Rachel's eyes stayed fixed on Ashley's, and her voice was low but firm as she asked again, "Ashley, who took Josie away? Do you know?"
Ashley's eyes moved nervously around the hallway like she was searching for a way out or for someone to save her.
Rachel saw her hesitation and grabbed Ashley's arm hard, then her glare turned sharp and cold as ice as she shouted, "SPEAK!"
Ashley shook, her voice trembling. "I... I don't know their names," she whispered. Then quickly added, "But I'm sure it was the Volturi."
Rachel's grip tightened on Ashley's arm. Her eyes narrowed. "The Vulturis? What do you mean?"
Everyone standing nearby—Erica, Susan, Saul, and Silas—felt a chill run through them.
The name alone made their hair stand on end.
The Vulturis Syndicate was not just another gang; they were one of the most feared mafia families in Italy.
Ashley spoke fast, fear pouring out with her words. "I saw their tattoos, Rachel. The snake wrapped around their wrists, the skulls on their jackets—it's their mark. And the way they dressed, their clothes... I've never seen that style before. They're dangerous. I've heard stories about the Vulturi."
Rachel's mind raced as she muttered "The Vulturis Syndicate..." under her breath.
She remembered what Jon Snow had told her about them—their power, their cruelty, their reach across the underworld.
But why, Josie? What could they want with her cousin?" She thought to herself inwardly.
Rachel steadied herself and asked again, this time calmer, "Ashley, think carefully. Did you notice anything else? Any special marks or details that can help us know who they are or why they took her?"
Ashley nodded quickly. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke. "One of them had a scar above his left eyebrow. And they all wore black leather jackets with a silver pin on the side. The pin had the head of a vulture."
Rachel's face turned hard.
She thought of every possible reason the Vulturis would want Josie, but none of it made sense. Then she looked at Ashley again and said, "Do you know why they would want Josie?"
Ashley fell deep into thought as she placed her fist under her chin, then gasped suddenly. "Can't be..." she whispered, shaking her head.
"What can't be?" Rachel asked quickly, her voice sharp with impatience.
Ashley's eyes widened. "Oh my God..." she whispered, then turned to Silas. Her voice shook. "Uncle Silas, please... don't faint after I tell you this."
Silas's face was tight, but he nodded. "Say it."
Ashley took a deep breath. "I think it was Alessandro Morano... the son of Leonardo Morano, the Mafia boss of the Vulturis Syndicate who they call 'the Viper.'"
The words hit Silas like a lightning strike.
He walked up close to Ashley, his voice low, rough, and filled with rage. "Why would Alessandro Morano, the son of Leonardo Morano, kidnap my daughter? Tell me. What do you know? Does he want money? Or is this about spreading his father's power?"
Ashley froze. She bit her lip and shifted nervously, fighting inside whether to speak or stay silent.
Finally, she lifted her head and looked into Silas's furious eyes.
Her voice trembled as she said, "Uncle... it's not about money or power. Josie... she turned him down. More than once."
Silas stiffened, his fists clenching so tight his knuckles cracked.
His voice shook with anger as he said, "My daughter is only eighteen. I sent her to Shen University to study medicine, not to be chased by men. And because she rejected him... he dared to kidnap her?!"
Ashley spoke quickly, almost begging him to understand as she said, "Uncle Silas, you don't know how much Josie embarrassed him on campus. Alessandro kept trying to win her over, but Josie rejected him again and again. And not in private—she did it in front of everyone. She made him look small. My opinion..." Ashley swallowed hard, then finished, "is that he wants to teach her a lesson. That's why he did this."
The hallway turned cold and silent. Everyone felt the weight of her words.
Rachel's face darkened, her rage building until her blue eyes shone like blades, and then the energy around her changed as her killing intent leaked out like a storm.
Erica, Susan, Elena, Pamela, Paul, Ashton, and Saul felt their hearts race, and their knees grew weak.
"Is this... still Rachel?" Paul whispered, his voice shaking.
Rachel pulled her aura back quickly.
Without another word, she turned and started walking to the exit.
"Where are you going?" Silas and Elena asked at the same time.
Rachel didn't look back and said, "To the control room."
"Wait, let's go together," Erica said, rushing to catch up, and then the rest followed quickly.
They crowded into the elevator with Rachel, and the air inside the elevator was heavy with silence.
Five long minutes later, the doors of the elevator finally opened.
Rachel stepped out of the elevator, and her heels clicked loudly as she walked with bold steps down the hallway and shoved open the door of Shen Hotel's main control room.
The security team inside froze with their fingers hovering over keyboards, and their eyes widened as Rachel's aura filled the room and pressed on them like a giant weight.
The chief of security bowed deeply, and with a shaky voice, he greeted, saying, "Good morning, Miss Shen," then the others quickly followed suit while bowing and greeting nervously.
Rachel gave a small nod, then her voice boomed, fierce and cold, as she said, "Show me the CCTV footage from 12:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Now. Every second. Don't skip anything."
No one dared to waste time.
One operator rushed to bring it up.
Soon the screens filled with images of corridors, lobbies, entrances, and exits.
Rachel crossed her arms tightly, her eyes fixed on the screens.
The others walked in behind her, standing silently, watching too.
Ten minutes passed.
Finally, Josie appeared on the screen. She wasn't dragged. She walked out calmly, and four large men followed her. She smiled at the hotel guards. She waved at the Norpondian police. She nodded at the soldiers. Then she climbed into her Porsche Taycan and drove off after the men following her entered her car.
"Wait... she wasn't kidnapped?!" Pamela, Paul, and Saul said in shock.
Silas's face soured as he nodded stiffly and said, "It looks that way. She made us worry for nothing. Maybe Ashley was wrong."
Ashley's mind spun.
She was sure she had seen Josie dragged away, but the footage showed otherwise, then her voice cracked as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Uncle Silas..." I guess I panicked and thought wrong."
Silas forced a bitter smile and said, "It's not your fault. You were worried. But when that girl comes back..." His voice turned hard. "How dare she leave with strangers? During her older cousin's banquet? Without telling me or her mother?"
Rachel's voice cut in, sharp. "Strangers."
Silas and Elena turned. "What do you mean?"
"Why leave with four unknown men? Unless..." Rachel paused, her eyes narrowing. "Unless she was threatened."
"What?!" everyone gasped.
Rachel stepped closer to the screen. "Rewind. Stop. Look at her smile. Look at her body. Too stiff. Too fake."
They leaned in. Erica frowned. "She wasn't smiling naturally. She was tense."
Rachel's words came cold. "If someone has a gun at your waist and tells you to act normal, would you smile? Josie was smiling like a person afraid to die."
The room grew silent again.
"This is bad," Saul muttered. "Her life may be in danger."
"Where did they take her?" Elena and Silas asked, voices full of worry.
"They could be anywhere," Pamela said nervously.
"No," Ashton said, rubbing his chin. "They're still in Baswil City. They couldn't leave so fast."
"Maybe La Vipera's Den?" Ashley asked.
"No," Susan and Rachel answered together. "That's their business place. They wouldn't take her there."
Erica's face turned grim. "If it was just local gangsters, I could call the Chief of Police or even the President. But this is the Volturi. Even the FBI, NIBIA, and Interpol struggle with them... No one will risk their men against them."
Rachel's voice was firm, and her eyes were blazing as she said, "Then we find her ourselves. No one harms my family and walks away."
Her killing intent made everyone flinch, then she turned to Ashton and said, "You always liked computers when we were kids. Do you still?"
Ashton gave a weak laugh and said, "I work at NIBIA now. Computers are part of my job."
"Do you have one here?"
"In my Audi RS7," he said.
"Please bring it. I need it," she replied.
"What for?" Ashton asked, curious.
Rachel's blue eyes flashed. "Can you handle it if I tell you?"
Ashton smirked. "Try me."
Rachel looked around at everyone, and then with her voice steady and sharp, she said, "Good... I want to use your computer to hack into every traffic camera and every dashcam in Baswil City."