Chapter 164
My Mute Bride
Rachel slowly closed her eyes. She didnât care about being his wife or if the baby would be a b*stard.
Ever since she got her memories back, she knew the both of them could never be together again.
It had been a month since Janice and her subordinates started the search in all the riverside neighborhoods. âStill nothing?â Julian asked as he handed her a bottle of water.
The wind was blowing against Janiceâs hair. She took a sip and shook her head. âWe searched all the riverside neighborhoods. One by one as well. No clue until now.â
âMaybe sheâs locked in a mountain somewhere?â
âNo. Itâs mostly manors there. The Bureau of Real Estate has records of the manorsâ owners.â
Bureau of Real Estate? All of a sudden, Julian had a stroke of inspiration. âI think weâve been looking at this the wrong way. Even if Justin locked Rachel up, he wouldnât put her in a place unrelated to him.â
âWhat are you getting at?â
âSheâs either in a hotel or a personal estate he owns.â
Janice gripped the water bottle and she realized what Julian was getting at. âHotels are out. There are too many people there.â
Which meant there were only estates left.
With how cautious Justin was, he would never take Rachel out of Riverdale, so she must be in one of the estates in the city.
Julian frowned. âBut whatâs up with âriverâ? Whatâs she trying to say?â
âProbably the neighborhoodâs name.â Janice then made a call. âHello? Itâs me. I want all the details of Justin Burtonâs estates in Riverdale ASAP.â
Janice received an email not long after she hung up. âHe has a lot of properties in Riverdale.â
Julian nodded. âGood thing itâs still just this one city.â
âIâll get my men to search the neighborhoods that have âriverâ in their names. If we still canât find her, weâll expand the range. Donât worry about it too much. No news is the best news.â
âI know.â It had been more than three months since Rachelâs disappearance, and Julian knew Janice was worried as well.
At the same time, Gloria came to the Burton Group to settle some matters. However, she ran into a janitor coming out of the other elevator when she arrived at her floor. He was pushing the cart as he went toward the presidentâs office. The janitor was lanky and a tuft of yellow hair sprouted from under his cap. Gloriaâs heart sank when she realized who the janitor was, so she chased after him.
Justinâs secretary would usually stand guard outside his office when he wasnât in. When the secretary had to leave, she would lock the door to keep any unauthorized personnel out. So when Gloria came to the office, she saw the âjanitorâ trying to unlock the door. âWhat are you doing?â
The âjanitorâ leaped in shock, revealing the face underneath the cap. It was none other than Victor.
Before he could say anything, they heard someone talking just around the corner. Hence, Gloria quickly grabbed him and put her finger on the fingerprint scanner. The door swung open a moment later and she dragged him in with her.
After the door swung shut, they heard the secretaryâs voice saying, âWho left this cart here? Assistant Beckhamâs going to yell at someone if he sees this.â
âIâll get the janitor to pick this up.â
Meanwhile, Gloria and Victor were in the office. âAre you mad?â She glared at him as she questioned, âWhy did you come here? How did you manage to even get in?â
Victor took his face mask off, his face as handsome as ever. That being said, he looked more gaunt and there were a few bruises on his face.
Gloria was surprised to see that. âWhat happened to your face?â
âAsk Burton.â Victor looked at her in disgust, which in turn angered her.
âWhy are you looking at me like that, silly kid? I just saved your *ss! Youâre so ungrateful.â
âI donât need your help, you hypocrite.â With that, Victor went to Justinâs desk, leaving Gloria behind.
âHey, what are you doing? Donât go through someoneâs stuff without permission.â
Victor rummaged through all the drawers and cabinets.
âWhat are you looking for?â
âIâm seeing where he has hidden Rachel!â
âAre you mad? She canât be here! What do you think she is? A rabbit?â
Upon hearing that, Victor snapped, âDo you have any better idea, then? Iâve tailed him for three months but I got nothing!â
He had tailed Justin almost every day for the last three months but every time, he would end up losing Justinâs track or getting beaten up by his bodyguards.
âBe quiet! Someone might hear you!â
âSo what? Iâm taking this straight to Burton anyway.â
âYou-â However, someone opened the door before she could say anything. Gloriaâs face fell and she dragged Victor into a cubicle in the room. She managed to close the door before the people outside could come in. Victor tried to break free, but she held him back. âYouâd better stay put if you donât want to get messed up.â
Victor didnât want to listen, but she had a point. He would only get a beating if he went out right now.
A moment later, Justin and Frankie came in.
âWe bought the video and everything related to Hans with five million, just like you asked. But we didnât expect another one to pop up. Seems like Windfall wasnât the only one who got it on camera.â
Hans? Victor was angered, but Gloria quickly covered his mouth and glared at him.
Justin answered, âNot quite. Perhaps we paid them the five million too readily, so they let their greed get the better of them. Theyâre working with another outlet to get more out of us.â
âYouâre saying Windfall has a backup?â
âHans saw Winston at the hospital by accident. Itâs only by chance Windfallâs reporter got it on video.
Thereâs no way a reporter from another outlet was there.â
Frankie nodded in assent. âThatâs true. This is no coincidence, and they could have asked us for the money if they had gotten it at the same time as Windfall. This is just extortion with extra steps.â
âSettle this as soon as possible. I want it to end here.â
âRoger that, President Burton.â
Meanwhile, Gloria was still in the cubicle. Since the door was ajar, she could see that the cabinets and drawers were open. If Justin were to approach his desk, he would know someone was here. At that thought, she cursed deep down.
Just as she feared, Justin stood up after he was done talking. From the looks of it, he was going to go to his desk.
Suddenly, Frankieâs phone rang. âHello? I see. Iâll be right there.â After he hung up, Frankie said, âPresident Burton, the doctor is in the underground car park. When are you going over?â
Justin nodded and put down the file he was holding. âRight away.â
After they left and locked the door, Gloria finally heaved a sigh of relief. However, Victor pulled the door open and made a beeline for the desk.