Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
Facing his friend, Paul didn’t hide things from him. He told Eustace about his situation with Stephanie and asked, “Do you think I’m wrong?”
“Of course!” Eustace responded at once. “If you really like her, you have to pursue her the right way and make her your girlfriend. And if you don’t like her, quit wasting her time. Now you’re forbidding her from being your girlfriend, yet you’re not letting her go. I’d call you a motherfucker, but you’re worse than that.”
He had no idea what his friend was thinking. If he liked her, why was he treating her like this? Who could accept it?
Paul frowned, his expression solemn. “You know what my family is like. I could never marry her.” He didn’t want things to be this way, but he knew how the Wagners worked. If he got together with Stephanie, he wouldn’t just be making her miserable; he’d be hurting her too.
Eustace grew quiet. The Wagners were much more complicated than the Quinceys. Eustace could pursue whomever he wanted, but Paul had no such liberty.
“So you’re planning on keeping her here forever?” Eustace asked, frowning. His emotions were jumbled together.
Paul sighed and looked out the window, lost in thought. “I don’t know, either. All I know is that I don’t want her to leave.”
“The Wagners are indeed very complicated, but if you like her, you’ll have to remove the threats to her safety. That’s how it should be.” Eustace stared at his friend, not wanting him to walk down the dark path.
But when Paul heard him, he burst into laughter. “Me, liking her? What’s there to like about her? I was just bored, and she happened to walk into my life. I’m just playing around with her.”
Eustace was frustrated at his friend’s nonchalance. “If you don’t like her, I’m going to take her away. Danika and her parents are looking for her.”
“Oh, Eustace, you know my personality. I’d never let someone go that easily. Not even if I didn’t like them.”
Eustace’s face darkened. He held his gaze on Paul. “Must you do this?”
“I know you want to help Danika because you like her. I get that. But if I’m not letting Stephanie go, no one’s taking her. Not even you, Eustace.” Paul raised the corner of his mouth. Even when faced with Eustace, he was not backing down.
Eustace didn’t object. He admitted that what Wagner said was the truth. The Quinceys conducted their business in a straightforward manner. Everything that they did was out in the open. They were not involved with any of the underworld matters. They did not compare to the Wagners in that aspect.
They stared at each other for a while. Perhaps sensing the anger emanating from Eustace, Paul shrugged in exasperation. “Alright, alright. I’ll let her go for your sake.”
“When?” Eustace asked.
“Maybe after a few days. Once she learns to be more submissive,” Paul replied. He wasn’t planning on letting Stephanie go so quickly.
Eustace frowned and was about to speak, but Paul cut him off. “I’m already doing this for you. You’d be asking too much if you said anything else.”
Eustace saw the seriousness in his eyes and understood there was no point in saying anything else. He had no choice but to let it be.
“Do it as soon as you can if you don’t want the police to find you,” Eustace said before he left.
But Paul simply laughed. “Relax. As long as you don’t utter a word, no one will ever find this place.”
Danika left the Zelliots’ house after comforting Stephanie’s parents.
The moment she stepped outside, she called Zack and Gilbert. As expected, there was no news regarding Stephanie. It was as if she had never existed-there was no trace of her anywhere.
Danika was afraid for Stephanie. Something could have happened to her.
She thought about it for a while and called Eustace, hoping to get a lead.
“Danika.” Eustace’s low voice sounded from the receiver. He sounded a little stiff, but the anxious Danika didn’t notice.
“Have you…found anything?” Danika asked. Her palms were sweaty. If Eustace hadn’t found anything, she had no idea what to do.
Eustace was silent. He didn’t wish to lie to Danika, but at the thought of Paul, his lifelong best friend, he had no choice but to do so.
“Eustace Quincey?” Danika said again, not receiving an answer. Her heart thumped hard.
Eustace came back to his senses. “I’m sorry, Danika. I found nothing.”
At once, Danika fell into despair. If Eustace couldn’t find her, who could? Just who was this person?
Danika had a million questions in her heart, but she had to force herself to calm down. “You can’t find her?”
“Yeah.” Eustace nodded, not daring to say much. Guilt washed over his heart.
“If you can’t find her, then it should be easy to figure out the other person by elimination,” she said, remembering Gilbert’s words.
Eustace was quiet once more. After a long while, he said, “That might not be the case. I looked you up before and couldn’t find out you were Danika. If he’s covering his tracks on purpose, my abilities are also limited.”
“How did you know about me in the end?” Danika asked.
Eustace bit his lip. He felt that he shouldn’t have said anything.
“It was Paul Wagner who found you out. He’s better at this than I am.” He felt remorseful. He shouldn’t have brought this up.
It was as if Danika had found a lifeline. She said at once, “Could you ask Paul to help me look for Stephanie? He should be able to find something out easily.”
How could Eustace respond to that? Tell the criminal to play cops and robbers?
“Could you ask him to help me, Eustace Quincey?” Danika begged. Eustace had no defenses for when she did that.
He felt helpless. “Alright. I’ll ask him to help.”
“Thank you,” Danika thanked him sincerely. She had no other leads.
After hanging up, Danika didn’t go home. She went to Gilbert’s villa and tracked surveillance cameras with Zack. She believed that the cameras could tell them something.
But Eustace was exasperated and had to call Paul once more. “Danika wants me to ask you for help. What do you think of that?”
“Sure. Just give me some time, and I’ll give Stephanie back to her.” Paul laughed. How amusing. Danika had resorted to him for help.
“Don’t go overboard,” Eustace reminded. He couldn’t help feeling worried.
“Don’t worry. I won’t drag you down with me. If something does happen, you can pin the blame on me,” Paul said. He didn’t want to affect Eustace’s and Danika’s relationship.
Eustace sighed, an ominous feeling dwelling in his chest. “You know that’s not what I’m worried about. It’s you.”
“Me? What’s there to worry about me?” Paul laughed, as if he didn’t understand what Eustace meant.
“Is that so? It’d better be that way.” Eustace hung up. Paul’s face had already darkened; it was an intimidating. sight.
Stephanie was missing for three days. Danika had turned up empty-handed.
She’d gone to the police station countless times, and Danika had begged several people for help, but still, there was no news of her. Danika’s heart began sinking little by little.