Soon, Shirley came out of the gift shop. Imogen got up and held Shirley’s arm. She told her that the coffee wasn’t nice, so she wanted to get another cup from another shop. In the next footage, Shirley realized there was another coffee shop right across the street, but she didn’t realize this back then. Now that she was going through the videos, she realized they could’ve bought a cup of coffee from the nearby shop.
Imogen took me straight ahead, though. Also, there was a turn at the end, but it seemed like she knew there was a coffee shop there. She didn’t even look around.
Noticing that face made Shirley’s heart sink. This is Imogen’s first time coming to Flor and her first time going down this street, so how did she know there was a coffee place there? Did she look it up? That’s the only plausible explanation, but even so, it seems fishy.
Shirley continued watching. The video showed the coffee shop’s curtains being drawn while she was fighting inside. Fifteen minutes later, Imogen leaped out the window. Shirley kept rewinding that part and realized something was amiss.
The kidnappers didn’t go after Imogen after she escaped, but I heard one of them saying that they wouldn’t let any of us go, so why didn’t they go after Imogen after she ran away? There were about eight of them in the shop. They could’ve sent a couple to go after Imogen. Also, Imogen’s arm was broken after she escaped. The kidnappers would’ve recaptured her if they wanted to, but weirdly, they didn’t go after Imogen.
The more Shirley rewound the video, the more bone-chilling things got. Could Imogen have been in cahoots with those people? What’s the reason for kidnapping me? For ransom? Is she one of them?
Shirley knew Imogen needed money; she wouldn’t even buy skincare products. Back at the base, Imogen would always come to her room and use her stuff. Most of the time, Shirley gave Imogen the skincare products her mother had given her. After setting up that hypothesis, Shirley thought about the days she spent with Imogen and realized she didn’t know Imogen that much at all. There was always a veil covering her. Imogen was only nice to her, seemingly because she wanted to get something out of their friendship.
The one that left the deepest impression on Shirley was the time Imogen gave up on her possible achievement just to help her, but in the end, Imogen was given praise-by Shirley’s father, no less. Now that Shirley thought about it, that could’ve been part of Imogen’s plan. She knows Dad loves me, so she used that to her advantage. Even if she gave up what she could have achieved, Dad would still praise her anyway.
Shirley felt her heart clenching. She had no idea that the one person she thought was her friend was someone she didn’t know at all. Shirley kept watching the videos. When she factored in the possibility that Imogen might’ve been the kidnappers’ accomplice, everything she saw made horrifying sense. There was footage of the crossfire and part of it showed Imogen lying in a tree quietly, her finger on the trigger of her firearm. She was sniping every single kidnapper who tried to escape. In other words, she was trying to destroy the evidence.
Shirley gasped. If I hadn’t seen her true colors, does it mean I’d be in danger at all times? Shirley held her forehead. How should I deal with this? Without hesitation, she wanted to bring Zacharias into this. She got up and opened the door. Zacharias was done with his meeting, and he was having a glass of red wine on the veranda.
“Zacharias, I have something to tell you.” Shirley went up to him.
Zacharias noticed the solemnity in her eyes, and he put his glass down. Equally serious, he asked, “What is it?”
Shirley held his hand. “Come into my room.”
It sounded like a flirty invitation, but Zacharias knew things weren’t that simple. He went into Shirley’s room, and Shirley closed the door. She told him to take a seat on the couch; then she showed him the laptop.
