Valeria's escape plan went smoothly. She deliberately turned off her cell phone so that no one could track her departure. She knew that they would usually track a person's cell phone signal when they tried to escape.
For almost three hours, she traveled out of Vansia City to Sotaris, a city that was not as big as Vansia City, but it was a good place for her to stay for a while. At least to hide before her wedding day arrived.
"That'll be $45, ma'am," said one of the taxi drivers who was taking her there.
She changed taxis several times to get to the city. She was very careful with her choices.
The woman finally entered the five-star hotel wearing a little disguise, sunglasses and a black hat, then checked in.
"Good afternoon, ma'am. We need your ID to check you in," said the receptionist.
When asked for her ID, Valeria bribed the receptionist by slipping a large amount of money behind her regular membership card.
"Miranda Xavier. You understand what I mean, right?" Valeria said to the receptionist. She didn't want anyone to know she was there.
Understanding Valeria's request, the receptionist nodded and handed her a hotel room key in the form of a card. "Enjoy your stay."
The red-haired woman smiled and carried her bag to her room on the 25th floor. Upon arriving at her room, Valeria placed her bag next to the bed and threw herself onto it.
She had to stay at the hotel at least until her wedding day was over, so that the wedding would be canceled because she was nowhere to be found.
"It's troublesome, but what else can I do?" she muttered as she took off her glasses.
Her blue eyes stared at the hotel room ceiling with feelings that were difficult for her to describe. On the one hand, she didn't want to ruin Scarlett's reputation by leaving her own wedding. Moreover, it could affect her family's relationship with Lawrence, who was very influential.
However, on the other hand, she couldn't marry Dominic. She didn't want to be tied down to a marriage that she considered to be the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard of. She had seen many news stories about failed marriages, and she didn't want that to happen to her.
"They claim to be married because they love each other. But often they fight over silly things and end up with divorce. It's just a waste of time," she muttered.
Especially after what she saw from her own mother when she married her father. As Valeria grew older, she understood why all those bad things could happen.
Her eyes were closed because it was difficult for her to make a decision at that moment, as she was too tired from the journey, and Valeria slowly fell asleep.
*****
In the morning, Jane, the maid who had always served Valeria since she was a child, knocked on Valeria's door and offered her breakfast, but there was no answer from inside the room. She knocked on the door several times, but still there was no answer from inside.
"Miss Valeria, are you okay? Miss Valeria?" asked the elderly woman.
Feeling worried, she asked the guards to unlock Valeria's room and let her in. When the door opened, she saw Valeria's blanket covering something on the bed.
"Miss Valeria, it's time for breakfast. You missed lunch, you could get sick," said Jane.
The room was so quiet, there was no movement from the bed. Jane, feeling suspicious, immediately approached the bed and pulled back the blanket.
"Miss Valeria?"
She was shocked to find only a pile of pillows. The old woman immediately reported Valeria's disappearance to Donn.
That morning, Scarlett sent their men to search for Valeria throughout the city. Approximately twenty cars were sent out to comb the city, searching for the runaway daughter of the Scarlett family.
"Find that woman! Don't stop until you find her!!!"
They also tried to track the woman's cell phone, but there was no activity at all because Valeria had turned it off while she was still at the mansion.
Crash!
Annoyed, Donn slammed his desk very hard.
"Where is that girl?! How dare she run away like that! Whatever happens, find her! Bring her back to this mansion by force if necessary!"
******
It had been more than four days, but they still couldn't find Valeria anywhere. They had tried searching every corner of the city, even hidden places, but to no avail.
Donn had also ordered his men to check every house belonging to Valeria's close friends. However, Valeria was not hiding at their houses. The man did not know that his daughter had run away quite far, although she had not left the country.
Their wedding was approaching, but Valeria was still nowhere to be found.
Reluctantly, Donn contacted Dominic to ask for help finding Valeria. He told Dominic everything that had happened over the phone.
"She hasn't been home for four days. I don't know where she went. Maybe you can help with this?"
Interestingly, Dominic calmly said he would bring Valeria home safely tomorrow.
"You don't need to worry about this. Your daughter will be home soon, just leave it to me," said Dominic with a smirk on his face.
*****
Meanwhile, Valeria was buying some snacks at the mini market. She wore a black jacket and black hat so that no one would recognize her.
"Strawberry yogurt, strawberry Pocky, then..." Like a strawberry maniac, she chose snacks that almost all had strawberry flavor.
While choosing snacks, she suddenly saw several men in black suits entering the mini market. Valeria tried to avoid them by lowering her head and walking towards the cashier.
'They're already here? Damn, I have to move again. I have to withdraw cash early tomorrow morning and then go as far away as possible," she thought.
She couldn't keep withdrawing money with her ATM card because it could be used to track her whereabouts.
Because she wasn't paying attention while walking towards the cashier, she accidentally bumped into a man.
"Watch where you're going, damn it! Are you blind?!" he yelled at the ginger-haired woman.
Her blue eyes glared sharply at the man, as if she wanted to kill him right then and there. Frightened by her gaze, the man backed away and left.
Sighing in frustration, Valeria quickly paid for the snacks she had bought and left the mini market to return to the hotel.
As night fell, Valeria soaked in the bathtub while eating the strawberries she had bought that morning. Suddenly, she was startled by a knock on her hotel room door.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Room service, your order is here!" called a hotel waiter from outside the door.
"Order? I don't remember ordering anything..." The woman got out of the bathtub and put on her towel around her body.
Her hair was still wet because she had been soaking in the tub. As she walked out of the bathroom to open the door, she remembered. Did she really order room service, or was it just the cleaning service?
"Probably the cleaning service," she thought at that moment.
Clack!
The door opened, but it wasn't a hotel room attendant she saw, but a tall man with brown eyes staring straight at Valeria. Her eyes widened when she saw him.
A sly smile appeared on his handsome face. "Hello, my wife."
"How did you—"