Lennox POV

That night, as I got home, I did not waste anytime.

For me, each second was precious. If I could, I wanted to find out where she is at this very moment.

I called up all my sources and connections, explaining how urgent is the matter.

At the same time, I also arranged my left-over work for the city, as I filed a short leave. It was fortunate because everything else was organised properly, so I did not have to leave too much work. Only public inspections would be delayed.

Anyhow, the vice-mayor, even though he was from the opposing party, he was not not as greedy as other leaders. He can do a pretty decent job although he gets easily swayed by others.

Although I am wary of him, I am confident with how the departments are reformed. They have the same vision as me, and I am sure that they will watch over him. Besides, since I took the mayoral seat, I made sure that transparency policies were implemented right away. Which means that, it would be difficult for him or anyone to do dishonest acts.

Hmm.

Unlike Millen's family, who are familiar with the girl that Millen was with before she got kidnapped, I was not.

When I first heard the summary of how she was kidnapped, I was already very skeptic.

Just from the beginning, it could not be missed that the girl, Julienna Carpio, was driving towards the narrow pathway from the very start. The supposed cafe was on the opposite side, on the pathways towards the neighbouring metro cities.

It looked like Millen did not even stop her but I know Millen...

I cannot dismiss the fact that Millen is clueless about roads. Whenever we'd have our dates, she would be mindless as I drive, not really recognising where we're going even though we have travelled on the same path for the nth time...

At first, I only snickered at how sheltered she was to be so carefree about roads. I did not think much of it since I also want to indulge her.

But now, as soon as she gets back, I will make sure she's familiarised with all the roads. I don't want her to be mindless about roads while being seated in a car, no matter who she's with....

It was natural for me to ask my sources to do a full investigation on Julienna Carpio.

I'm glad I did. If I had trusted the Yu's personal relationship with her, I probably would not. But my suspicions and rational mind is telling me otherwise.

I don't care who she is, or if what I'm doing is improper... I'll do whatever it takes just to get Millen back.

I gritted my teeth as I read the reports sent to me so far. There are also other reports coming through but they are still being processed by my sources. After all, we had to do everything in a secretive matter.

Our investigation was done in full depth yet at the same time, we do not want to alarm anyone.

For the meantime, Kenneth Yu was making deals with the messenger sent to him. We already tried tracking that messenger but it only led us into an empty warehouse in the capital city...

Millen was not there at all and it was obvious that they were being extra careful with not revealing their traces.

It annoys me how devious these people are. Why do they have to resort to this in the first place? Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.

But, with my own team's investigation, we have found major clues.

Ayala Group is one of the companies that Keneth Yu had an aggressive disagreement with. They were also the ones that acted the most violently upon Kenneth withdrawing his shares since at that time, on top of estafa cases, their company was also on the brink of bankruptcy.

Upon investigating, we found that one of the Ayala Group heirs, Xavier Ayala, could not be traced ever since the same day that Millen was declared to be missing...

That girl, Julienna Carpio was reported to meet up with that guy frequently. They say that Julienna Carpio is Millen's bestfriend, but if it is so, why haven't they met up for the past months?

If anything, I think the girl in her medical school, Zaynah, would be Millen's best friend.

Also, more than being involved with each other, Julienna Carpio was involved in a major drug scandal that happened only a few years back. She is connected to the mystery drug festival case, that have killed more than 50 people. We found that the case was only buried because business heirs were implicated in it.

It was very difficult to not suspect...

Not caring for any formalities at all, my team and I ambushed Julienna Carpio. The Yu family always tried to connect with her but she would always refuse, saying that she was still traumatised.

But looking at her face right now, there are no traces of 'traumatised' at all. She seemed to be in a bright mood, even.

"Mayor Lennox Zevallos... may I ask why you have come here?" she asked in a high-pitched voice.

I looked at her nonchalantly, not even bothering to let out a smile.

"I'm here to talk about Millen Yu." I said frankly.

Upon hearing that, the irritated expression she showed did not escape from me easily.

"Millen Yu? What might be your relationship with her? Why do you know her?"

"She's my girlfriend." I answered swiftly.

Immediately, her mouth widened, as if she could not believe what I just said. It's like a thunder ran over her face.

"What... Mayor, you must be bluffing. She never told me about anything about you two. I did know that before, she liked you. But she's out of your league! You can't date her. It's all a joke. Even before, you did not even notice her during parties." she said in a confused tone, as if she was assuring herself instead.

My brows frowned a bit. Is it really that surprising?

"Perhaps, she did not tell you because she did not consider you as a trusted friend?"

Julienna Carpio gritted her teeth and let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Stop kidding with me, Mayor. Millen Yu is my best friend. Even though she has matured a lot since our final year in college, I know her wholeheartedly. That person cannot keep a secret from me."

I sighed at her answer. What a difficult person.

"I do not have time to play jokes, Miss Carpio. I'm going to be direct to the point. Frankly, we have discovered that you are affiliated with Xavier Ayala, who is a prime suspect right now."

Julienna Carpio froze momentarily before giving me a sharp glare.

"It is difficult not to think ill of you, Miss Carpio. If you can, please tell me what you know, honestly."

Instead of answering sensibly, Julienna Carpio scoffed at my remarks.

"I did not expect that you can be that cruel, Mayor Lennox. I am hurt, because you are suspecting me when I do not know anything at all. The rumours are not true... you are not a gentleman at all." she said in a somewhat mocking tone.

I ignored her sentiments as I started with my questions.

"Miss Carpio, we want to know where Xavier Ayala is, at least. Do you really not know where Millen got kidnapped. You don't know who kidnapped you 'two'?" I said in an intimidating tone.

"Why are you suspecting me for, Mayo-"

"If you don't want me to suspect you, then answer my questions properly, Miss Carpio! Stop avoiding them! And please clarify your relationship with Xavier Ayala!" I shouted in a loud voice.

"Mayor, I really don't know..."

She's playing that victim card!

It's very irritating! She's clearly lying yet she's playing dumb. This woman is even better at acting than those crocodile politicians!

I cannot stand this.

With no choice left, I have to use my final weapon and threaten her. I have to get something out of her since she clearly knows something!

I let out a deep sigh before staring at her with slight menace.

"Besides, Miss Carpio, one have found that you are connected to the drug festival years ago. When this becomes public, you will face charges for sure. Apparently, you can be jailed up to 60 years. It can also affect your family's company, of course. Maybe, even vanish it. Do they have any idea of what you're been up to at all?"

Julienna Carpio listened to every word without any expression. But once I was finished talking, she suddenly laughed maniacally.

"Damned if I do know, and damned if I don't know? I'm sorry, but even if you say that, I don't know anything. I do not know anything that you're accusing me of..." she said in a weird, calm voice.

I only glared at her, frustrated that even with a definite threat, she would not bulge at all. Why does she have to be so stubborn!?

"But also... I have heard that with kidnaps, the kidnappers can do outrageous things. Who knows if the one who was kidnapped was already skinned alive? Or fucked by multiple dirty old men? Sold as a human slave? Even if one finds a kidnapped person, I think that person is already filthy. You don't know what was done to her... So Mayor Lennox, don't you think it's a bit useless? Would it not hurt your pride if you found a person you once cherished like that?" she said in a ridiculing tone.

That's it...

I have never expected that there would be a day where I would feel this much urge to hit another person. A mere girl, on top of that.

Even her calmness right now was annoying. How can she insinuate things like that? Why does she want to annoy me on purpose, anyway? Why does she have to avoid this, when supposedly, we're meant to be on the same side?

Julienna Carpio left me with no choice.

Quickly, after that conversation, I ordered my team to make the drug case public. My team even heavily exaggerated it to have Miss Julienna as the main proprietor.

Immediately, it affected their business empire. More so, as I told the Yu family about my observations, they drew their investments on their empire without any hesitations at all.

It was a very cruel move but with that, we easily got access to Julienna Carpio's phone. We traced back her messages with Xavier Ayala and for once, everything was revealed...

It was filthy and flabbergasting at the same time. I do not know how else to describe it.

All along, they were backstabbing Millen! How disgusting! How can they do this to her!?

So Xavier Ayala was also the guy that dared to hug Millen once while we were shopping, huh? If I only knew back then, I should've got out of my car and made that guy banish on the spot.

From that point, we were able to trace the messages and found that Xavier Ayala is currently in a remote island miles away from Luzon.

Without any hesitations, I left with my team. A private plane was arranged for us and along with that, there was a whole army following us.

"Let's go." I said in a stern voice.

No matter what, I will find you, Millen...