"The Clan Successor should be right around this location."
The man in the passenger seat pulled out a tablet, showing Dewitt a tracking dot that was moving steadily across the map.
Dewitt's expression darkened as he stared at the screen.
He hadn't expected Frederick Foster's crew to move so damn fast.
Looking at their trajectory, they were heading straight for the docks. Were they
planning to smuggle Claire out of Apex immediately?
Taking the water route was definitely the smartest move. If they hired a private boat, they wouldn't even have to pass through security checkpoints.
Once they hid her below deck, she would vanish without a trace.
Instead of alerting the police right away, Dewitt dialed Edison's number.
Edison managed the VIA Group and had deep connections down at the docks.
The moment Edison heard the bait had been taken, any romantic mood he had with Jenny vanished instantly.
He was going to personally track down the bastards who took Claire.
"This guy you and Claire went to see, Melanie's supposed mentor-who exactly is he?"
Edison fired off the question as he sped toward the harbor.
Dewitt sounded thoroughly frustrated. "He's cunning. Honestly, I bet the ID he used
to check into The Royal Grand was a complete fake."
"What about Claire? There's no way she wouldn't leave us a clue." Edison knew just how sharp and cautious she was.
"Claire..." Before Dewitt could finish his sentence, he noticed an overlooked notification on his phone.
"Edison, give me a second. I think she did leave something. I just haven't had a chance to check her messages yet."
"Found it!"
Dewitt opened Claire's WeChat and saw a new message. It contained a name— Frederick Foster-and a digital portrait.
When did she find the time to draw this?
Although it was rendered on an app, it was incredibly detailed and accurate.
With a clear face to match the name, tracking the guy down would be a hell of a lot easier!
Dewitt immediately forwarded the name and the sketch to Edison.
Edison frowned at his screen. "I've never heard this name in my life. But more importantly, is this what the guy actually looks like?"
He had already dispatched someone to pull the security footage from the hotel. The video showed Melanie's mentor
terrifyingly bundled up with
dark lesions covering
whatever little skin was visible.
The hotel's original footage had been wiped by Foster's people, but this was Edison they were talking about.
He had brought in an expert to recover the deleted files, which was how he got his hands on Foster's profile in the first place.
The man Claire drew was undoubtedly Frederick Foster, but it clearly wasn't the man as he looked today.
To figure out his true identity, they needed to search for records from before he ever left Solenia Claire had mentally de-aged him, adjusting his features to remove the ravages of time and disease.
She had drawn what Frederick Foster likely looked like twenty years ago.
As long as they could identify the man in the sketch, they would know exactly who was pulling the strings!
Edison and Dewitt split the tasks and got to work.
Meanwhile, Dane, who was still in Apex, also received Claire's message.
She asked if he recognized the name Frederick Foster, noting that he was a Solenian who had fled to Sundara over a decade ago.
She attached the sketches as well. But for Dane, she sent two images.
The first was her digitally de-aged portrait, and the second was a sketch of exactly how Foster looked right now.
The moment Dane saw the two
starkly different faces and realized they belonged to the same man, he immediately dialed Walden's private number. Śwnovel
Although he could have gone through Van, calling Walden directly was much faster.
A younger Van wouldn't have any memory of this guy anyway.
But twenty years ago, Walden was at the absolute center of power. He would
definitely know!