Chapter 246 - What Does Elios Want?

The RMI staff who were walking following Mischa and Elios (or Alaric Rhionen as he told RMI Almstad people) out of Ren's office building looked confused when they realized that Mischa's attitude towards his assistant was very different from what a boss would have towards his subordinates.

Didn't Alaric Rhionen say he worked as Mischa's assistant? Then why did he act like he was the boss here?

Sam and Sarah could only wonder. RMI Moravia was so small and insignificant that even someone in Sam's rank had never met Elios Linden in person, so he didn't recognize his big boss, who was above Mischa.

Elios Linden became the owner of RMI after Rhionen Industries, owned by the Rhionen family, joined the Meier family's Meier Group. According to the calculations of most people, Elios Linden took over the control of RMI in 2045, or 17 years ago.

If at that time he was around 25 years old, then by now he must be in his early 40s. He should look younger than Mischa.

If Elios Linden and Mischa appeared together at the RMI summit meeting in Bucharest or New York once a year, no one would be surprised at their appearance because they did think Mischa was older.

After all, for someone as wealthy as Elios Linden, it was very easy for him to go through various health treatments and lead a healthy lifestyle that would keep him looking young. At least that's what people thought of Elios Linden when they saw him.

However, none of the staff at RMI Almstad had seen Elios Linden before, so they kept asking questions and were utterly confused.

***

Meanwhile, Ren finished his press conference as ordered by Elios. He kept his promise to answer five questions from selected journalists and ended the event. Of course, the news-seekers were dissatisfied because it seemed they had been given little information about Prince Renald's wife.

Ren had stated that Fee really liked privacy, and he would not allow them to disturb his wife, for the sake of getting the news. He had even threatened several people who try to ask questions he deemed irrelevant because they interfere with Vega's personal space.

In the end, the journalists came home with more unanswered questions than when they went to the press conference.

For example, where was Prince Renald's wife now? Would Prince Renald really step down from his position as the crown prince of Moravia if the court and the people did not like his wife?

Then, how did King Gustave and Queen Elena respond to all these? Had they met Ren's wife? Did they like Fae Muller?

Ren did not answer any more questions, and he immediately told Karl to kick those people out of his office. After they left, he went into his room and texted Elios. He wanted to know why his father-in-law came to Almstad suddenly like this.

[Sir, how long will you be in Almstad? Was the press conference satisfactory?]

He waited for Elios' reply for a while, and since there was no reply, he called Karl.

"Uncle, do you think the Lindens are suspicious of us?" he asked matter-of-factly. "Alaric Rhionen suddenly appeared in this city."

Karl closed the door behind him and nodded. "Maybe so. What do you think?"

"I think we have to provide bait for them to chase. Before they find out who is the mastermind behind Vega's kidnapping, they will continue to be suspicious. We will never be safe," said Ren firmly. "You have to sacrifice Sophia."

Karl nodded. There was a hint of reluctance on his face, but he didn't argue. Ren saw his uncle's expression and frowned.

"Didn't you say we have to avenge father's death? Wasn't my father the one who raised you since your parents died? You came to me that summer and told me everything ... how Alaric Rhionen became the cause of my father's death, and you asked me to swear to avenge his death," said Ren. "I'm not going to make it to the end if you don't want to go all out. They're suspecting me."

Karl took a deep breath. He still remembered Sophia's beautiful face and how she always smiled brightly when she saw him. In his life, Karl never let any woman get to him into deep. From the start, he had planned to stay away from Sophia once their mission was accomplished.

Of course, as Ren's personal assistant, Karl must not be associated with Sophia. She was an enemy of the Schneider and Linden family.

But planning was easier than doing. Just as Ren seemed to have been captivated by Vega and now found it very difficult to focus on his original goal, Karl hesitated to let Sophia go from his life.

"Because Alaric is in town. I'm going to ask Sophia to come here to see him," Karl said finally. "We can't ruin everything. We're so close."

"Hmm .." Ren then waved his hand and told Karl to leave. He saw an incoming SMS from Elios on his cellphone.

[Meet me at the St. Laurent building for dinner.]

Ren took a deep breath and then typed his reply. 

[Okay.]

He should be able to solve his problems quickly and come back to Vega. 

He must not stay in Almstad for long.

***

When they arrived back at the office, Elios immediately gave a signal for them to follow him to Mischa's room in the building.

"I have something to tell all RMI employees in this building. After lunch, you have to gather them all in the hall," Elios said firmly.

He no longer pretended to be Mischa's assistant. His attitude from the press conference room was already quite confusing for Sam and Sarah and now they were even more confused to see Elios giving orders in the office.

They looked at Mischa, asking for an explanation.

"Just do what he says," said Mischa dryly.

"Uhm ... alright." Still with astonished faces, Sam and Sarah walked out of Mischa's room and immediately send an email notification to all employees to gather in the hall.

After they left, Mischa looked at Elios and asked seriously. "Why did you claim to be my assistant yesterday? Now they are confused ..."

"Hmm .. I just wanted to know how the average employees here behave towards other people. Apparently, the work environment here is not good. Is it because the branch here is small that we didn't set a strict control here? " asked Elios back. "I'm also really disappointed they didn't recognize Vega at all while she was working here."

Mischa cleared her throat. "Uhm ... I didn't know Fae was Vega either, until I got the anonymous letter. The results of the fingerprint test were different. I was also tricked."

Elios shook his head and touched Mischa's shoulder. "You are innocent. You RECOGNIZED Vega, and you were trying to investigate everything. You were only deceived by a false fingerprint record. But these people ... no one spoke out at all. None of them expressed how much Fae Muller looked like Vega Linden."

Mischa was forced to confirm. Indeed, in the office of RMI Almstad, only he "recognized" Vega. Others didn't seem to care.. He understood why Elios was angry.