CHAPTER 187: LIVIA ASKED FOR HELP

The next day, Bernie Sanders met William Whitmore as promised. He brought along a buyer who agreed to purchase all the land owned by the Whitmore family. The holdings weren’t extensive, and the final amount wasn’t significant, but after a successful round of negotiations, both parties proceeded with the documentation.

At the hospital, Jennifer also finalised the sale of her remaining shares in EverBuild to Bernie. Fortunately, he had close ties with a brokerage firm and managed to arrange for a broker to come directly to the hospital. With the necessary transfer forms signed and stamp duty paid, the transaction was completed by the end of the day.

In the meantime, the Whitmore family sold off all their remaining possessions. All the proceeds were deposited into Jeanne’s bank account. They had discussed the decision thoroughly and concluded that, should anyone bear them ill intentions, Jeanne was the least likely to be targeted.

Later that evening, the doctors informed them that Jennifer would be fit for discharge the following day. They decided to spend a night at a hotel and then quietly leave the kingdom two days later.

However, they chose not to disclose their plans to anyone... not even to extended family or James’s relatives. The decision to leave the kingdom would be kept entirely secret. Their departure would be silent and without farewell.

***

Ethan picked up Freya from school that day. Eleanor had been occupied in her lab for the entire day. These days were more exhausting than usual for her, as she was now racing against a deadline to complete her project. The clan competition had already begun, and soon, she would have to join the winners at Kvernheim to attend the academy.

There were many components to her project, each assigned to a different team. Every team had a final objective, and all were working diligently to meet their targets according to the revised timeline.

But the most crucial part was integrating all the separate parts into one coherent whole. Eleanor refused to delegate that responsibility. She feared that, in the wrong hands, this knowledge could be catastrophic. That final integration, the heart of the project, she would complete herself... no matter how complex or burdensome it became.

That evening, Eleanor stepped out of her lab and exited the office. Teresa, Maya, and the others had already left. A few remained in the tech division, still engrossed in their work.

Without paying them much mind, she walked straight to the parking area, climbed into her car, and headed home.

She leaned her head back against the seat, eyes closed, fatigue creeping over her limbs. At that moment, her phone vibrated. She glanced down... it was her school friend Livia Greyson, the owner of Beyond Glamorous, the styling studio she occasionally visited before parties.

It surprised her. Livia had never called her before. Every previous time, it had been Eleanor reaching out.

She answered the call, and Livia’s anxious voice came through immediately, "Eleanor, I need your help. I don’t know any powerful person other than you, so I called you straight away."

Eleanor replied calmly, "Take a breath. Start from the beginning. Are you in trouble? I’ll do my best to help... just tell me what happened."

Livia composed herself a little. "It’s not me... it’s my friend. Do you remember Georgia Doyle? From school?"

Ordinarily, Eleanor wouldn’t have remembered such a peripheral figure. But ever since her bloodline awakened, her memory had become flawless. The name conjured up an image at once: a timid girl with a ponytail who always sat quietly at the back of their primary school classroom.

"I remember her," Eleanor said. "She was in our class... shy and soft-spoken."

"Yes, that’s her! Thank God you remember. After school, I was probably the only one who kept in contact with her. Georgia’s in-laws have her captive right now. She told me it’s something to do with money. Her phone has been confiscated and switched off. Somehow, she got hold of another phone and called me for help. But she couldn’t say much before someone noticed. I heard shouting... someone hit her and took the phone. That number’s been off since."

Livia paused to catch her breath, then continued, "Eleanor, I think she’s in real danger. She sounded desperate. I’ve got a few wealthy clients I could try contacting, but I don’t know if they’ll help. That’s why I called you. If you could help her... I’d owe you for life."

Eleanor sighed, "Don’t worry. I’ll help. Georgia was a classmate, and that bond doesn’t vanish just because we weren’t close. More importantly... you asked me."

She paused, then said, "Now listen... send me her mobile number, her address, anything you’ve got. Also, the number she used to call for help. Where are you now?"

"I’m at my shop," Livia replied.

"Good. Text me the details. I’m on my way to you. Get ready... you’re coming with me to get Georgia."

Eleanor ended the call without waiting for a response. She immediately instructed her driver to head to Rochdale Road, where Beyond Glamorous was located.

The driver relayed the destination to the convoy. They had been there several times before, so they knew exactly where to go.

Ophelia Blanc had flown to Switzerland to participate in the competition, so Isadora was riding in the passenger seat beside the driver.

Eleanor said, "Isadora, I think Sebastian is in the convoy. The others should be resting at the villa. Contact all the shadow guards. I’ll pick them up from the villa area."

Isadora relayed the message immediately.

A couple of minutes later, Livia’s message arrived. Eleanor forwarded it to her US command centre without delay.

Then she called the on-duty officer. "I’ve sent you a message. I need to locate these numbers or the person linked to them. It’s urgent... the individual might be in mortal danger."

She waited calmly for the response.

Roughly five minutes later, a message appeared on her screen, accompanied by geolocation data.

"Both numbers were last active in the same area. One went offline three days ago, the other around half an hour ago."

Eleanor opened the map on her phone and pinned the coordinates. The signal led her to 53 to 57 Briggs Avenue of South Bank, Middlesbrough, in the county of Cleveland.

After marking the location, she sent another message:

"I believe someone is being held captive at this address. Can I get assistance from the police?"

The reply didn’t come in text form. Instead, her phone rang. She answered.

The voice on the other end said, "Middlesbrough is a high-crime area with serious social deprivation... frequent violent offences, anti-social behaviour, drug activity, and criminal damage. It also ranks among the highest in the country for domestic abuse and knife crime. Gang activity is rampant. Firearms are rare, but the police are practically useless there. Worse, they might even work against you. You should handle them first."

Eleanor replied, "Check the profiles of the local police. How do I manage them?"

"Wait... Yes. Bribery is your best bet. Several officers in that area have been previously charged with corruption and drug-related offences."

"What about the gangs?" she asked.

"Standard gang turf. You can rough them up if needed... no one will blink. As long as no one dies, the police won’t bother opening a case."

"Understood. Be ready to wipe surveillance data once we activate the relay device," Eleanor instructed.

"Yes, Ma’am," came the crisp reply, and she ended the call.

They arrived at Beyond Glamorous not long after. From a distance, Eleanor spotted Livia pacing anxiously outside her shop, glancing frequently at the road and checking her phone every few seconds.

Eleanor rolled down the window and called out, "Get in."

Livia’s eyes lit up. She rushed to the car and slipped into the passenger seat. "Thank God you came."

"We’re going to Middlesbrough," Eleanor informed her. "You can let your family know."

Livia blinked, surprised. "Did you contact the police? What did they say?"

Eleanor smiled slightly. "You don’t need to worry about that. Do you have a recent photo of Georgia?"

"Not exactly recent... She visited Manchester five years ago. Will that do?"

"It should be enough. Send it to me," Eleanor replied.

Once the photo was received, she forwarded it to Isadora and said, "We’re going to rescue this girl. Ask Alaric to bring one million pounds in cash from Teresa’s villa. Tell your team to be ready... we won’t be staying at the villa for long."

"Understood, Ma’am," Isadora replied.

The convoy accelerated, veering off the main road as they made their way back to the villa. About twenty minutes later, they reached the estate grounds.

Livia looked around and froze as she noticed the armed guards patrolling the perimeter like a fortified military base. Her eyes flicked to Eleanor, then back to the guards. A chill crept down her spine. She suddenly realised that she knew far less about Eleanor than she thought.

She had heard Eleanor was rich and owned a successful company... but this? This was something else entirely.