along the way. “Abigail’s ankle needs medication.”
“Okay,” James replied.
“No, don’t listen to him.” Abigail promptly refused. “Stopping would just mess with our schedule. We need to hurry, and it’s the same if I get it treated when we reach Franconia.”
James was on Zachary’s side. “We might keep our heads if you’re fine. Do you think we can say the same if Mr. Althoff sees you hurt?”
“I’m a doctor,” Abigail told him. “I can tell whether I’m really hurt. I’ll be here to defend you if he scolds you.”
“You’re really stubborn.” Zachary snorted.
Abigail was unmoved. “Whatever you say.”
One way or another, she must see Diarmuid as soon as he can—she would only rest easy after ensuring that he was fine.
Soon, they returned to the heliport and boarded the helicopter to return to Franconia!
Along the way, Abigail felt tense—she was at once excited and hopeful.
She felt really charged even after days of running about without food or sleep.
Zachary passed her a piece of bread. “Eat. Don’t look half-dead when you meet Diarmuid again.”
“You’re the one who looks half-dead,” Abigail retorted even as she took it.
Still, Zachary was relaxed to know that Diarmuid might be fine. “I knew it. You’re trying to make yourself look pitiful so that Diarmuid would feel sorry for you, right?”
Abigail really wanted to roll her eyes at him. “You have a wonderful imagination.”
Zachary chuckled.
Nonetheless, Abigail ate the bread and drank some water, immediately feeling revitalized after she did.
Zachary was going to tell her to get some sleep as well, but she probably would not fall asleep given her tense state.
He said nothing, while hoping that the helicopter would move faster and take them back to Franconia.
Naturally, the wait was grilling, and Abigail was constantly checking the time.
Once the helicopter landed and they alighted, James promptly called Stan, who told them that he was already at the castle.
They drove there immediately and found Stan waiting outside, unscathed.
Once she was out of the car, Abigail promptly asked, “Where’s Diarmuid?”
“I don’t know,” Stan replied.
Everyone else was left speechless for a moment.
“What is this? Shouldn’t he be with you? Why don’t you know where he is?” Abigail demanded, staring fixedly at him. “Explain yourself!”
Stan gave Zachary and James an awkward look in turn, but neither were coming to his defense, with James saying, “We’d like to know too.”
It was not as if Stan did not want to say it—he just wanted to do it away from Abigail because this was about work.
James could tell that Stan was feeling awkward, and he understood Stan’s concerns.
Even so, James snapped, “Just say it already! There’s nothing to hide now.”
And with that assurance from James, Stan spilled the beans. “Remember Smartville Tech, the company we acquired three months ago with a price much lower than its market value? Hector Vaughn, their former CEO, was the one behind this. He bribed our pilots.”
It turns out that after Stan and Diarmuid’s flight left Zidonia, the pilots redirected the flight while they were in Dunesia airspace.
Stan was getting a drink when he heard the pilots saying that they were en route to Minerva, and Stan promptly realized that something was out of place.
He promptly contacted the control tower to have them check if their flight was being rerouted.
He could easily do so since Globe Airways was a subsidiary of Remy, and once he confirmed that their plane was deviating from the planned flight route, Stan quickly told Diarmuid about the situation.
Unable to contact their people on the ground, they had to interrogate the pilots.
They were refusing to speak even though Diarmuid and Stan had solid evidence against them, and Stan inadvertently knocked out the co-pilot.
The captain was scared for his life then—if Stan hit him too, there would not be anyone to fly the plane, and the ensuing crash would kill him as well.
He hence admitted that he was under Hector’s payroll, and Hector’s intent was obviously revenge.
However, whether the captain did it on purpose or messed up in panic, the plane went out of control, and they quickly ran for the parachutes. It was a private jet instead of the usual passenger airlines, so there were some military-issue parachutes prepared.
It was also much safer than the standard parachutes, which was how Stan landed safely.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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