Chapter 442

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Aria’s heart skipped a beat . She sprang to her feet and immediately dialed Valerie’s number .
The call was promptly answered . Valerie asked , “ Miss Saxon , what’s the matter ? ”
Grabbing her car keys , Aria headed out and explained , “ Ms. Gibbs , Lily said her deskmate Kayle wanted to meet her , but she’s been unreachable since she left , Could you please contact Kayle for me right away ? ”
With the SATS the next day , Lily going missing was serious trouble .
Valerie tensed up . “ I’ll contact her right away ! ”
‘ At a time like this , a girl like Kayle wouldn’t bother Lily , ‘ Valerie thought .
The call confirmed her worst fears .
Kayle’s mother told Valerie that Kayle had been home all day and hadn’t left the house .
Valerie tried to steady her nerves . “ Mrs. Yamn , could you please put Kayle on the phone ? I need to confirm something with her . ”
Kayle’s mom replied , “ Of course , Ms. Gibbs . ”
Once she had confirmed everything , Valerie felt like her world was collapsing . She hastily got changed and , in a panic , called Aria to report the situation .
“ Don’t worry , Ms. Gibbs , ” Aria said firmly . “ I’ll find Lily . ”
Other than this , Lily had never lied to Aria before . Trusting her completely , Aria didn’t bother to check with Valerie whether Lily’s story about her deskmate wanting to meet her was true .
Aria went upstairs and pressed the doorbell . After waiting for what felt like ages with no response , her suspicions only deepened .
Aria quickly pulled up Orlando’s contact and called , but he didn’t pick up .
Aria checked Lily’s location tracker – the signal was fixed at a study lounge .
But there was no guarantee Lily was still there .
As the elevator doors opened , Aria was just about to call Owen .
“ Madelyn ,” Owen called out .
A familiar voice called out as Aria hurried over . “ Owen , Lily went to meet a classmate , and now she’s unreachable . Her location tracker hasn’t moved . I need you to check the scene while I go find Orlando . ”
Aria thought , ‘ If Lily can’t be reached , it must have something to do with Rachel .’
“ Got it , ” Owen responded immediately .
Aria and Owen split up without hesitation , each heading off on their own mission .
As Aria was approaching the Cole Group, Owen called . “ Lily’s phone was found switched off at the scene , but she’s gone . Security footage shows she left with that girl Rachel – the one who practices hypnosis . ”
Owen’s organization had experts in hypnosis , which was how he recognized the telltale signs that Lily was under its influence when she left .
“ Don’t worry, Aria , ” Owen reassured her . “ My team is pulling the security footage right now . ”
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Aria stopped the car . “ Okay , ” she said tersely .
After hanging up the phone , Aria marched straight toward the Cole Group .
The receptionist’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw her and blurted out , “ Ms. Saxon ? ”
Aria got straight to the point . “ I need to see Orlando . It’s an emergency ! ”
Seeing how anxious Aria was , the receptionist skipped the usual protocol and immediately led the way . “ Right this way , Ms. Saxon , ” she said .
“ Ms … Ms. Saxon , Mr. Gallagher is currently meeting with some very important clients . We really shouldn’t interrupt . Perhaps you could wait ? I’ll inform you the moment he’s available . ”
The young receptionist regarded her former boss with both awe and fear . ‘ If I interrupt Mr. Gallagher’s meeting , I’ll definitely lose my job , she thought .
Aria said bluntly , “ Don’t bother coming with me . Just tell them I barged
lin . ”
Aria pressed the elevator button , and the receptionist hastily stepped aside .
In the conference room , Orlando , representing the Cole Group , was hosting the delegation from Masmubia Ivy Hospital to discuss collaboration on medical chip technology .
Orlando had invited Culver , a former employee of Masmubia Ivy Hospital , to act as a go – between and help broker this partnership .
The Cole Group had begun preliminary domestic collaboration on its medical chips , with its partner being Heffner Hospital , where Liam worked .
Liam and Diego were also present at the meeting .
Culver sat at the head of the table with an air of superiority . “ The Cole Group’s medical chip technology has reached maturity . A partnership with Masmubia Ivy Hospital would be mutually beneficial . ”
The director of Masmubia Ivy Hospital exchanged a glance with Culver and smiled. “ With Mr. Webster personally vouching for us , we have every confidence that the Cole Group can execute this project to perfection .
“ To be frank , Masmubia’s medical technology is already quite advanced . In some respects , collaborating with Cole Group on medical chips seems rather
redundant . ”
“ Honestly , what truly interests us are fields unique to Huthailia – areas not commonly found in other countries , ” he said .
A