Chapter 295

Had he known, he probably wouldn't have let Freya move in.

Percival walked upstairs alongside her, saying, "After Freya was adopted by my father, she lived in the Stewart mansion. After my father died, she suddenly wanted to move out and was very firm about it. At the time, I wondered if someone had—"

"Then she suddenly bought a house far below market value. I had someone check it out, and the house itself was fine. The issue wasn't the house, but someone was slowly trying to kill Freya." He barely interacted with Freya at the time. She deliberately kept her distance, afraid of becoming a burden. But I truly saw her as a sister. Occasionally, Callum helped her with things in the entertainment industry."

This suggests her desire to keep her distance was to protect herself from Edie, Percival said quietly.

He didn't understand women's minds, nor why Edie would target Freya. "Was it simply because Freya's mother was involved with my father years ago? That was so long ago!" he wondered.

"She was probably threatened or intimidated when younger, hence her desire to sever ties with the Stewarts," Odalys said. Other people in the industry knew Freya as a rich young lady, but never her benefactor. Hearing Percival's words, it was clear Callum had likely helped solve problems, making people wary of targeting Freya, and thus less eager to cooperate with her.

They reached the top of the stairs and went to their rooms.

Odalys bathed, changed into pajamas, and lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She placed her phone beside her to charge while scrolling through the news. Many posts concerned Sophia: "[Breaking: Someone exposed Sophia for offering her body]," "[Finnian's leg was broken in the middle of the night]," and "[Sophia was seen meeting Finnian late at night—the fallen gentleman and a promiscuous star]." There were also posts about Odalys: "[Odalys' tarot card readings are in high demand]," "[Fans are begging Odalys to go live]," and "[Police Report: Odalys unintentionally helped solve several cases]."

These headlines trended across the internet. Sophia's scandal dominated the news, and the Bennen family hadn't intervened. Many fans had abandoned her.

Odalys checked her Twitter and saw over 80 million followers. Her inbox overflowed with messages. She scanned them, about to close the app, when she saw: "[Help, please. I'm in trouble.]"

Her fingers trembled as she clicked it. The message was sent half an hour ago. She replied, "[What's going on?]"

The person replied immediately: "[My sister is missing. Could you do a tarot reading to help me find her?]"

The explanation came quickly: the person's sister had gone missing. Odalys replied, "[Have you reported it to the police?]"

"[I did, but it didn't help. They said there's no footage, and my sister is a high school student without a phone. Normally, she comes straight home after school.]"

"[But last night, she didn't come home. I asked her classmates, and they said she went to the market after school to buy groceries, but the footage shows her disappearing around a corner.]"

Reading this, Odalys felt a chill. She texted, "[Send me her birthdate and a photo.]"

The person immediately sent them. Odalys glanced at the date and sat up.

"[She's been kidnapped]," Odalys typed.

"[Can you tell me where?]" the person replied.

"[Go to a spot near the water by the river. Look for any abandoned houses within 1,500 feet of your home.]" Odalys instructed.

The person seemed confused. He'd searched all night but found nothing.

"[I think I know where.]" he typed. "[There's a temporary fishing shack near my house, but no one lives there now. It's been abandoned since they banned fishing along the river.]"

Odalys felt his anxiety. "[Bring some people with you]," she said.

There was no reply; he was likely rushing.

Odalys gripped her phone, staring at the photo and birthdate. A deep silence fell. A young high school student had been targeted and kidnapped. A night had passed. The girl was probably still alive, but possibly raped.

Odalys gripped her phone, her feelings complicated. She didn't know if the girl would recover, but perhaps this was her fate. Acceptance might mean survival; otherwise… the girl might take her own life. This reminded her of Selah before her time travel. Selah couldn't accept her fate, and died because of it.

A knock on the door broke her thoughts. She heard Dorian: "Mrs. Stewart, Evander wants you downstairs for dinner."

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute," Odalys replied.

She changed into a casual black outfit and went downstairs, glancing at her phone. There were no further messages.

"Something on your mind?" Percival asked, seeing her distracted.

Odalys wasn't easily affected; she'd seen much, and everyone's fate was destined.

"Earlier," Odalys recounted the events.

Evander was silent. "To think this happened in Crownridge," Evander muttered, his expression darkening. Kidnappings were rare, and doing it near a school was incredibly bold. "We need a volunteer group immediately, to monitor things. Anyone with a past should be investigated and tracked. Once they show tendencies, they need to be flagged, and we should implant monitoring chips to control their movements."

"I already had Callum handle that a few days ago," Percival interjected.

Evander and Odalys were surprised. They hadn't expected Percival's initiative.

"When I saw Odalys on that variety show and met Rafael, I made the connection and started the funding," Percival explained. Unfortunately, it was too late. If they'd acted sooner, maybe the girl wouldn't have suffered.

Just then, Odalys received another private message. It was from the other person: "[Thank you. I found her.]"

Odalys stared before replying: "[Don't kill him. If you go to jail, how will your sister live?]"

There was no reply, but soon a trending headline appeared: "[Rapist found by Southside River. High school student assaulted. Family discovers, breaks his legs, and castrates him.]" The news flashed before Odalys' eyes.