-Third Person's POV-
"Finally there is a proper connection again~" Charm chimed as she laid down on the bench, holding her phone.
"..What is she doing?" Aera asked, pointing at Charm while she typed away.
"Oh, she's boyfriend hunting. She thinks she can find a man who will meet her high standards. Bless her and I hope she does find that rare species." Lorelei answered.
We were sitting at a table not too far away from the pool when her cup accidentally fell due to the rocking of the ship. She glared at the cup and sighed.
"I'm sorry." she apologized to the crew member as he had to clean it up.
Charm stopped and stared at her for while now and when Lorelei noticed it, she avoided eye contact and even went and jumped in the indoor swimming pool.
"Don't stay in for too long, practice starts in an hour," Archer told her.
He closed the sunscreen bottle he just used to rub on her back and brought out the towel so when she comes out, she could quickly wrap herself in a towel.
"There isn't even sunlight shining in? Why use sunscreen?" Charm raised her eyebrow.
"UV rays~" Lorelei chimed and she playfully rolled her eyes.
"By the way, those actors are leaving tomorrow aren't they?" Charm asked.
"Mhm, they will be leaving on a helicopter as well. Fancy people." Archer whistled.
"I noticed your bodyguards are different today, why?" Archer asked Aera.
"Oh, they are in a shift so for the rest of the trip Sir Jerome and Sir Wallace will be guarding me."
"I don't like them." Charm blurted out,
"That's random." Lorelei quizzed.
"Can you tell us why?" Aera tilted her head in confusion.
"I don't know..I just don't like them." She glared at the two men at the far back who failed to notice her sharp stare.
"Free Cocktail, ma'am? " A waitress offered to Aera.
"Oh, thank you." She smiled and took one.
The waitress then offered some to the rest of them and they went with their day.
. .
-Six days after Aera left-
*ping*
Soren finally received a notification regarding his request for the records of Meredith Hendrix and her cremation process.
Upon reading the file, he stood up abruptly and started pacing around the room with his hands on his head. His eyes shook, and stress started building up inside him but he decided to print the file and leave.
Back to the mansion. Now.
He sent a message on their group chat. When he returned, he prompted the screen and dialed to call his siblings and even Hwan and Hyun.
They started arriving, one by one and soon he revealed what he read.
" There were no records. " He blurted out.
" We can't fill in the blanks, Soren. Explain." Vera spat out.
" I contacted the Crematorium that Theresa and Patrick said they brought Meredith to and there were no records of her being cremated. If anything, they just bought an urn and then left. There was someone that they paid to forge a document that she was indeed cremated but I just got information that it was fake. " Soren said.
" So the motherfucker's alive?!" Vesna yelled.
" Devereux, don't you dare go anywhere near that bitch! " Madeline immediately responded.
" Don't even bother thinking of doing anything stupid, Cai. " Seth reminded Alicai.
" If that woman, Meredith is alive..then where is she?? " Hwan probed.
" We are still trying to track her down, it seems like the Wilson couple did everything to hide her tracks. What's even odder is that the security cameras don't show anything, almost as if it was wiped out." Calixto said. He was the one who Soren first told.
" Isn't that the same situation with Miss Aera's stalker??" Madeline connected.
"..Are you saying that Aera's stalker and The Wilson couple are working together?" Revere raised.
"It's a possibility."
"We are already looking in on Lykos Stoll." Hyun then suddenly said.
"Why him?" Vesna asked.
" Apparently he said something to Aera that triggered her with what her stalker used to say to her. "
"No, wait! That actually makes sense! Isn't his father like someone in the government??? They also just recently revealed that they co-own a famous security company which would further explain why the footage goes missing!" Madeline stated.
After what Madeline said, they immediately went to work. Tracking the dates as far as when the tragedy happened. The police took the case as their top priority to solve as faking one's death is highly illegal and the ongoing problem of the stalker who invades privacy and put the victim's well-being to risk.
Illegal tampering with evidence by the security camera footage were charges made to be pressed as well.
. .
" I'll be heading in now, I have a splitting headache," Aera said while rubbing the temples on her head.
" You've been saying that since earlier. Was there something you ate that caused this?" Charm worriedly asked.
" ..Nothing in particular? Also, wouldn't my stomach be the one affected?" Aera wondered.
"Hmm..if you say so."
She bid them a good night and went with her bodyguards to go to her room.
" Miss Aera, your room was relocated." Her bodyguard, Jerome informed.
" Oh? Why is that? Was there a problem with the one I was in?"
" There seems to have been a small mishap when cleaning your room but no worries, they provided you a new one," Wallace said.
"Alright then. Do inform Sir Adam and Sir Finn since they are on break. I haven't seen them all day today. " Aera sighed.
On the floor of Aera's room, laid two motionless men. One had a metal pole lodged on his stomach and the other a rope around his neck. Both were tied with heavy chains and stuffed in the private bathroom, stripped off their equipment.
.
.
"Don't worry ma'am."
She then followed them to the elevator but then the floor they pressed was at the bottom deck.
"Sorry, but why the bottom deck?" She asked but no one answered.
She stayed quiet for a moment. Noticing their mannerisms, actions, and the way their hands were positioned, she finally realized the situation she was in.
'Fuck.'
*inhale*
*exhale*
Pressing a button on her bracelet, sharp blades popped out. She shoved her wrist into Wallace's stomach, he tried grabbing her arms when she ducked to the floor and elbowed his knee to dislocate it.
She triggered her ring to release the pointed blade and shoved it on Jerome's thigh.
" Fucking bitch! " He cursed and grabbed her by the neck.
Aera harshly poked his throat with her nail which cause him to drop her to the ground. She grabbed his head and bashed it with her knee. Wallace finally picked himself up but was met with a kick to his jaw.
When she thought it was over, turning around her face was sprayed with tear gas then she felt a hand on her neck, and the next thing she knew.
She passed out.
. .
" Where's Aera? " Lorelei asked, looking around.
" I heard from our vice principal that she excused herself for today since she was feeling sick and requested no one to visit her. " Archer said with a pout.
" Really? Damn, I hope it doesn't get worse." Charm worried.
Throughout the day they kept asking the Vice Principal how was she and if they could visit her room since they couldn't open the room she was previously in.
"I'm not changing my opinions about that bitch, I still hate her. " Charm spat, annoyed with their Vice Principal.
"Also, why aren't those celebrities leaving yet?" She raised her brow.
"...Not sure but I think they rescheduled it to tomorrow?" Lorelei tilted her head.
"Can't they just wait for almost two more days? I mean we'll be arriving in Norway the after tomorrow so why not just stay??"
"Well, they might have to stick to their schedule?"
"I see...Yeah, I can't take it anymore. I'm looking for Aera." Charm then marched off.
"Charm" Lorelei tried to give her the pointed look but she just stuck her tongue out and flipped her off.
"*sigh* Fine.." she then gave in.
Walking around the ship, she asked her schoolmates if they knew what her new room number was but she stumbled upon a group talking about a rather intriguing topic.
"Our captain? Yeah, she's soo unattractive. I saw her take her cap off and there's this huge scar on the back of her head. It was ugly as fuck. Her red hair looked like hell, man." The guy expressed.
"Hey wassup?" Charm then pipped in.
"Wha-"
"Yeah, what you are saying is fucking rude but what do you mean by red?"
"..she had red hair? what else?"
"Dude, Captain Samantha doesn't have red hair." His friend smacked him on his nape.
" You're right.." Charm nodded her head and walked away slowly.
'Weird..' she scrunched her brows in confusion.
She entered the elevator but then at the corner of it, she saw one thing she knew belonged to only one person.
'Aera's ring..she wouldn't drop it here..and why is there blood?'
She walked out of the elevator but then she passed by Aera's bodyguard, Jerome. He had a bad black eye that he attempted to hide then rode the elevator.
Coming out of her hiding spot, she looked at the elevator sign and it ended on the lowest bottom deck.
"..Would Aera be there??" She thought and used the stairs.
Reaching the lowest deck, there was nothing.
Glancing around she saw a hidden door, opening it, there was the tied-up Aera.
Her eyes widened and she panicked to go to her side, only to be knocked out by a baseball bat.
" Nosey idiot. "
To Be Continued . . .