Accident Prone

Max, Hunter, and Quentin entered the penthouse suite in a bad mood.

"What happened?", Mia asked. She didn't dare make assumptions.

"That doctor checked out of the hotel.", Hunter responded grimly. "We banged the door and when no one opened we called the staff to let us into his room and we found out that he left. His phone is off so calls are not getting through and Ian can't locate him with GPS."

"I have someone who got in touch with the manager of the White Orchid. They are closed now, but Max's men will be able to enter and to check the place.", Quentin said.

"That bastard!", Max squeezed through his teeth while thinking about Dr. Snow. "Two hours ago, I spoke with him and he pretended to be clueless. I knew that something was off when he told me that Liz left the restaurant without him. He would never leave her on her own, he was ALWAYS sticking to her! I was so stupid!"

Mia and Brianna agreed that something is off. They were aware how Dr. Snow was enamored with Liz and if he was innocent, he would stick to Max to offer help or at least to find out what is going on, and not check out of the hotel as soon as he found out that Liz was missing. His behavior was very suspicious.

Max was full of fury and he punched the wall while trying to release some of his frustration. It didn't help.

"He is from Portland, right? He has an apartment and a job. Dr. Snow is something like a celebrity in the field of surgery and he will not abandon his flourishing career. Fabricio will station men to wait for him at home and at work.", Mia said and reached for her phone.

Max rubbed his forehead forcibly and cursed under his breath. "I remember the bastard saying that he is on vacation until Monday."

"He will go home eventually.", Mia tried to sound optimistic, but she knew very well that Thursday only passed and it's a long wait until Monday. That gives Dr. Snow three full days to stay under the radar, assuming that he will come to work on Monday.

They don't know if Dr. Snow has Liz or if he knows where Liz is, but he must know something. Unfortunately, he is unreachable now.

With this, Mia and Brianna returned their focus to the laptops in front of them and Hunter and Quentin joined them.

Max walked to the big window and looked down. The Bellagio fountains were not on because it was late, but the streets were still bustling with people. On the previous morning, Max was with Liz in this suite, and they enjoyed the view and each other's company. Now the view was bland, and the lack of Liz's presence was weighing on him to the point of madness.

Max wanted a drink to take the edge off, but he knew that drinking right now would be a bad decision. He needed a clear mind if he will find Liz.

Max wondered if there were signs. Was there something that he missed? Was this preventable? Max didn't have answers to these questions, but he had to think about something because giving up was not an option.

"Found one!", Brianna exclaimed while pointing at the screen. "Look at this woman with a blonde bob hairstyle. She came out six minutes after the Liz impersonator entered, and we don't see her entering the restroom in the previous twenty minutes of the video. Also, she has the same sunglasses that the Liz impersonator wore!"

Mia squinted at the screen. "But the video quality is not the best and with those sunglasses on, even if she is someone we know, it would be difficult to tell."

"Don't be discouraged.", Quentin said. "Let's get other angles and follow her out of the mall. With any luck, we will see a car in the garage or her associates and we can use that to locate her."

Hunter was already on the phone. "I'm telling Ian to track her through the mall and send us corresponding videos…"

Hunter, Mia, Quentin, and Brianna were invigorated by this new lead and they were all busy working on digging deeper. Max watched them and he was grateful that he and Liz have such good friends in their lives. 

Everyone stiffened at the sound of Max's phone ringing. He held his breath and fished it out of his pocket.

An unknown number… Normally, Max would ignore calls like these, assuming that it's random or soliciting, but now it's different.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Max…", a familiar sultry voice sounded from the speaker.

Max's brows furrowed in slow motion as his biggest nightmare became reality. "Irene?"

She chuckled. "Oh, how nice that you recognize my voice."

Max felt like all the light was extinguished from the world. It's not that he didn't think about the possibility that Irene was behind Liz's disappearance, but whenever that popped into his mind, he would push it back forcibly. After all, Irene or not, it didn't matter who kidnapped Liz. They were without leads and the only thing that mattered was to find Liz.

However, knowing that it's Irene, made the whole situation much more challenging. Other than Irene being a psychopath with a mission to destroy Max, since she left the Alpha group and tried to hire assassins to get Liz, Max had his people actively looking for any trace that she might leave behind in order to find her. Because Irene eluded them so far, Max knew that she had a different identity and that she abandoned name Irene Brooks and everything that came with it.

"Where is Elizabeth?"

When Hunter and Quentin understood that Irene has Liz and that Irene was on the phone with Max, they scrambled to reach Ian so that he can trace the call.

Mia and Brianna had concerned expressions as both of them understood there was a big chance that Irene was the Liz impersonator.

They held their breaths when Max switched his call to the speaker for everyone to hear.

On the phone, Irene exhaled in displeasure. "You should ask me how I am doing. You know, since you kicked me out of the Alpha group, I don't have anywhere to go. My career…"

"I didn't kick you out. You left after selling my company's secrets.", Max said stiffly. He didn't want to provoke Irene, but he knew that he needed to stall for time so that the call can be traced.

"Don't interrupt me!", Irene hissed angrily. "Where was I? Oh, yes… My career is gone, and so is my reputation… I am left with nothing other than vengeance. Tell me, Max… how can I move on when I know that the people who are responsible for my misery are enjoying?"

"Where is Elizabeth?"

"She is… here.", Irene responded, and Max knew that she was smiling. "Don't bother tracing the call. It's a burner phone and I will end the call before you can locate me. Listen. I have your dear fiancée which means that I have you."

Max stared at the phone as if he can see on the other side of the call. "What do you want?"

"For now, I want to show you how it feels when your world collapses and there is nothing you can do about it.", Irene said and ended the call.

"Irene? Irene!", Max shouted. "FUCK!"

He was about to throw the phone in anger, but it vibrated in his hand. Max checked it and saw that he received a message. It was a photo of Liz. She was curled up on the floor with her hands and legs tied, bruised, and bloodied. Max stared at the photo as the room was spinning.

He was not aware at what point the phone slipped from his hand.

"That bitch!", Mia hissed when she got Max's phone from the floor to see what he was looking at.

Brianna came closer to see the photo and she frowned. "Liz is wearing a dress like servers in that Japanese restaurant. This confirms that Liz was taken from the restaurant and she never stepped into that mall."

"Can the photo tell us where Liz is?", Hunter asked and took the phone from Mia's hand.

He pressed his lips into a line when he saw that it's a photo of Liz on the ground and other than the floor being dirty, there was nothing else. Hunter's heart ached at the sight of battered Liz. Those must hurt, and he couldn't imagine what Max was going through.

Max was standing without moving, and his eyes were dead as if someone extinguished his will to live. He chanted silently that he was sorry, cursed the Heavens for putting them in this situation, and he wished that he can swap places with Liz.

"We should look into security cameras of the restaurant. Irene needed help to do this…", Quentin said.

No one addressed Max, as they were aware he was fighting with himself. Knowing that Irene was behind this must be excruciating. She was a ghost who returned into his life and nearly cost him his relationship with Liz and his life as he ended up in a car accident, she slipped through his fingers after selling the secrets of the Alpha group, and now she returned as a nightmare. 

This was not the time to space out, but everyone understood that Max needed a minute.

They focused on those small clues they had because this will stop only if they manage to find Irene and Elizabeth.

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