Chapter 996 996

"Any updates on Ian?" Cedric asked as he paced across his office in R Tower.

Based on their last conversation, Ian had agreed to move up the plan, but Ian never mentioned how much faster he would move.

It had been five days since that call and everyday Cedric had asked Mae or Dave if there was any movement coming from the island.

Cedric couldn't help but worry that the Rajas had figured out that Ian was planning something. Ian had given them strict instructions when staying on his island.

They were only allowed to travel through Ian's provided planes, helicopters, or boats. Ian also refused to provide them with the coordinates of his private island.

"There has been some movement, but it could be nothing." Dave hesitantly reported. He did not want to give Cedric false hope.

"Who and where?" Cedric asked as he knew the interpretation would be up to him in the end.

"There have been an increased number of trips coming from Ian's Island to Kashmere and the surrounding province. More are headed to Kashmere, while those in the surrounding province are those that have families there." Dave informed Cedric as he showed his boss photos of the boats headed out.

"When did this start?" Cedric asked as he took out his phone and dialed Ray's number.

"They only started to move this morning, I doubt those headed in the direction of Kashmere have even arrived." Dave added quickly in order to save himself from being scolded by Cedric for giving misleading information.

"Ray!" Cedric practically shouted over the phone.

"Can you keep your voice down a little. Aldrich and Ayanna are asleep." Ray scolded as Cedric could hear him leaving the room he was in.

"What's up?" Ray asked as Cedric could hear a door closing at the other end of the line.

He assumed Ray was still at home, taking advantage of whatever time off he had to spend with his new son.

"Ian sent a few of his people to Kashmere, have you heard anything from him?" Cedric asked Ray as he anxiously drummed his fingers on the table.

"I'll ask my people." Ray said slowly, clearly just as concerned as Cedric about the situation. "I think we should be prepared for things to go either really well or really bad."

"I know, hope for the best but prepare for the worst." Cedric said with a sad smile. "Our old motto."

"If Ian is starting to make a move, we should prepare our men to leave at any moment." Cedric informed Ray.

"I've been ready since the moment you and Ian decided to speed things up. Don't worry, it will work." Ray said as he did his best to lessen Cedric's worries.

"It will, it has to." Cedric said as he dropped the call and looked out into the distance.

On his private island, Ian made sure that all of his things were loaded on a staff boat. He had no plans of alerting the Rajas of his departure.

Everything needed to come as a surprise.

"Have they arrived at Kashmere?" Ian asked his butler who directed their men to take his bags to the boat.

"They should have arrived ten minutes ago if the waters were clear." The butler reported.

"Good, good, Ray and Cedric should be fully aware by now." Ian said with a nod as he looked into the distance.

He spotted his guests froliking in the beach, completely unaware of what was to come.

Very few staff were left on the island. They were just enough to convince the Rajas that everything was as they normally were.

"I want the rest of you to be on the boats as soon as the guests are dealt with." Ian instructed the butler.

"And you sir?" His butler asked with a concerned look on his face. The man had seen Ian grow up, he had worked for the Lim family for two generations. He saw Ian as he would see a son or a grandson.

"I'll be on the last boat out, I need to make sure that everyone has been dealt with." Ian told the old man in a firm tone, to which the man could simply nod in agreement.

When Ian had enlisted all of the staff for the island they knew that it would be part of a much bigger plan, that Ian needed their full trust and support.

All of them were more than willing to do whatever it took for Ian.

When the butler left him, Ian looked around, enjoying the view as he smiled faintly.

"This island needs a makeover, this will be perfect." Ian said to himself as he let the afternoon drone on.

Ian knew that some of his staff were also leaving that morning, he was hoping that their guests didn't notice the boats departing.

"Sir." His butler called out as he knocked on Ian's door.

"Yes?" Ian asked as he walked over and opened it slightly. Most of the furniture and fixings in Ian's wing of the mansion were gone, shipped out to Kashmere for safe keeping.

"Miss Ortega is looking for you, she said she wants to have a word with you before dinner." The butler informed Ian.

"Tell her I'll go to her room." Ian told the butler before dismissing him.

He couldn't let Jasmine come to his wing, it only had the bare minimum, just enough for the next events to seem like an accident rather than to seem planned.

Ian did check his room before finally leaving to meet with Jasmine.

Along the way, he bumped into Bernard Juan.

"Where are you off to? I rarely see you here." Bernard commented as he eyed Ian suspiciously.

"It's my home, it's none of your business." Ian said as he continued to walk away, ignoring Bernard.

"Finally giving in to Jasmine I see." Bernard teased, making Ian roll his eyes.

He knew Bernard was hiding his true emotions about Ian's visit to Jasmine, after all they had been seeing each other in secret for months.