A person came back to her life, but it seemed that everyone else was leaving her in exchange.
Sofony could only stare at George dumbfounded when the man reported in an anxious tone that Stefanny Mendez just suddenly vanished. There was no trace of her in the city. Hours were already spent by Old Gil's team looking into the records and CCTVs around the area. In fact, probably pressured by the thought that the lady would become angry once the news reached her ears, one of Gio's men even hacked some satellites. Yet there was no result found.
'Wendy is in a coma... Sofia has been kidnapped, life and death unknown... And now my sister disappear?'
Sofony went silent, her gaze turning very icy and piercing.
What was with all of these? The previous days had been calm. Why did Steffy disappear all of a sudden?
After repeatedly hypnotizing herself to calm down, and thus saving a vase from being thrown at the ground, she coldly said, "Bring me the footage before she disappeared."
"Yes, Miss." Holding his breath, the assistant used his eyes to signal one of the 'bodyguards', all-rounder people from Gio's side, to show the requested footage.
After Sofony collected her phone and jacket from the table, she walked towards the elevator, the woman motioned over by George respectfully presented her the video, matching Sofony's speed in walking so the viewing wouldn't be interrupted.
"A man in his fifties appeared. And then after that, when Miss Steffy entered the elevator going to the unit given to her, the camera suddenly got engulfed in bright light. When it returned to normal, a second later, she is already gone."
The lady bodyguard lowered her head next, not speaking anymore or expressing doubts about the white burst of light. The team had converged earlier before meeting the Silver's princess and concluded that the kidnapper had an accomplice and this middle-aged man in grey clothing must have secretly tossed a flashbang or something similar.
'Damn. It's really a host's work!' Sofony cursed in her heart.
Contrary to her people who were rationalizing things within the boundary of normalcy, she was clear to what truly happened. This was no ordinary attack. As there was really no way, a person could be brought out of the elevator and transported to a different location within two to three seconds. That was just utterly impossible!
In the video captures, the sudden flash of light could only be due to teleportation!
'Whoever did this, they are so brazen and think low of us.'
Anger suppressed in her voice, the girl turned to the people following her. "What does the man looks like?"
None of them dared to meet her gaze and only exchanged glances in a discreet manner. It was a sign that none of them knew, and they were feeling guilty or useless since they couldn't answer.
Sofony's heart sank a little. But it was to be expected since only those with brain and ability would be able to take her sister out of the city overseen by her.
"I'm sorry, Miss Silver." In the end, it was George who replied apologetically. He added in a calm but low tone, "All this time, the man's face was covered. And when we followed his tracks through the satellites' captures, he vanished after another flash of light inside a nearby mall's fitting room."
"That time, the flash of light which blinded all the surveillance cameras nearby lasted for almost ten seconds. That is more than enough time for the suspected perpetrator to dash towards the exit or wear another disguise. The latter could be another reason why missed him."
Sofony's face had become stone cold by then. She walked down the corridor leading her office to the elevator and then raised her hand. "Don't follow me. I'll move by myself. Report to Gio and tell him, I won't make it for dinner."
The smartly dressed assistants and bodyguards bowed and chorused. "We'll do as you say, Miss. Take care."
She nodded and then turned around. The ones behind her felt like they had regained control of their lungs after and breathed a sigh of relief.
However, before they could truly celebrate that they were not berated or fired, they heard the woman calling them out again. "Hey."
The group alertly raised their heads. Then found that before Sofony could truly step into the private elevator and press its close button, she lightly and elegantly turned her head.
"Tell him too, there's an emergency but it's something I can take care so he should not worry."
"The young master will definitely ask the reason. Are we allowed to inform him what happened to Miss Mendez?" asked one of the braver guys.
The question seemed to have earned Sofony's displeasure as her reply was quite sharp and said in a rebuking tone, "Don't ask stupid questions like that. There's no secret between him and me."
After her voice drifted to their ears, a ding sound echoed briefly. When the reprimanded guy smiled wryly and sent a helpless gaze at the second in command, the door of the elevator closed and the enchanting woman's figure vanished within the narrow space.
...
The owner of the chateau had officially started to target Sofony. And nope. He was not the one who caused Steffany Mendez to disappear. His obsession was only towards Sofony and he was strong enough to not use petty tricks when dealing with people. A level 6 was not someone who would make him use dirty tactics.
'It's funny that one of her protectors wanted the fake sister my muse greatly cares about out of her life.' The man chuckled.
This was actually his guess, which he deduced from the clues he had gathered so far. There was no way Gio Albarez had contacts with other hosts. The old guy earlier was a disguised host, but since he could inquire about this person, it meant he was not the other protector. Based on his investigation, there were no other foreign invaders yet, probably intimidated by the fact that a god was in this country.
Given this information, it was easy to guess that the one who had tossed the poor girl and changed her memories was somebody working under that other protector.
The cold voice echoed twice in his mind before he hummed a reply. The level 7 system user once again laughed. When he stood up from his seat in the coffee shop opposite Sofony's Starlight, the window screen showing him her activities vanished. However, after a few seconds, it went back. The first screen was from the service 'Farsight' bought from the shop. When it expired, he simply bought the skill corresponding to it as to not interrupt his viewing experience.
He realized, his eyes still hadn't had enough of her face and everything. He really wanted her never to disappear from his sight.
The suffocating feeling in his heart was dictating him too that he wanted her in his embrace. Hence, red-eyed, he walked out of the cafe. When he was in the street, as it was an hour where people working in the area were still in their offices, he was the only one standing in the crossroad. Yet, after a huge truck passed by and briefly cast a shadow on him, without a trace, he suddenly vanished from there.
...
Even though her man's team had already confirmed to her that the cameras in the place would no longer give her any clues about her sister's or the culprit's current whereabouts, Sofony still teleported in the place where her sister was last seen.
The expression on her face was very cold. So was the pair of beautiful black eyes scanning the floor where Steffy had supposed to have vanished. There were no other people around. But after disabling the surveillance around, the woman opened her luscious lips painted in bright red and asked, "Who has seen the person that teleported the girl here earlier?"
Sofony slowly swept her gaze around again. The place got colder and colder as the woman pressured those only she could see right now.
One of the frightened ghosts who unlucky didn't manage to escape trembled. A few seconds later, this being wrote something on the ground...