Chapter 221 - The Islet Mystery 37

Amazed by the wonders of the glowing Chara blooms at night, which sparkled like Christmas lights underneath the water, Allie wanted to go further into the broader expanse of Chara channels. Yet, Andrew and Joanna had to bid goodbye already since their drummer complained of stomach pain. The had to bring him right then to the company doctor who worked for the hotel for the graveyard shift.

As they were standing by the shore, a man approached them and offered them a speedboat. Being not new to powered boats as they were builders and designers themselves of yachts and ships, they did not have to think twice. If they were very capable of running bigger vessels, how much more capable were they for the smaller ones? They knew every detail of a vessel's mechanism and felt they did not need any assistance.

The two hopped on right away and powered the vessel to life. They explored the entire Chara channels and wondered why they never heard it featured in any documentaries. 

"Jie, can you help me put the pieces together?" Allie asked as she leaned her back against Ajie and as the latter wrapped her in his arms. With the boat's engine being turned off, the small craft swayed through the gentle rockings of the waves.

"What is it?" Ajie replied as he lifted his head from the crook of Allie's neck.

"Shiela had warned us about the use of Myrtle Shade creamer. According to her, the creamer contained a powdered extract of Myrtle Shade, which is highly but gradually addictive. She even believed that Cherry's mom's addiction could be because of the Myrtle Shade, specifically the Cafe affogato flavor."

Ajie sat up straight as he listened intently to Allie, still holding her close to him. She explained every detail she knew about the creamer and how the authorities failed to trace it.

"What puzzles me is Ryan's involvement in this. He revealed to us that his family owned the MS Sciences, Inc. and that they also owned the Myrtle Shade coffee shop business. Just a while ago, Shiela reminded me that Myrtle Shade comes from these Chara blooms, and the antidote for its adverse effect comes from its flowers."

"Do you mean to say that Ryan may be involved in drug trafficking? And that he personally manages the production of Chara blooms?"

"Yes, that's what I want to point out."

"Dear, since their company is about manufacturing drugs, perhaps Chara blooms is one of their sources. We can not tell if he is also involved in the manufacturing of its dangerous amounts and its spreading to the black market." 

"Jie, Shiela also mentioned that Ryan's dad was one of the syndicate leaders who were arrested together with dad. My question is, is Ryan real? What if he is just disguising? What if he is coming for revenge against  dad?"

Goosebumps spread across Ajie's nape as this thought occurred to him. He recalled that Ryan just showed up without a prior connection to them and offered investment right away. He was sure that before coming to them, Ryan did some investigations about them. He probably studied ahead where he could cunningly link to them. 

He shuddered, thinking about his family on the yacht, especially Chloe. Just as he powered the engine on, their boat came flying like a bolt of lightning towards a dark area where they couldn't see anything. A somewhat electrical force sucked them forward, and they immediately knew that what they feared right now was coming true.

______

Joey came to the area as instructed. His order this time was to abduct the daughter of his master's enemy at the specified time and date. He prepared the place as well as the methods he would be using in taking them as his captives. Fortunately, his plan worked out fine, and he did not make much effort to arrest them.

After turning the control on to pull the boat over, he slowly dragged it inside the hidden cove while it was still low tide. By midnight, as the moon would rise high up in the sky, the gravitational pull would gather the water in high tide, and it would totally block the cove's entrance. 

He knew that the impact of his pull, the pitch darkness of the surroundings, and their rising fear of what was happening, would shut down his victim's memory. They would not remember where they entered, and they wouldn't know where to go out.

Once he maneuvered the boat to a full stop in front of his master's beach house, he wore his bonnet and jacket, pulled out his pistol from its holster, then walked over towards his victims. The instruction was clear; he shouldn't do them any harm yet until further orders.

"Follow me," Joey's loud voice jolted both Allie and Ajie to look up to him. They didn't notice him right away as their eyes were still scanning all over the surroundings.

"Where are we, and why do you do this to us?" Ajie dared to ask, as he alighted ahead of Allie out of the boat. He shoved her behind him, in case something would happen.

"I am only following an order to bring you here and not to tell you who makes the order."

Allie nudged Ajie gently on his side to tell him to stop asking. He might infuriate the man, and it might prompt him to harm them. In times such as this, they shouldn't be using their mouths but their senses.

To Allie's relief, Ajie listened and kept his mouth sealed as they followed the man inside the house. To their surprise, he turned on the light, and the beautiful interior design of a living room greeted their eyes. It looked like the whole structure was newly renovated, and all the furniture in its right places were all elegant and in contemporary designs.

"Who owns this beautiful property underneath the sea?" Ajie asked again at the man whose brown pupils were the only part he revealed to them.

The man glared at them, perhaps angered by Ajie's persistence. He already made it clear that they shouldn't be asking questions, but Ajie seemed to forget it in a blink of an eye.

"Even if you won't tell us, we know that your master is Mr. Ryan Neil Yu. Isn't he?"

Joey squinted and stared back at them for a while and asked, "What did you say?"