Chapter 224 - The Islet Mystery 40

"What did you say?" Joey asked wide-eyed as he stared hard at Ajie.

"Ryan Neil Yu. Isn't he your boss?" 

"I don't know his name."

Ajie laughed sardonically at his confession. "Are you kidding me? How could you obey orders from someone you don't even know?"

"I'm telling the truth."

Joey was telling the truth indeed. When Ryan agreed to help him with the medical expenses of Shiela, he wore a mask and didn't face him. Ryan only provided him a private phone where he could call. He also gave Mr. Te his number so he could make use of his idle times apart from a series of training. Ryan only rarely asked him for a task and because of that, Mr. Te always prioritized Ryan's needs over his. Aside from the fact that Mr. Te had more experts under him, Joey was personally hired by Ryan.

Joey was not supposed to talk and be kind to his captives but the mentioned of Ryan Neil Yu perked his interest. His conversation with Shiela was still vivid in his mind and he made sure he couldn't forget the name of his grandson's father. Staring blankly at Ajie now, his mind did a quick recall of the voices who called and gave him tasks. Only now did he realized, or perhaps, give attention, that there were two callers all these times. One from an older man and the other one, from a young man. Could it be from a father and son?

"Ryan is not the bad person here. It is his father."

Shiela's words reverberated in Joey's mind and pondering about it now made him realize that those cruel orders came from the older man. His thoughts then traced back the connections he first had with the young man. It started with his first task of finding a pregnant woman within his father's territory in disguise of familiarizing their businesses. Ryan made him swear through a phone call him that he would keep the task as discreet as he could keep, even to his parents. Joey's heart pounded as he grasped its relevance to what Shiela had confessed him. This young voice could belong to Ryan Neil Yu, himself, who gave him the task of finding Shiela within his territory.

"You look shocked," Ajie voiced out his observation, the severity of the threatening situation dissipated slowly as the captor's expression changed from being terrifying to appalled.

"Tell me more about this person," Joey said, "I might let you escape from your doom if I get sufficient information about him."

Ajie laughed and shook his head, "How can we expect kindness from someone tasked to abduct us?"

Joey stared at him without blinking, his eyes reflecting gentleness and sincerity. "Let's just say that the mention of the name, Ryan Neil Yu, reminds me of my personal enemy. Both of us get the benefit, do we?"

Ajie thought about it and decided to accept the offer. They were already held as captives and escaping seemed so difficult. His mind was never prepared about this and he wasn't either educated regarding escapes and outwitting an enemy. He turned to Allie and looked at her, communicating through their eyes regarding her opinion about this. Allie nodded then lifted her head to look at their abductor's face.

"Bring us first to a safe place," Allie said, looking around and up the ceiling. Joey understood what her gestures implied. She may be thinking about CCTV's installed all around.

"I'll take you to your room."

The room was plain with a wooden bed in the corner. There was a closet across the bed, a four-seater table on the other side, and a bathroom. Looking at it now, Allie thought about her daughter and what could have happened with them. Were they captured also? Were they still alive? Were they safe but worrying about them? Her fears and worries dominated once again and she could no longer wait for another second to know the truth.

"First of all, may we know your name?" Allie did not hesitate to ask once she slumped herself into the bed.

Joey frowned and blinked, hesitating to comply. He looked Allie and Ajie for a long while, debating within himself if he should reveal his name. He was the one who asked for this favor and so it was only fair to tell the truth.

"Call me Joey."

"I am Allie and this is Adrian Lopez. I and my family first met Ryan during our cruise to Japan. He joined us because he wants to invest in our company, the Rough Seas Marine Supplies & Equipments."

Images of Shiela flashed in Joey's mind. He was visiting her at that time and she was jumping for joy because she got a contract for a business partnership with Rough Seas.

"Pa, Rough Seas is a promising and stable company. It already covers many countries in Europe and some states in the USA. I have also learned lately, that they are also expanding in UAE. Can you imagine my company's stability for the whole period we are connected to them?"

His heart skipped a beat as he was getting more excited about this conversation. These couple in front of him were the ones offering her daughter a contract. If they make her daughter happy,  and if they were kind to her, why would he withhold the information to them?

"I'm Joey Ferrer."

Allie and Adrian looked at each other at his mention of his last name. It was such a coincidence that they happened to meet another Ferrer. Though Shiela did not speak much about her family, she had mentioned about his father being in constant travel as an assistant to his boss. They put up the pieces together and concluded that Joey could be Ryan's assistant. Sad to say that his being an assistant was not for a noble cause.

"What do you mean by that look?" Joey asked, not leaving his gaze even for a blink.

"We happen to have a dear friend, a family, and business partner," Allie answered.

"Shiela Ferrer."