Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

Julian felt like a soulless man after losing Aurora, but the news Genevieve brought was like a beacon that rekindled his spirit.

Julian quickly called Vortex. "I have snews," he said.

Vortex, who had been at his wit's end, was surprised to hear Julian had a lead. "What news? Tell me." "The day after Ivy fell into the water, she used a foreign phone number to call her mother and let her know she was safe. She also sent a photo. I'll send it to you-it shows the sea in the foreground, but there are sfaint buildings in the background. Can you use your expertise to enhance the image and identify those buildings?" "If we have the phone number, our tech team might be able to track the location. If the phone is registered, it'll be even easier." "Great. I'll send you the number and photo right away." Julian's heart lifted. He ended the call and immediately forwarded the information to Vortex.

Genevieve, watching Julian react so quickly, knew she'd made the right decision to cto him. "Mr. Barnet, I'm not here to dredge up old grudges. I know I wronged Aurora in the past, and I've paid the price for it. I have no intention of disturbing you or your life now-I just want to live quietly. But I never thought Ivy would get herself into this..." "Mom, you can't blIvy," Zachary interjected. "It's because Aurora's call made you so upset that you nearly had a heart attack. How could Ivy not be angry?" Zachary's careless remark caught Julian's attention. "What call? What are you talking about?" "It was when I went gambling. My sister cto you for money, but you refused to lend it. Fine, that's your right. But Aurora called my mom to threaten her, which scared her so much she almost died from a coronary attack." "Aurora would never do something so cruel. She once said that you being expelled from the Montgomery family was punishment enough. Why would she stoop so low? If she wanted to, she could've done it long ago. Why let you live in peace? "I know Aurora's character well. She never attacks without provocation. More importantly, on New Year's Day, she was withthe entire time. She couldn't have made that call." Julian's words gave Genevieve pause. "Cto think of it, the phone number wasn't Aurora's usual one. But the voice sounded like hers-I swear I'm not lying." "New Year's Day... Walsh was with you, wasn't he?" Julian asked. "Yes," Genevieve replied.

"That explains it. That day, learned that Zachary was being held by the casino. At the stime, he took Ivy to rescue you from the casino and had someone impersonate Aurora to make that call." "My mom doesn't even know him. Why would he do that?" Zachary still couldn't understand.

Julian found Zachary utterly hopeless. If he and Ivy had even half of Genevieve's wit, they wouldn't have ended up in their current state.

"If Mr. Barnet's guess is correct," Genevieve explained, "did this to provoke Ivy- manipulating her anger toward Aurora to use her for his own purposes." Though Genevieve didn't know why wanted to frIvy, Julian's reasoning made sense.

Zachary, however, remained unconvinced. In his eyes, was the man who had spent half a million dollars to save his life. He couldn't believe his savior could have such malicious intentions.

After smore discussion, Genevieve finally stood to leave. "Mr. Barnet, I've shared this information with you. If you find Aurora, I hope you won't hold anything against Ivy. She has a temper, but she's easily manipulated. She's not inherently malicious-just misled." "Letknow if you hear anything else," Julian replied. He admired Genevieve's cunning. On the surface, she seemed to want to help him find Aurora. In truth, she hoped he would help her locate Ivy. And by providing him with this lead, she ensured that, in the future, he'd be less likely to hold a grudge against Ivy.

If you're loving the book, nel5sis where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience-all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! It was a shGenevieve hadn't used her intelligence for the right things in her youth. Now, in her later years, she had nothing left.

For Julian, finding Aurora was all that mattered. He had no quarrel with Ivy. Besides, once Ivy discovered Walsh's true motives, her suffering would be punishment enough.

After seeing Genevieve and Zachary out, Julian exhaled deeply. Though he still didn't know Aurora's whereabouts, at least he was certain she was alive.

The lack of tension in Ivy's expression suggested she wasn't in immediate danger. She'd said there was no signal where she was, and the photo's background showed a vast ocean. It was possible she was on a ship.

If they could trace the phone's location and analyze it geographically, they might find a lead on Aurora.

For now, Julian could do nothing but wait for Vortex's update.

Before long, Vortex called.

Julian answered immediately. "What do you have?" "Do you want the bad news or the good news first?" "Bad news," Julian said. He couldn't handle any more shocks.

"Alright. The bad news is that the SIM card is now at the bottom of the sea.

It hasn't been used. d since the call and the area where it was last active is a vast ocean with routes leading in every direction. We can't determine where the ship went based on that alone." "And the good news?" "The good news is that we enhanced the photo. In the lower-left corner, we found sbuildings. Using special techniques, we managed to make out a rough logo.

"Here's the lucky part-one of our tech guys recognized it immediately because it's from his hometown. Otherwise, we wouldn't have known where it was." Julian felt hope reignite. "Where is it?" "It's a small, underdeveloped county with a minor port. Passing ships often stop there to resupply with water and food. You might find something if you check it out." "What about the phone number?" "It's a foreign number. I've already asked someone overseas to investigate. It'll take stime, but don't worry." "Vortex, I really can't thank you enough. Without you, I wouldn't know where to start with this photo."

"Don't mention it. You're Nick's friend; that makes you my friend to te But got can't join you at the port-/ve spersonal matters to attend to. I'll send you the address."

"Got it. Don't worry, I'll call if I need anything." Julian remembered Nick mentioning that Vortex was taking toff to settle his engagement. He didn't want to interfere with such an important event. Vortex had already done more than enough. "Alright." Vortex hung up. Soon after, Vortex sent over the address. The county didn't have an airport or a high-speed rail station. Julian immediately booked a train ticket and prepared to set off.

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