“Wow, you were right. I’d take an entire month locating this place on my own…” Abel said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the faraway island, He instructed the crew to speed up, and in less than an hour, the yacht arrived on the shores of the mysterious island. From afar, the island did not look to be inhabited nor have any buildings, but now that they were up close, Abel was surprised to discover that the island was a bustling city sprawling with vehicles and modern buildings.

“Master owns all of the businesses on this island and about a dozen other islands nearby too,” Sam explained. “Adelmar Island is just a collective name for all these islands, but no one from the outside world knows about it. This island itself is known to us as Dawn Island because it is the first of the islands to see the sun rise at dawn.”

Abel was momentarily silent, for he had not expected such a complicated backstory of the islands. It was no wonder information was scarce when they tried to look up the island themselves.

“This is where I’ll leave you,” Sam announced as soon as the yacht docked at the pier. “You’ll find the magnificent Dawn Manor in the middle of the city center. That’s where the Master lives. As for which island Ms. Emmeline is on, you’ll have to ask the Master yourself.”

Abel and his motley crew stepped off the yacht onto land while Sam remained on board. Luca watched Sam’s figure gradually disappear from his sight as the little yacht reversed out of the pier and drifted back into the open seas. They then made their way to the nearest road to hail a cab to Dawn Manor.

In less than ten minutes, the cab stopped outside a palatial Victorian-style building surrounded by manicured gardens as far as the eye can see. Luca paid the cab fare, and the group made their way toward the manor’s imperious front door, built out of copper and wood, and decorated with intricate wood-carved floral motifs. A smartly dressed man in a suit appeared from the security room at the side of the mansion barely seconds after Abel rang the doorbell. Abel informed him that he would like to meet with the head of the Adelmar family.

“Please hold on,” the man said politely before returning to the room. Moments later, he came back out again. “Master will not see you,” he informed Abel curtly.

Abel’s breathing intensified. Of all the outcomes he had imagined, he had not expected the head of the Adelmar family to turn him away. What was he supposed to do now?!

“Hold on!” Abel snapped quickly before the man walked away. “I would like to see Benjamin York then. Ask Benjamin to meet me!”

The man shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sir. There’s no one here with that name.”

Abel was dumbfounded. “No one named Benjamin York?” Was he at the wrong place? “And this is where Mr. Adelmar lives?” he asked the man.

“Yes, it is,” the man confirmed.

“Then how could Benjamin not be here?!” Abel almost yelled.

“There’s definitely no one named Benjamin here,” the man reiterated.

A few long moments after, Abel finally looked down in defeat. “Alright. Thank you then,” he said before walking away from the door.

Luca chased after his employer. “Mr. Abel, what just happened?” Luca was equally as confused.

“This must be the place,” Abel insisted. “Perhaps they have their reasons for not wanting to meet with us…”

“What do we do, then?” Janie asked anxiously. “What happens if we can’t find Emma or Mr. Benjamin?”

“That won’t happen. As long as we find the Adelmars, we’ll find her,” Abel sounded as though he was trying to convince himself as well.

“But why did the man say there was no one named Benjamin York?” Luca wondered out loud.

“Call Sam and ask her,” Abel instructed. Luca immediately called Sam on his cellphone, but the call could not go through even after a few tries. There was probably no phone signal on the yacht.

“Let’s find a nearby hotel first. We’ll think of a plan later,” Abel said, finally resigned to his unlucky fate.

“That works. I saw plenty of posh hotels on the way here. It feels like a tourist town around here!” Luca said.

“Yes, the way this place reeks of wealth and opulence… It feels almost like Dubai!” Janie added on.

“Looks like my father wasn’t wrong when he said the Adelmars could probably rule a nation with their wealth…” Abel concurred.

“So the Adelmar Group back in Struyria is probably one of their many businesses…” Janie remarked.