The Day I Walked Away My Empire Began novel Chapter 120

Lucie had been to the island a few times before while hunting for supplies, so she knew her way around. She was pretty familiar with the weather and the lay of the land.

Ruby, weighed down with a bunch of outdoor gear, hustled back after buying their ferry tickets. “Ms. Anderson, the car’s parked. Time to board.”

“Did we get everything? If this doesn’t go smoothly, we might be stuck on the island for a couple of days.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Anderson. I’ve got it all covered.”

“Alright then. Let’s go.”

Dressed for the outdoors in her hiking clothes and boots, Lucie grabbed her backpack full of equipment. The three of them boarded the ferry without much fuss.

The ride would take about two hours. Since it was off-season, there weren’t many passengers. They picked some seats. Lucie wasted no time and opened her laptop, getting right to work on her restoration designs.

Jean settled in by the bow, while Ruby stuck close to Lucie.

“All aboard!” a crew member called as he started pulling up the anchor.

“Wait! Someone else is coming!”

Just as the boat started to drift away from the dock, a ridiculously cute guy came sprinting up.

“Hey, no, stop! It’s too dangerous! The boat’s moving!” the crewman shouted.

The guy didn’t even slow down. He took a running leap, clearing nearly two meters of open water and landing smoothly on deck with a loud thud.

The crewman stared, half angry and half terrified. “Seriously? We already left! That was dangerous! What if you’d fallen? And do you even have a ticket?”

Elio just pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and shoved it into the crewman’s hands without looking. “Now can you stop talking?”

The crewman just gawked at the money. It looked like thousands.

“Uh, yes, sir. Of course. Please, sit wherever you like. I was just worried about your safety.”

“Great. You can go now,” Elio said, not even looking at him, and walked straight over to Lucie.

Lucie heard the commotion and glanced up. The second she saw Elio, she felt a headache coming on.

“Elio? What are you doing here?”

He flashed that infuriating, cocky smile of his. “Wow, what are the odds? You’re going to Great Ashwood too? Such a coincidence, right? Out of everywhere, we bump into each other here. Must be fate.”

“Lucie, why are you still the same as before? Do you really hate me that much?”

“Elio, please, can you just behave for once? I need to get some work done. Go sit somewhere else.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t bug you. I’ll just sit here and watch. That’s fine, right?”

Lucie just shook her head, at a loss. It was like being back in school all over again.

“Suit yourself.”

She tried to ignore him and get back to work, but with him sitting right there, it was impossible to concentrate.

Her phone started buzzing.

She checked the screen. It was Steven. He hadn’t called her in days.

She answered. “Hello?”

Steven’s voice came through, tense and icy. “Lucie, Cody’s missing. Did you take him?”