Chapter 220 Traces
Chapter 220 Traces
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When Anneliese called, Jonathan had just snapped a photo of the two pairs of slippers sitting side by side. Hearing the urgency in her voice, he finally pulled his gaze from the picture and asked in a low tone, “What happened? Do you need my help?”
“I can’t reach Jess. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, so I’m heading over to check. If I need you, I’ll let you know.”
“Alright. Call me anytime,” Jonathan replied without pressing further, though he still reminded her, “Don’t rush. Drive carefully.”
By the time Anneliese arrived at Riverview Court, Miles was already inside Jessica’s apartment with two property staff and a frail old lady.
Anneliese recognized her immediately–it was Madam Judy, the neighbor from next door.
“What kind of security dò you people run here?” Miles was shouting. “You just let anyone wander in? Jess is missing! If something happens to her, this is on you too!”
The security guard bristled, clearly offended. “Riverview Court isn’t some high–end complex. We get paid peanuts, not to play bodyguards! We already agreed to check the surveillance, but the cameras in this building are broken. What do you want us to do?”
“Enough. Stop arguing–what’s the situation?” Anneliese cut in as she walked through the door, pulling Miles aside.
Miles looked as if he’d seen salvation. “Jessica must’ve been taken sometime after 11 p.m. With the cameras down, nothing was recorded. But Madam Judy here said she heard a disturbance.
“She peeked through the door and saw three men in black come by. She was too scared to interfere and only caught a glimpse.”
Anneliese frowned. She questioned Madam Judy herself, but nothing useful came of it. In the end, she sent both the property staff and the old lady home.
“You haven’t crossed anyone lately, have you?” she asked Miles.
He shook his head. “Not that I know of, Should we call the police?”
Pressing her fingers to her temples, Anneliese pursed her lips. “I think I know what’s going on. Let me make a call.”
She stepped aside and dialed Jonathan. He answered almost immediately, the ringtone barely lasting a second.
She felt a pang of guilt–she was always troubling him However, there was no time for niceties now. “Can you help me track someone’s whereabouts?”
“Who?”
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Chapter 220 Traces
“Marcus Johnson. Marcus as in M–A–R–C–U–S-”
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She hadn’t even finished when Jonathan cut her off. “Marcus Johnson of Johnson Property Holdings in Baytree?”
His tone carried a flicker of surprise, and Anneliese was taken aback too. “You know him? Yes, that’s him!”
“Alright. I’ll look into it. Come downstairs.”
“What?” Anneliese froze, then hurried to the window. Beneath the tree where Zacharias had parked last time sat a familiar black Maybach–Jonathan’s.
“I’ll be right down.” She spun and rushed out. She climbed into the passenger seat, still breathless.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked, half–startled, half–relieved. Truthfully, her nerves had been stretched tight–Miles was no real help. But seeing Jonathan now filled her with a sudden steadiness, as if her fear had vanished.
“I dropped you off here before. I knew Ms. Sweeting lived in this building,” Jonathan explained simply, gesturing for her to fasten her seatbelt.
With one hand, he eased the car out of the space, steering smoothly onto the road. “Let’s grab something to eat. By then, we should have word about Ms. Sweeting”
He had already sent people to investigate, and his words made it clear—he intended to stay by her side until they found Jess.
Since he was here, Anneliese couldn’t refuse. She nodded, touched by the thought, then explained, “You know Jess and I grew up in the orphanage together. She’s like a sister to me.
“I was adopted when I was five, but not long after I left, Jess was taken in by the Johnson Family. She… didn’t have a good life there.
“Three years ago, she ran away to Oceaton and changed her name to Jessica Sweeting. Marcus Johnson is her brother–at least on paper.”
Out of respect for Jess‘ privacy, she left the details vague. But the suggestions of “bad relationship” and “ran away” were more than enough for Jonathan to understand. Pulling over at the side of the road, he reached out and clasped Anneliese’s restless hand, still fidgeting in her lap from worry.
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