Outcast: The Alpha King's Beloved

Chapter 62: Disappearance 

Jennifer's POV:

Caroline invited me to go wedding dress shopping with her.

I thought it was a little strange, but she did promise me that she had thought things through and was going to marry the lycan Elizabeth chose for her.

She looked like she meant it.

But I still had an odd feeling in my stomach.

Did she really give up on Anthony? It was obvious that Elizabeth cared about her.

If Caroline liked someone other than Anthony, Elizabeth wouldn't have forced her to marry someone from a faraway land.

It would be great if Caroline understood that Elizabeth was doing all of this for her own good.

Seeing that Caroline was no longer stubborn, Elizabeth looked really happy.

Caroline held her arm and snuggled up to her like a loving daughter.

I walked behind them and inexplicably felt relieved.

If Caroline could really give up her feelings for Anthony, everyone would be happy, especially me.

At least now I didn't have to deal with her bitchy attitude.

Yet, at the same time, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Caroline was acting strange.

"Jennifer, can you help me choose a dress?"

Looking at the various necklaces and wedding dresses in the shop, Caroline looked at me with her doe eyes.

I looked at her.

She was smiling, and she looked innocent enough.

It seemed she was actually looking forward to the upcoming wedding.

"Okay."

The shop assistants laid out all the new styles of the season for us.I helped her pick something out with Elizabeth.

"Try it on, my dear."

Elizabeth looked at Caroline with a big smile.

"How will we know whether it's the right one if you don't try it on?"

"Mom, could you help me put it on?" Caroline acted like a spoiled child in front of Elizabeth.

"Sure."

Elizabeth quickly agreed and followed Caroline into the fitting room.

"Miss, would you like to sit over there while you wait for them?" a shop assistant asked me, gesturing towards a lounge.

"Okay, thank you." I waited.

Minutes ticked on.

After ten minutes, I began to feel uneasy.Elizabeth and Caroline still hadn't come out.

"Hey, are you guys still in there?"

I stood at the door of the fitting room and knocked.

No one answered.

Something was definitely wrong! I kicked the door open and found no one inside.

I asked the shop assistants if they had seen the two women, but they didn't see Elizabeth or Caroline come out either.

Knowing that things were not going well, I whipped out my phone and called Anthony.

"Anthony, your mom and Caroline disappeared while they were trying on a wedding dress in the fitting room."

I spoke into the phone breathlessly.

"Where are you? I'll be right there."

It sounded like Anthony was about to go somewhere, but he changed plans.

He got in his car and headed to my location.

While waiting for him, I checked the shop's surroundings and the fitting room.

Everything seemed intact.

Elizabeth had disappeared inexplicably without even a trace of struggle.

I tried to interrogate the staff of the shop.

They all said that they didn't know anything about it, and when I asked about their security footage, they found out that the surveillance cameras had been destroyed.

Upon scouring the fitting room a second time, I found a secret passage that lead to the outside.

So that was how they disappeared! If I had found it earlier, I might have been able to track them down.

But too much time had passed.

I had no choice but to wait for Anthony to discuss with him possible solutions.

To my surprise, Anthony didn't come alone.

Austin stormed in right after him.

Actually, they just so happened to arrive at the store at the exact same time.

"Why didn't you protect Elizabeth and Caroline?"

Austin pointed at me accusingly.

"This has nothing to do with Jennifer.She was waiting outside the fitting room and had no idea this would happen."

As Anthony spoke, he stood in between me and Austin, like a protective shield.

"It's okay, Anthony. I can handle this."

I squeezed his hand and shook my head.

I couldn't shirk my responsibility over this matter.I should have known better and kept an eye on Anthony's mother.

Austin was right.I had failed them.I needed to make things right.

More importantly, I needed to find Elizabeth and bring her back safely.

Caroline's POV:

Austin's plan was flawless.

His men caught Elizabeth and took her away all according to plan.

To make me look innocent, I went with them.

That way, it looked like I was kidnapped too.

They placed Elizabeth in a secret cell deep within the royal palace.

Because she was in poor health, they had prepared medicine and physicians for her beforehand.

The place was heavily guarded.

No one could get in or out.

Austin had told all of this to me in advance.I followed his attendants to meet him.

"How's it going? Has Jennifer been imprisoned?" Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

As soon as I saw him, I couldn't wait to ask my most pressing question.

"Caroline, you are so naive.With Anthony by her side, did you really think Jennifer would be thrown into prison?"

No way! Elizabeth and I had been taken away.

Jennifer should've been held responsible.

Why didn't Anthony blame her? Why didn't the other members of the royal family accuse her of failing to protect us?

"What did Anthony say?" I asked in disbelief.

Anthony loved his mother.

With Elizabeth missing, he should have blamed Jennifer.

"What do you think?"

Austin snapped impatiently.

"Caroline, it's stupid of you to put your faith in him.Anthony has never blamed Jennifer.You'd better think about what to do next rather than mull over this."

Austin leaned back into his chair and drank his tea leisurely, as though he was done talking to me.

He was right.

Now that things had reached this point, I needed to think of the next steps we needed to take.

Anthony was still protecting that bitch, Jennifer, which meant that he was head over heels in love with her.

I needed to come up with the perfect plan to make Jennifer disappear forever! In simple terms, I wanted Jennifer dead.

I would find a solution to wipe her off the face of the earth.

Jennifer, just you wait and see!