Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
“Are you okay?’ He walked up to her with eyes full of concern.
Danika shook her head and smiled at him. ‘You came just in time. If you were any later, who knows what would’ve happened.”
She’d been prepared to fight three men on her own. The chances of her surviving were indeed very slim.
Hearing her words, Eustace felt guilty. “I’m sorry. I just came from the airport because I thought you would be there.”
Ever since he received Danika’s message, Eustace had been waiting every day. He ordered his men to search the airport every single day to check if she’d shown up. They would then immediately rush to the docks when he confirmed she wasn’t there.
“I’m not blaming you, Eustace. Thank you.” Given his lack of information about where she was, Danika knew it was a miracle for Eustace to appear there at the right time to save her.
Eustace hugged her, taking in her physical presence greedily. “Danika, I’m so glad I found you.”
“You’re exaggerating. I haven’t been gone that long,” Danika teased him. At most, it had only been a month, not as exaggerated as Eustace seemed to suggest.
“Don’t you know the saying ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder’?’ Eustace replied.
Danika rolled her eyes at him but didn’t free herself from his embrace.
In reality, she was very grateful. If it weren’t for Eustace’s persistence in finding her, what other way could she have escaped from the island? Maybe she could have found a chance to escape later, but it would have definitely delayed many things. She would have to wait until she’d at least gained Evan’s complete trust.
She didn’t have that much time to waste. Therefore, she was very grateful for Eustace’s appearance.
After a brief conversation, Eustace left with Danika. After all, this was still Evan’s territory. He might immediately send someone after Danika if he found out she had left. When she got onto the plane leaving Duxdence, Danika finally felt she’d truly escaped.
Then again, she didn’t know what Evan’s reaction would be. Would he still come looking for her?
Danika hoped not. She felt it was better to part ways like this; without decimating the last bit of goodwill between them.
At eleven o’clock that night, a private jet landed, and down came Evan. He walked briskly toward the castle. After coming to the island, this was the first time he’d been away for such a long time. Surprisingly, he missed Danika very much. He was cheered by the fact that he wouldn’t need to stay away for so long after this, and he would have all the time in the world to accompany his beloved Danika.
He walked into the castle smiling but soon found it was silent. There was no one in the living room. Evan didn’t think it was anything out of the norm. After all, it was very late, and Danika was probably already asleep.
However, he still wanted to see her, so he walked to her door and knocked on it. “Danika, are you asleep? If you’re not, can I come in and chat with you? N
There was no response.
Downstairs, in Olivia’s room, she heard the private jet landing and Evan walking into the castle. At that moment, she was deathly afraid of Evan finding out about the good work she’d done. But when she heard him going straight upstairs to Danika without hesitation, she felt her decision was correct. If Danika continued staying there, Evan would never look at her twice.
There’s No One in the Room
Olivia had her worries too. Although she’d sent Danika away and arranged for her to be disposed of, she still hadn’t received any news from the three people she sent over, so she didn’t know if Danika was dead or alive. The knocking from upstairs continued, annoying Olivia as she lay in bed tossing and turning.
Evan had been waiting for five minutes, but there was no sound coming from the room at all, which alarmed him. Danika wasn’t a heavy sleeper; even if she’d been asleep at this hour, she should have been awakened by his knocking.
There were no servants in the castle, so even if he wanted to find someone to ask, he wouldn’t be able to find anyone. He raised his hand and knocked on the door again, but no one answered.
Evan began to sense that something wasn’t right, and his tone became serious. “Danika, are you there? Say something if you are; otherwise, I’ll have to come in.”
No one answered. The castle was completely silent.
Evan called Howard, who quickly came over. Howard was still dealing with something, so he hadn’t returned to the castle yet and was a bit confused when he received Evan’s call.
“The room key,” Evan said coldly.
Howard didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t dare delay and quickly found the key to Danika’s room. When the door was opened, there was no sign of Danika in the room. She had disappeared without a trace.
When Howard saw Evan come out of the room with a gloomy expression, he immediately realized what had happened. “Boss, Miss Zellweger…’
“Go get Olivia for me,” Evan ordered coldly.
Howard was taken aback, but under Evan’s icy gaze, he quickly went downstairs to knock on Olivia’s door.
Olivia hadn’t expected Evan would choose to open Danika’s door right away. She thought he would leave after getting no response. She’d even thought that he might not find out until tomorrow morning that Danika had left. When she came out of her room, Evan had already come down and was sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Olivia walked over with some trepidation and confusion. “Evan, you’re back. What’s the matter?”
“Where’s Danika?” Evan asked, staring at her.
“Danika?” Olivia had considerably good acting skills and was prepared for this situation, so she wasn’t too flustered.
“Isn’t she resting in the room?” Olivia replied.
Evan sneered, and his gaze gave her a feeling that she was being seen through, which made her particularly uneasy.
“There’s no one in the room,” Evan stated.
Olivia was surprised. “How is that possible? I saw her enter the room with my very eyes, and she hasn’t come out since.”
Howard was also shocked and hurriedly said, “Boss, could Miss Zellweger be at the seaside?”
After all, Danika liked to go to the seaside, so it wasn’t unusual for her to not be in her room.
“When did you see her enter the room?” Evan asked.
“This morning,” Olivia answered.
Evan frowned, already starting to get angry. “This morning?”
“Yes, after you left, she returned to the room and told me not to look for her. Otherwise, she would say I bullied her when you came back. Under these circumstances, how would I dare to look for her?” Olivia explained.
Evan found it ridiculous. “You never knocked on the door after that?” “I knocked during lunch and dinner, but she didn’t answer,’ Olivia said. She then pouted and continued, “You know I don’t like her. I can’t be bothered if she has eaten or not.”
Do You Think I’m a Fool?
Evan had expected Olivia not to be on good terms with Danika. He asked Olivia to stay not because he wanted her to have a good relationship with Danika but simply hoped she would take care of her.
Looking at her with scrutiny, Evan looked as if he was doubting the truth in her words. Olivia could tell he was suspecting her and asked incredulously, “Evan, you don’t think I drove her away, do you? Do you think I would help her?”
That was true. Everyone assumed it was highly unlikely for Olivia to help Danika. No one would have expected that it was indeed her who sent Danika away. However, she didn’t do it for Danika’s sake but to help herself.
“Search the entire island and leave no stones unturned!” Evan ordered.
In fact, he knew the likelihood of Danika still being on the island was slim, but he didn’t give up. He had to at least make an effort to find her and see her with his own eyes to feel at ease.
That night, the island was in chaos. No matter how Howard and his men searched the island, there was no trace of Danika. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.
Listening to Howard’s report, Evan remained silent with a calm face. “Don’t bother continuing with the search. She’s no longer on the island.” Although he had suspected it before the search, he still felt dismayed upon confirming it. After all that they’d been through, she still chose to leave him.
“Boss, this is impossible! There are only two ways off the island. Where could she have gone?’ Howard was puzzled and couldn’t figure it out.
Evan wasn’t surprised by this. He glanced at Olivia, who was standing there, and sneered. “It’s the work of a traitor.”
“A traitor?” Howard was shocked. “Damn it! I’ll find that traitor no matter what.”
Olivia, who was standing to one side, felt a chill run down her spine. She had the feeling that Evan was referring to her. While she was thinking about whether she was suspected, one of Evan’s subordinates came in through the door and reported, “Boss, we received an express delivery at the company.”
“Get lost!” He was not in the mood to deal with company matters now and spoke irritably.
Despite his cranky attitude, the subordinate didn’t leave and said softly, “It… it was sent by Danika.” With those words, everything fell silent. Olivia’s eyes widened with shock, unable to believe what she just heard.
“Danika sent it? Does this mean she’s not dead?” Olivia pondered anxiously.
Before she could even think about what Danika could have sent, the subordinate who came to report whipped out his phone and opened the photo album before handing it over to Evan. There were two photos, one was the express delivery note with Danika’s name, and the other was a check with Olivia’s name.
At this point, Evan understood everything. He turned his head and looked at Olivia, who was standing beside him,
“You’ve worked with me for so many years, yet you’re still not smart enough.”
Olivia was stunned, and her intuition told her that whatever Danika sent was definitely nothing good. “Evan, what do you mean by that?”
“Did you give Danika a check?” Evan asked in return.
As soon as those words were spoken, Olivia’s legs went weak in an instant.
“That bitch! How dare she stab me behind my back!” she screamed inwardly.
If it weren’t for the check, even if Evan suspected her, there wouldn’t be any evidence. In the end, he would probably let her off the hook considering how long she’d been in his service.
All that might change now.
Olivia bit her lip and suddenly felt aggrieved. “Evan, things are not what you think. It was Danika who coerced me!”
“She coerced you? And you still gave her money?” Evan sneered and let her continue with her farce.
Olivia hurriedly explained, “She forced me to find a way to help her escape, and she made me write her a check. Other than that, she threatened to kill me! I had no choice but to-“
“Enough!” Evan interrupted her coldly. ‘Do you really think I’m a fool?”
“Evan…” “Get lost. From now on, I don’t want to see you ever again. Get off the island immediately.” Evan looked away, not wanting to say another word to her.
You Never Wanted to Stay
Olivia couldn’t believe that Evan was actually going to kick her off the island. Staying on the island meant she was one of Evan’s close confidants. Once she was kicked out, even if she went to work in the company, it would be completely different from before.
“Evan! You can’t do this! I’ve been with you for so many years. How can you kick me out?” She couldn’t accept such an outcome. She found it utterly incredulous.
She’d also put in so much of her effort in this place. Even in the beginning, it was she and Evan who bought this island as their base of operations. But now, she was going to be kicked out?
