Aleksis was standing under a tree while writing a message to Lauriel when suddenly her hand was pulled by someone and before she could realize what was happening, her body had been pushed into a sports car and the door was closed from the outside.

"Eh ... what is this?" she asked, confused. She looked to the side and saw Nicolae sitting in the driver's seat. The young man fastened Aleksis' seatbelt, put on his own seatbelt, started the engine, and drove the card forward with full concentration.

All happened within a few seconds. Aleksis was astonished and only got back to her senses after they had left St. Mary University.

"Heyyyy!!! What are you doing?!!" She hit Nicolae's shoulder so the young man would stop the car, but Nicolae didn't listen. He looked in the mirror several times and drove the car even faster.

The blue sports car overtook the various vehicles in front of it with great skill. Aleksis' heart was pounding hard; she was scared. Finally, she could only stay silent and hold on to her seat while observing the highway. Her heart was beating really fast.

After five minutes, she began to observe what was happening. It looked like they were being chased by a black car and Nicolae was trying desperately to escape from the pursuit of the stalker.

"Wh ... who's chasing us?" Aleksis asked in a worried voice. "Are they your enemies?"

Nicolae shook his head quickly.

His focus was still on the crowded road in front of them, but he could still answer Aleksis' question, "I don't know. What is clear is that I saw some suspicious people watching over you. I saw that one of them had opened the trunk of his car and inside there were various suspicious items, usually used by kidnappers."

"Gosh ..." Aleksis took a deep breath. "What suspicious things?"

"Ropes, knives, duct tape and carpet." Nicolae answered.

Ugh! No way!

Aleksis shook her head. How was this possible? She had four bodyguards but it was Nicolae who saw the suspicious people who wanted to kidnap her?

She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that the black car was still following behind them. The driver was apparently as skilled as Nicolae in driving because even though Nicolae's car was swiftly slipping and zigzagging here and there in heavy traffic, he still could not get rid of his stalker.

For 15 minutes the two cars raced on the highway. The car's extremely high speed and their zig-zagging movements made Aleksis sick and she could only close her eyes, hoping that the nightmare would end soon.

Nicolae turned his head and when he saw Aleksis close her eyes to hold back nausea, he thought of something.

"Are you sick? I will stop this car in a quiet place. You just stay in the car and lock the door, let me face them ..." he said in a firm voice.

When there was an exit from the? highway on the left, he immediately steered the car to the left and off the main road. The car's speed was reduced greatly so Aleksis don't feel too sick anymore. Nicolae drove his vehicle along the road until he found an abandoned warehouse with a large yard.

The black car continued to follow them.

Nicolae's blue sports car finally stopped in front of the warehouse. The black car arrived 10 seconds later and stopped behind him.

"Can you drive?" Nicolae asked before opening the driver's door. Aleksis opened her eyes and nodded slowly. Nicolae continued with his instruction. "Once I get out, you lock the car from the inside and wait for me here. If anything happens to me, you must immediately take the car away and seek help."

Aleksis nodded quickly. Tears almost flowed down on her cheeks, because her mind was tense and her head felt dizzy. It all happened so suddenly and she could hardly think.

Nicolae took off his seatbelt, took something from the car drawer, then got out. He gave Aleksis a signal and the girl hurriedly locked the car from the inside.

Aleksis saw two figures coming out of the black car behind them in a threatening manner. She could not see clearly because the distance was rather far, plus her eyes were foggy due to stress.

Ugh ... where are my four bodyguards when I need them .. complained Aleksis.

She was about to call Takeshi or Carl, but then she realized her phone-watch had fallen off when Nicolae had hurriedly pulled her into the car. Ugh ...

She couldn't ask for help.

Aleksis could only pray that Nicolae would be able to face the two kidnappers.

***

After finishing her breakfast, Sophia invited Alaric to the roof of the building. They were going to their next destination using her private helicopter so she asked her pilot to pick them up.

Alaric was impressed by Sophia. Not only was the girl an immortal like him, she was also very powerful. The Meier Group was one of the largest business groups in Europe. It was certainly not easy to run the business alone.

"Why do we have to take a helicopter? Is our destination far?" He asked as they arrived at the roof and waited for the helicopter to land.

"Not really. We're going to the airport and then fly to Scotland. The weather outside is very sunny, so I want to see the view of London from above. It must be beautiful." Sophia smiled sweetly and handed her hand to Alaric so he would help her get into the helicopter.

Like a real gentleman Alaric opening the helicopter door then helped Sophia board the helicopter before sitting next to her. They wore noise canceling headsets and when everything was ready, the pilot gave the signal and the helicopter rose and headed north.

The 10-minute trip was very pleasant. Alaric looked at the city below and admitted that Sophia was right, London was known as a foggy city that often looked gray, but today they could clearly see the beauty of its historic buildings from above.

"We can use your plane, if you don't fully trust me yet," Sophia said after they got off the helicopter. "Tell your pilot that we're going to Glasgow."

Alaric looked at Sophia and nodded with a smile. Sophia was very smart. She knew that Alaric would not carelessly go with her, even though she claimed to be his cousin.

It would be safer for Alaric to use his own plane to go to this strange place Sophia wanted to show him. Therefore, as a sign that Sophia had no ill intentions to Alaric, the girl handed over the decision to Alaric to use his private plane.

"OK." Alaric called Pavel, who immediately coordinated his staff, and half hour later they were on Alaric's private plane.

"I actually like this plane," Sophia said as she entered and admired the very luxurious interior of the cabin, "But unfortunately I would never buy it."

"Why?" Alaric asked.

"Hmm ... personal reasons," Sophia answered with a shrug. She would never buy a plane from Atlas Corp after she learned that Caspar was the majority shareholder. She did not want to make the man richer than he already was.

"OK." Alaric did not push her. He was sure Sophia must have a good reason. "Then, whom will we meet in Scotland?"

"Sorry, I can't say much right now." Sophia looked apologetic, "You still haven't decided whether you will join the Alchemist Clan or choose to live with ordinary people. If you chose to return to your ordinary-human wife, I cannot reveal too much of our secrets to you ..."

Alaric sighed. Why were the rules so strict? He really wanted to know everything about the Alchemists, about his family and relatives ... Why couldn't he know everything just because he had not made a choice?

"If I want to know everything about the Alchemists, does that mean I have to leave my wife?" he asked in a depressed voice.

"It depends." Sophia looked at Alaric sympathetically, "Let Ned decide. I will follow his orders. If he thinks that you may know everything about us, even if you decided to stay with your wife, then I will tell everything you want to know. If he considers you an outsider until you are willing to join the clan, then we'll go home and I will not talk about the clan ever again ... I have a feeling that you are not ready to leave your wife yet."

"Who's Ned?"

"Prince Ned is a member of the five family honorary council. He and his wife, Portia, have the right to decide." Sophia smiled slightly, "Portia is your mother's cousin ..."

Alaric nodded in understanding. Apparently there were several important families who were the clan leaders. One of them was his own mother's cousin. It must meant that, most likely, his mother or the Linden family was also an influential family in the clan. He was really curious to know more about his mother's family.

"We can't talk about the Alchemists, because you are still not officially a part of us. Sorry ..." Sophia smiled calmly, "I will convince Ned to consider your unusual condition. Meanwhile, let us discuss business. However, Rhionen Industries and the Meier Group will collaborate on an EU automation project, right?"

Alaric nodded. He really would rather discuss business with Sophia than allowing himself to daydream along the way. His mind always wandered off to Aleksis and his dilemma of having to choose. He didn't want to think about it.

Two hours later the plane landed at Glasgow airport.