Chapter 154

Right after Pearl left, her phone began to ring with an incoming message. Her heart sank as she read the content: "Help me, Pearl!" Pearl froze for a moment. Esther's impulsive nature made it unlikely that she would send such a text. There were two possibilities: either someone was controlling her and forcing her to send the message, or she was hiding and unable to make a call. Pearl hesitated to call or text back because doing so might reveal Esther's location if her phone wasn't on silent mode, potentially alerting her attackers. So, Pearl decided to use her hacking skills to locate Esther's phone. After some quick work, she pinpointed Esther's whereabouts. It was the same place where she had spoken to Richard just moments ago. Suspicion gnawed at Pearl as she hurried back to that location. Esther had many connections there, and as an A-list celebrity, her disappearance would surely cause a media frenzy. When Pearl got back there, Richard was gone. She looked around and