Forty-five minutes eventually passed and both parties knew that 'Aleksis' was no longer in the hospital so there was no one to fight over anymore.

'Alaric' raised his hand and his guards immediately formed a circle around him, apparently securing the surrounding perimeter. Lauriel and his team then saw a stealth helicopter suddenly appearing from nowhere and landing gracefully in front of the Mandalay Building.

'Alaric', Takeshi and Kai hurriedly went up and left the place. After they're gone, their men swiftly escaped with a few black armored vehicles.?Their arrival and departure attracted the attention of many people and all of them were left to wonder about what had just happened.

Lauriel sighed. This should not be the case. He really didn't expect 'Alaric Rhionen' to come personally to Mandalay Building and have his men take 'Aleksis' away. He initially wanted to meet face to face with the assassins' leader in the hospital and talk to him alone.

But because 'Alaric' actually appeared at the Mandalay Building, Lauriel was forced to chase him there. Yet before he could confront the Rhionen Assassins' leader, the group had already taken 'Aleksis' away from Stanford Hospital. There were no more pawns for him to use so he could take down 'Alaric' and suppress the Rhionen Assassins.

"Hurry and trace where they plan to bring Marion," Lauriel ordered Petra. The man nodded and immediately fiddled with his device. They suspected Marion had been taken to Alaric's mansion or to his ship, either of these two locations.

"Uhm ... they actually headed straight to the airport," Petra replied a moment later. He showed them the data on the screen. "There are two private planes that had just requested permission to take off."

This was not totally unexpected for Lauriel. Inwardly he praised the assassins' wit. For 10 minutes they watched 'Alaric' in front of the Mandalay Building. In actuality, at the same time, his men were already bringing Marion to the airport, getting ready to fly away.

Two planes asking for permission to take off? Which plane was Marion in?

"Go to the airport, quick!"

Lauriel now realized that Rhionen Assassins was indeed worthy of their reputation. They managed to play the cat and mouse game with them very well. No, they actually even outwitted Lauriel who was very experienced in this type of operation. Now they were trying to trick The Wolf Pack by flying two planes at once.

No problem. Lauriel could catch one of the planes, and ask for Caspar to welcome the other one.

"One plane is heading to Romania, the other to China," Petra promptly reported his findings.

Lauriel nodded. Rhionen Industries was originally in control of the businesses in Eastern Europe and China before they opened their branch office in Singapore. They had just recently begun to expand to Western Europe.

This was why it was not that surprising to hear that the destinations of the two planes were Eastern Europe and China respectively. This could be said to be an excellent move to distract their enemies.

Rhionen Industries owned a skyscraper in Bucharest and it was where their operations were first carried out. Rumor had it that the owner of Rhionen Industries made the $2 billion building there his place of residence and, up to date, it was still the most expensive residence in the world. The security was considered far more stringent than the United States' White House.

If Lauriel was Alaric, he would definitely bring 'Aleksis' there. This was how Lauriel determined that his plane was headed for Romania. He told Caspar what had happened and asked this friend of his to take care of their operations in China.

"Endo and Neo, you go to China and handle everything there. Petra and Peach will come with me to Romania. Esso will meet us there."

"Copy that, Lauriel."

Everyone moved fast. As to not waste time, they did not return to the penthouse. Lauriel and his team went straight to the airport. Terry who saw them leaving immediately approached Lauriel and asked for updates.

"We're going to Romania. You tell Jean not to worry. Everything will be fine." Lauriel turned away after saying that, leaving Terry in a dazed state.

Why did Lauriel ask Terry to tell his father not to worry, that everything would be alright? The young man felt puzzled.

Ah ...

Marion!

He just remembered.

Terry realized that the Wolf Pack's leader intended for him to tell Jean not to worry about Marion because he would make sure she would not come into any harm.

Terry now remembered that his father and Marion did seem strange lately. Were they already in a relationship? But what about Billie Yves?

In the end, he wearily returned to the penthouse, finding Jean waiting for news from Lauriel which did not arrive.

"What happened? Why is nobody answering my call?" Jean hollered when he saw his son walk through the doorway. "Is Marion okay?"

Terry threw a sympathetic look at his father's worried face. After all, he knew that the two of them would not be able to do much.

"Lauriel and his team are chasing them to Romania. He said everything will be fine, Dad. Don't worry."

Before Terry could finish his sentence, Jean had already grabbed his jacket and left the penthouse.

Gosh ... are you going to the airport too?

Terry hurriedly chased after his father and walked in unison towards the basement parking lot. For some reason, he felt like everyone was going to the airport today.

***

While on the plane, Alaric listened to the doctor's diagnosis of fake Aleksis' condition. He was relieved to hear that the girl was fine. That was all that mattered to him right now.

"I'll take you far away from here. It will be just the two of us," he whispered to 'Aleksis' who was sleeping in the bed.

His hand gripped her right hand tightly as he sat in the chair next to her bed. He then tried to close his eyes...

***

Alaric's aircraft landed at Targu Mures' airport in Romania. Several cars had come to pick him up along with his entourage. They brought the newly arrived passengers to the hills.

Alaric built a castle on a hilltop and it was where he spent most of his personal time. In the small forest near his castle, he erected a very beautiful grave for his mother.

Now the grave was empty since he had moved her remains to Yorkshire, in the Linden family's palace. However, the tomb was still there, looking as elegant as ever since it was in the middle of a flower garden.

The large bedroom where 'Aleksis' was placed was very comfortable and beautiful. It was also overlooking the garden. The early autumn season and the yellow and orange leaves especially made the scenery around them look serene.

Alaric himself carried 'Aleksis' into this room and laid her on a large four-poster bed which looked very beautiful, like the bed of a princess. The doctor checked her condition one more time before leaving.

It was late afternoon and Alaric felt very tired due to everything that had transpired. He fell asleep on the sofa beside the bed, waiting for 'Aleksis' to open her eyes.

***