Chapter 659 New Collaboration (1)
The landlord said, "I got no clue, either. I put this place up online, and some dude rented it. Six-month lease. Said he was renting it for a buddy and they'd move in. One day, his buddy, who I guess is this Frank guy you mentioned, shows up with his girlfriend. My place wasn't even ready, but they were desperate and said they had to move in 'cause they had nowhere else to go."
She paused for a second and continued, "So, I let 'em stay. A few days later, I come back from grocery shopping around noon and see the door to this room ajar. I freak out, thinking someone might steal stuff, so I go to remind them. As soon as I walk in, I hear a scream. I peek through the crack in the door and see a bunch of dudes beating up Frank. I was so scared, I wanted to call the cops, but one of the guys came out and threatened me, saying they'd kill me if I did. I was too scared to call the cops and just hid in my room. When it finally got quiet, it was already evening."
The landlord swallowed and added, "When I came out, the place was trashed. There were signs of a fight everywhere—broken table, shattered cups, glass shards, and bloodstains on the floor. Frank and his girlfriend were gone."
Julian asked, "Did you get a good look at the attackers?"
The landlord replied, "Nah, there were a lot of them, and some were wearing black clothes."
Julian asked, "Do you still have the info of the guy who initially rented your place?"
The landlord nodded. "Yeah, his name is Aiden."
"I see. Keep the money," Julian said, handing the cash to the woman before leaving with Yancy.
As they walked out of Skyline Apartments and got into the car, Yancy said, "Never heard of this Aiden guy. Julian, you gotta dig into this. My gut says Frank's disappearance is tied to Alice and that video."
Julian said, "They took Frank, but Ava's fine. Either Ava knows nothing about the video, or she wasn't there when Frank got taken."
Yancy asked, "Julian, can you still reach Ava?"
Julian shook his head. "Her phone's disconnected."
Yancy pondered for a sec and said, "If Ava's not involved, why'd she disconnect her phone? What's she scared of?"
"Think Ava knew about Frank's disappearance?" Julian was puzzled. "Ava's known Frank forever; why would she harm him?"
"Who knows what kind of drama's going on?" Yancy, exhausted from a long day, pressed a hand to his abdomen, wincing from the pain of his still-healing knife wound. With his eyes closed, Yancy said, "As long as Ava's still in Vachilit and not under control, finding her shouldn't be too hard. Once we find Ava and Aiden, we'll know where Frank is."
Julian asked, "Yancy, you think Frank might already be dead?"
Yancy's expression was grim. "Hard to say."
The filming of the Rising Winds crew was in full swing. Natalie was almost always in character on set. Oscar's control over the film's pacing was top-notch, and Matthew's script was flawless. During filming, Natalie got so into her character, Zoey, that even after the scenes were done, she couldn't snap out of it. At night, lying in bed, Natalie would close her eyes and replay all the details of the case in her mind.
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