Departure with a Belly (Alaric and Victoria)

Chapter 384

Bane stood still and fixed his gaze on the woman. “There’s no need for that, Victoria.

The waitress can stay for a meal.”

“It’s fine. I don’t have an appetite now.” After finishing her words, Victoria walked over to

the couch and lay down before shutting her eyes. She seemed like she didn’t want to

talk any longer.

The waitress had no idea what was going on, but she could tell that their conversation.

didn’t turn out too well as the woman was ignoring the man. That’s odd… The man was

really gentle when he was talking to her. Why aren’t things working out?

Since the woman didn’t seem interested in her food anymore, the waitress got to her

feet. “I won’t bother you guys anymore, then.” The waitress headed toward the door

after that.

“Hold on.” Bane stopped the waitress before he walked over to Victoria and gazed at

her face. Her eyes were still shut tight. “I’m sorry. I was being overly cautious. I

shouldn’t have been so suspicious of you, and I was wrong to have done that. Why

don’t you get up and have something to eat?”

However, regardless of what he said or how gentle he sounded, Victoria remained as

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still as a dead body. She completely ignored him. “Victoria?” Victoria continued to lie

still in her spot. “Should I carry you over to the dining table?”

Victoria opened her eyes abruptly, only to find Bane’s gaze inches away from hers. She

was shocked to find him so close to her, but she managed to calm herself down

quickly. “Is that all you know how to do?” she hissed.

He curled his lips into a smile. “I don’t have a lot of tactics, but I keep those that work,”

he replied. Victoria looked away for a moment before she sat upright. “I’d like to have

some time on my own. Since you don’t want anyone to come close to me, you can bring

the waitress away now. I don’t want you to bother her in the future.”

“I’m not going to bother her. I just want her to stay for a meal with you. You haven’t

eaten in a long while,” Bane stated.

“I’m not in the mood to eat.” This particular conversation kept going around in circles,

but Victoria was too stubborn to give in. She didn’t even want to meet his gaze.

Eventually, Bane had no choice but to head off with the waitress. The waitress could

tell that Bane was rather glum after he left the room, so she tried to comfort him. “You

shouldn’t be too sad, Sir. Your girlfriend isn’t asking for too much–she probably just

wants someone to have a meal with her. If you really want to make her happy, perhaps

you can consider getting her some flowers and chocolates,” the waitress suggested.

Chapter 304 Seeking Help

Bane forced a smile when he heard the waitress‘ suggestion. “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll think

about it.” Bane’s emotions were all over the place after the conversation he had with

Victoria earlier, so he wasn’t in the mood to speak to the waitress. The waitress could

tell that he was rather gloomy, so she excused herself without saying much else.

Once both of them left, Victoria hurried into the washroom to make a call. If Bane asks

the waitress about any of this, he’ll probably take some time to question her. This is the

only time I get to call for help. As for what happens later… Well, I shouldn’t care too

much about that now.

Victoria hesitated for two seconds before she dialed Alaric’s phone. Beep… Beep…

Victoria panicked after a while. Why isn’t he picking up the call? There’s a time

difference, and it should be nighttime there since it’s daytime here. Did Alaric silence

his phone? If he did, then he probably won’t hear my call. Victoria didn’t want to wait for

too long, so she eventually thought of calling Summer.

Summer picked up the call from the unknown number, and she was shocked when she

heard the familiar voice of her best friend coming from the other end of the line.

“Victoria? Did you change your phone number? Also, why are you calling from a

different region? Aren’t you back in the country?” Summer was a true friend–she was

quick to sense that something was wrong.

“I want you to remember everything that I say, and I don’t want you to interrupt me as I

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Chapter 384 Seeking Help

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speak.” Victoria ignored Summer’s questions and spoke in a stern voice. Summer could

immediately sense the severity of the situation as it was rare for Victoria to be so

serious. “Okay,” Summer uttered with a solemn nod. At the same time, she tapped on

her phone’s recording button just to ensure that she wouldn’t miss out on anything that

Victoria said. She would also have a recording if she forgot anything.

“My location shows that I’m in Mauldin now, and I’m located in a high–end hotel that’s a

twenty–minute drive away from the international airport. There are two 24–hour

convenience stores outside the hotel, and I’m on the 16th floor. I don’t think I’ll be here

for long. There are about two to three men keeping watch outside the doors, and I

might be transferred elsewhere tonight, but I’ll try to find ways to keep myself here for a

while more. If I fail to do so and end up getting brought elsewhere, I’ll find a chance to

contact you again in the future.”

Summer froze after hearing Victoria. Did she get kidnapped? At that moment,

Summer’s superior showed up in search of her. He turned around when he saw her on

the phone, as he figured that he could talk to her later. “Hey, hey, hey,” Summer called

out for the man to stay. Erik Ludson, whom Summer often referred to as ‘the devil‘,

walked over when he saw the anxious look on Summer’s face. “What is it?”

Summer turned on the loudspeaker of her phone before she spoke to Victoria. “Hey

Victoria, I told the dev–I mean, I told Mr. Ludson to come over and listen to our call.

Chapter 384 Seeking Help

He’s smarter, so I’m sure he’ll be helpful.” Erik heard the words that had nearly slipped

out of Summer’s mouth, and he figured that she was calling him the devil. If he were

being honest, this wasn’t the first time he had heard Summer calling him the devil.

Previously, he even heard Summer complaining to her best friend about how she was

single because he kept ordering her to do work. However, Erik hadn’t expected Summer

to accidentally expose herself today.

8

Erik had been about to confront her about the nickname he was given when Victoria

began to repeat herself on the other end of the line. Upon hearing Victoria’s words, Erik

narrowed his eyes before speaking into the phone. “Are you able to send us your

location? I’m sure you can do that on WhatsApp.”

Even though Victoria had a new phone number now, she would have to register an

account if she were to send any texts, and this would be too time–consuming.

“That would take too much time. I got the SIM card from a waitress, and I’m not sure

when someone is going to find out about it,” Victoria explained.

“Someone? Who’s the someone?” Summer asked in a curious tone. Victoria pressed her

lips together without responding for a while. “How about this,” Erik uttered in a patient

tone. “You can put your headphones on or put us on loudspeaker,” he started.

Summer widened her eyes in surprise after hearing Erik’s words. “Are you mad, you

Chapter 384 Seeking Help

devil? Victoria was obviously kidnapped. How could you tell her to put us on

loudspeaker at a time like this?” Summer hissed.

“She’s not whispering, so I’m sure she’s safe for now,” Erik responded calmly. He

pretended not to hear what Summer just called him.

“Oh, that’s true. You should go along with what he said, then,” Summer added. Victorial

didn’t bring her earphones along, so she had no choice but to turn on her loudspeaker.

“Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’ll just have to answer me as best

as you can. At the same time, register a new account and send your location over if

that’s possible,” Erik uttered.

“Sure.” Victoria seemed to calm down a little, and she turned on the shower in the

washroom before locking the door. Then, she stood in a corner that was further away

from the door before she got to work.

Erik was evidently a capable and independent man who started a business of his own-

he remained calm and rational despite the urgency of the situation.

Every question he asked Victoria turned out to be useful. He tracked her movements

from the starting point all the way up until she lost consciousness, and he noted down

all the routes she took after waking up. Then, he gave her some instructions for what to

Chapter 384 Seeking Help

do if she were to be caught by someone.