Chapter 40

Time passed gradually, but Ethan remained calm while waiting in the lobby.

Caleb, however, returned with a frustrated expression after reviewing the surveillance footage. “Mr.Knight, the surveillance recordings for the Imperial Hotel between 1.00PM and 4.00PM have all beendeleted,” he explained, implying that they could no longer check the surveillance recordings betweensaid period.

No matter how many times Alice had entered, they would not be able to check it now.

The woman who went to the service hall arrived at around 2.40PM. The journey from the Imperial Hotelto the service hall would usually take fifteen to twenty minutes.

That being the case, if the person in the service hall was indeed Alice Woland, she would have left theImperial Hotel around 2.20PM. Yet, the surveillance video that covered that time period had now beendeleted. As a result, they would be unable to replace out anything.

Ethan’s expression remained calm, as if he was unsurprised by the news. What happened appeared tobe within his expectations.

“Mr. Knight, the journey from the service hall to the Imperial Hotel should take about twenty minutes,but it’s been more than forty minutes now…” Caleb was concerned that Ethan was wasting his timewaiting for nothing, given that Alice had not returned at this point.

Furthermore, Alice might not even return to the hotel. After all, she was the successor to the WolandGroup; there would be plenty of other places for her to stay.

“The fact that the recording was deleted indicates that she did indeed leave, and the time was alsowithin our expectations. Her failure to return only emphasizes her guilt.” Ethan chuckled as he said this.

He had anticipated that she might not return, but the more she tried to hide, the more suspicious hebecame of her.

He was now certain that the person was her.

“Mr. Knight, maybe I should send someone to Miss Woland’s room to see what the situation is now?”Caleb was always meticulous in his work. He reasoned that since they hadn’t seen Alice after so long,it would be better for someone to check her room out.

Alice might have arrived at the hotel before them and she was already in her room.

Since all the surveillance recordings had been deleted and nothing could be obtained from them, theycould only send someone to check her room.

Ethan hummed in agreement. It’s better to check the room out.

Caleb soon returned, his expression more frustrated than before. “Mr. Knight, the receptionist informedme that Miss Woland checked out today around 3.15PM.”

When he heard that, Ethan, who was sitting on the sofa in the lobby, stretched his long legs and curvedthe corners of his mouth. “Alice checked out personally.”

He wasn’t asking; instead, he was saying it affirmatively. It wasn’t difficult to guess that from Caleb’sexpression. But again, it is indeed what Little Fox will do—flee as quickly as she can when she sensesany hint of danger.

“Yes. According to the receptionist, Miss Woland checked out personally. Mr. Knight, if Miss Wolandwent to the service hall around 3.15PM and was preparing the proposal there…” Caleb was attemptingto convey that either the person who went to the service hall or the person who checked out of theImperial Hotel was not Alice.

In any event, it was impossible for both people to be Alice.

“Her disguise even fooled me,” Ethan said, casting a nonchalant glance at Caleb. The truth was clearto Ethan now.

Even he had not realized her disguise earlier. Since Alice was able to disguise herself, she could easilydo it for someone else. Hence, it was entirely plausible that she dressed someone up as herself tocomplete the hotel’s check-out procedure.

She truly went to great lengths to deceive me! Such a cunning fox she is!

Caleb subconsciously blinked a few times as he heard Ethan’s words. Why don’t I detect anyfrustration or rage in Mr. Knight’s tone? Instead, he appears to be a little proud. Did I hear him wrongly?That has to be it! No one will be proud, and not furious, after being duped, unless he is insane!

Ethan, on the other hand, had his mind filled with questions as well. 3.15PM? She checked out at3.15PM? Why did she decide to check out at this time? Was it because she realized that I’m coming forher?

With this in mind, Ethan quickly took his phone out and clicked into the chat. Irvin retracted the video at3.22PM. There was a time limit for retracting videos and messages, which meant they couldn’t beretracted after two minutes.

This showed that the video was sent by Irvin between 3.20PM and 3.22PM.

Even if she did notice something was wrong, it would most likely have been after 3.20PM, when Irvintook the video. But why did she have someone check out of the hotel at 3.15PM? Is it just acoincidence? Perhaps her original plan was to check out this afternoon. Otherwise, she wouldn’t haveprepared someone to pose as her to check out of the hotel in the first place. Perhaps the reason shechecked out at 3.15PM was not to deceive me, but to conceal the fact that she went to the service hall!

Or was it because she wanted to conceal her true capabilities? But from who? The Yeagers? Elijah? Orpossibly both? Ethan thought and continued to ponder on the matter.

So, her disguise when she went to the service hall today wasn’t to fool me? It was only because mysudden dash over there signaled some danger to her that she wore her disguise again. Her disguisecan be done at lightning speed and is flawless. This shows that she has done it so frequently that it hasbecome a habit and an instinct. She must have experienced a lot of dangers around her which causedher to become so alert, just like a soldier in war. Has she faced many dangers in the last seven years?Has she not been living well for the past seven years?

Caleb naturally did not know what was running through Ethan’s mind. All he knew was that since Alicehad checked out, Ethan was definitely waiting for nothing. “We should stop waiting for Miss Woland,Mr. Knight.”

When Ethan heard that, he retracted his long legs, which seemed incapable of remaining still, andstood up. After a few moments of thought, he commented, “Ask someone to keep a close watch.”

What if it’s just a ruse, and Little Fox reappears later? This is exactly what she is good at!

“Noted. I’ll ask Liam to do it; he’s good at keeping an eye on people.” After thinking for a few moments,Caleb continued, “Do we need to check where Miss Woland is staying now, Mr. Knight?”

Ethan’s steps halted when he heard that. For the first time, the man, who was usually decisive,hesitated for a beat before responding, “That’s not necessary at the moment.”

Though Ethan hadn’t dealt with her much, he knew Alice was very vigilant and she would flee in a flashif she detected any signs of trouble.

The more he wanted to catch up with her, the faster she escaped and the more difficult it was for him toget her.

Ethan now believed that he should ease up a little and not push her so hard. Both of them needed toloosen up a little.

Furthermore, he had already sent someone to investigate everything about her. After obtaining theinformation, he could then easily set up a trap for her to walk right into.

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