Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1109

“What was she even doing over there?” Cynthia’s voice was sharp with panic.

Patton kept his tone steady, trying to calm her down. “Sandra Taylor has always hated Camila Davis. After Camila was taken, I think Sandra went looking for someone to take her anger out on. But after that, I lost contact with her…”

Cynthia felt her stomach drop. “You lost contact? Something went wrong? Was the capture a setup? What if Camila wasn’t actually taken? If Dennis finds out, he’ll go after Sandra for sure. And then… what if he traces everything back to me?”

Her thoughts spiraled. She could feel her hands start to shake.

Patton leaned in, voice low and reassuring. “Don’t worry. We still have Lavinia Roberts as our backup. If things get messy, we can pin it all on her. But to really keep you out of this, I can’t be seen anymore. From now on, I’ll work behind the scenes.”

He was the one who’d met both Sandra and Lavinia. If either of them saw him again, it’d be over.

Cynthia noticed how carefully he played his part, and it pleased her. She put on a sympathetic face. “I know this isn’t easy for you.”

Patton’s eyes lingered on her, full of admiration. “It’s no trouble at all. I’d do anything for you, Ms. Lee. If it comes down to it, I’ll take the blame. I mean it.”

Cynthia felt satisfied. This was loyalty. Still, right now, she needed to know for sure if Camila had actually been captured.

She hurried off to find her father, Nicholas Lee.

Nicholas hadn’t heard anything about Red Spider running into trouble. But when Cynthia mentioned Sandra acting on her own, his temper flared. He snapped at Cynthia too. “Useless. You can’t even handle one pawn properly.”

She lowered her head, accepting the blame. “It was my mistake. Once this is over, I’ll drop both of them. But for now, Dad, can you help me find out exactly where Camila Davis is?”

He calmed down a little, seeing her admit fault. “Wait here,” he said, then left to make some calls.

On the surface, it was Lavinia and Sandra who’d hired Red Spider. But the real connection was Nicholas’s network. Still, when he reached out, the answer he got was vague, like they were dodging the question. No one would say what Red Spider was really up to.

Nicholas pressed harder. “Where is she? Did Red Spider actually catch her or not?”

The reply was careless. “Red Spider never fails. Don’t worry…”

As soon as Mr. Byron found out Lavinia was involved, he didn’t hesitate. “Don’t worry, Dennis. I’ll send the order out right now. She’ll be in front of you by tonight.”

He wasn’t bluffing. Right after the call, he put his network to work.

By the next morning, he had results. “She left the hotel, but she’s still in Kaston. Right now, she’s hiding in a run-down hostel in a rough part of town.”

Inside that hostel, Lavinia Roberts was still waiting for Patton to get back to her. She was low on cash and doing her best to lie low, just like Patton had told her. The place was filthy and crowded, nothing like the five-star hotels she used to stay in. She was stuck in a cramped room with several bunk beds and people from all over the world.

There were men and women, every kind of accent and language filling the air. But Lavinia adjusted quickly. In a place like this, it was easy to blend in.

Suddenly, there was a noisy commotion outside the door. Lavinia stood up along with the others to peek out, and saw police officers from Kaston pushing their way in.

“Everyone, show us your IDs. This is an official investigation. You’re all coming with us.”

The other guests didn’t put up a fight—they just handed over their documents, quietly following instructions. Lavinia hesitated for a second, but then pulled out her own ID. The cops didn’t know who she really was. As far as she was concerned, this was just some random check. She had nothing to worry about.