Chapter 105: Escape
"Something's wrong; there's definitely something wrong here. Joseph is up to no good! I knew it. That petty man, after I drank him into the hospital and he almost died of alcohol poisoning, how could he just let bygones be bygones?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch or a pie falling from the sky!" Frank sat on the bed, his mind racing with panic.
On the way back, he'd been holding it in, almost to his breaking point.
Flying from New York back to Chicago takes just two to three hours. Even if Jorah left this morning, he should have reached Chicago by now.
Even if Jorah had something to do and didn't go to the bar, what about the others? The ones who supposedly left to 'go home' over the past few days?
They were all old drinkers; if they returned to Chicago's Southside, they'd definitely go to the Alibi Pub to drink and brag about their lavish time at Joseph's estate.
But both Fat Tommy and Kevin said they hadn't come back. They had no reason to lie to me, so they must be telling the truth.
If Kevin and the others are telling the truth, then it means the butler is lying!
But why would the butler lie, deceiving them into believing those people returned to Chicago? Where did those missing people go?
The more Frank thought about it, the more panicked he became, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Stay calm, don't let them see any cracks. Wait! Hold on!" Frank thought, suddenly becoming alert.
"I'm staying on their turf. What if there are surveillance cameras or bugs in this room?" He glanced around the room he'd been staying in for nearly two weeks, feeling paranoid.
'Knock, knock.' A sudden knock on the door startled Frank, making him jump off the sofa.
"Mr. Frank, the bath is ready for you," came the maid's voice from outside.
"Oh, okay, got it," Frank replied.
"They probably haven't realized that I've noticed something's amiss," Frank thought, heading to the bathroom as usual.
After freshening up and returning to his room in a bathrobe, he found the butler accompanied by a maid waiting for him.
"My deepest apologies, Mr. Frank. This clumsy woman accidentally dropped your phone in water while cleaning your clothes. I've already reprimanded her, and we will provide you with a brand new phone as compensation," the butler said, bowing.
With that, the butler handed Frank a newly released, unopened phone worth over ten thousand, still in its packaging.
"Oh, it's nothing. My phone was second-hand anyway, and I've been meaning to upgrade. Thank you for this," Frank said cheerfully, accepting the new phone.
"We won't disturb your rest any further," the butler said, leaving with the maid.
"Damn it! That driver did see me making a call!" Frank thought the moment the butler left, sitting down on the sofa.
Otherwise, there was no other explanation. It was too coincidental that his phone was 'accidentally' destroyed right after he got home, only to be replaced with a new one.
Even though the phone the butler brought seemed brand new, Frank wasn't naive enough to believe it was. If his hunch was right, this new phone probably had a listening device installed.
"However, they must only suspect something, not know that I've realized something's wrong. Otherwise, they wouldn't just give me a phone; they'd make me disappear like the others," Frank reassured himself.
But Frank couldn't understand why they were doing this—where had those missing people gone?
They were all poor folks from the slums. What could they possibly have that would interest a billionaire like Joseph?
"Wait, could Joseph be a psychopath? Like on TV, where rich people are twisted and enjoy torturing others for pleasure?" Frank shivered at the thought.
"No, Joseph hasn't even been home for a while. It's the old butler managing things, yet people are still disappearing," Frank frowned.
"Regardless, something's definitely wrong here. I need to leave!" Frank decided.
Though he couldn't figure out exactly what was happening, he knew something was off. Leaving was the safest option; a wise person avoids danger.
Frank walked to the window, observing the scene outside.
He hadn't noticed before, but now he realized the estate's security was extremely tight, even excessive.
Guards patrolled everywhere, all armed, with several guard dogs, and lookout posts on high ground. There were no blind spots, and who knew what hidden measures were in place?
With such security, it was impossible for outsiders to sneak in, and escaping from inside the estate would be incredibly difficult.
"There's no way to escape from inside the estate; I'll have to think of something tomorrow," Frank thought, drawing the curtains.
"Please stay safe," the butler said the next day as Frank left the estate, the gates open wide, nodding slightly as the black sedan pulled away.
Fortunately, Frank had been going out frequently to explore New York, which avoided suspicion. Otherwise, suddenly wanting to go out might have raised the butler's suspicions.
Looking back, Frank realized that the butler had been slightly unnatural when he first mentioned wanting to go out, even needing to consult Joseph.
Frank and the others were guests, not prisoners. What host restricts a guest's freedom to leave? Especially for something so trivial that required phoning Joseph miles away for approval.
And the driver assigned to Frank was actually there to monitor him, ensuring he didn't escape.
In hindsight, the whole situation was full of holes, but Frank hadn't noticed or subconsciously ignored them.
After all, Joseph was a billionaire, someone on par with Tony Stark.
And Frank and his companions were just slum-dwelling drunks, with nothing of value to pique a billionaire's interest, so he'd never suspected anything.
Frank arrived at a bustling marketplace, getting out of the car. Seeing the driver about to unbuckle his seatbelt, Frank quickly opened the door and bolted, running fast.
"Hopefully, he won't catch me now," Frank thought, blending into the crowd, running as he went.
Frank didn't know where he was headed, just that he ran wherever there were more people. The dense crowd was his natural shield and smokescreen.