Chapter 169
Once the group stepped inside, the door slid shut automatically behind them.
Maxine cautiously rounded the corner. Just as she suspected, there was indeed a secret passage hidden within.
Just as Maxine was about to
press the button on the wall, Urban’s voice suddenly came from behind her. “What are you doing here?”
Maxine jumped at the sudden sound of Urban’s voice and whirled around. He walked over and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Maxine lifted her chin and pointed ahead. “This button here opens the mirror.”
Urban raised an eyebrow and reached for the button, but Maxine abruptly grabbed his wrist to stop him.
“Let’s not act rashly,” Maxine cautioned. “A group just went in, and we don’t know what we’re dealing with. We should leave for now.”
“You’re right,” Urban conceded, pulling his hand back. “Should we come back later?”
For now, that was all they could do. The only thing they knew was that this bar wasn’t what it seemed, there had to be more hidden behind the mirror’s secret passage.
Back at their booth, Maxine was much deeper in thought. If Cleo really disappeared in this bar, then there had to be something significant hidden in that
secret room.
That night, Maxine returned to Cleo’s place. With Jessica temporarily taken to the Soto family’s home by bodyguards, Maxine had to make do alone for the night. She planned to call the police early the next morning and have them investigate Cleo’s last known whereabouts.
She had no idea how long she’d been asleep when a faint rustling sound jolted her awake. Reaching for her phone on the nightstand, she saw it was just past 3 a.m.
She thought, ‘Maybe it’s just my imagination.‘ She was about to drift back to sleep when she distinctly heard the faint rustle of fabric.
Instantly alert, she grabbed her phone and cup, then scrambled under the bed.
Thankfully, Cleo’s bedsheet was long enough to completely conceal Maxine as she hid beneath the bed.
Peering through the gap between the bedsheet and the floor, she saw a pair of sneakers stop by the bed. ‘They expected to find me here,‘ she thought, as their owner circled the bed in disbelief, searching for her.
Another figure crept up behind him and whispered, “Well? Where is she?”
The man said, his voice tight with irritation, “No idea. Didn’t our lookout say she’d be here tonight? Where the hell is she?”
The man behind him cursed under his breath. “Call them. I’ve checked everywhere. There’s no one in the room.”
The room was pitch–black. The two intruders didn’t even dare to turn on their flashlights, for fear of attracting attention. They knew Urban had people watching the house, at the slightest disturbance, his bodyguards would rush in.
They had spent days scouting the place before finally making their move, carefully scaling the back wall to slip inside.
”
“We shouldn’t stay here any longer. Let’s go,” one of the en
whispered.
The two intruders were clearly frustrated by their wasted trip. Hearing them finally leave, Maxine let out a quiet sigh of relief. She thought, ‘Once they’re gone, I’ll call the bodyguards and then the police!”
But then, after only a few steps, the older man suddenly whispered urgently, “Wait!”
Maxine watched as he stepped to the bedside. She heard the mattress creak under his weight, then the slow rustle of hands moving over the sheets,
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Chapter 169
checking for any lingering warmth. Only when he was sure the bed was cold did he finally withdraw.
Thankfully, it was freezing cold. She was so exhausted when she got back that she just slept in her clothes without turning on the air conditioner, so there was no body heat left on the bed. Otherwise, those two would’ve realized she was hiding.
