Upon opening the message, she saw they were pictures. Her heart raced as she observed them; they were pictures of Richard cuddled up in bed with another woman.
"No way!" Adrienne scoffed.
"Is there a problem?" Lisa asked.
Adrienne clenched her fists, anger surging through her veins.
"Everything is fine," she managed to reply to Lisa.
She knew Richard would never cheat on her, especially at a time like this. This was obviously someone else's trick to cause diversity in her relationship with Richard.
Adrienne rolled her eyes and swung her phone.
***
The next day, Adrienne was woken up with her phone ringing, and it was a call from Ryan. She rubbed her eyes sluggishly and lazily answered the call.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey, good morning," Ryan greeted.
"Yeah... what's up?" Adrienne said.
"I wanted to say hi and check on you," Ryan said.
"Ohh..."
"Yeah. How are you?" Ryan asked.
"I'm okay. I'm good," Adrienne said.
"What about Annabelle?" Ryan asked.
"Annabelle? What about her?"
"How is she? Is she awake? Or didn't she sleep at your house last night? I heard she didn't go to her house, and her phone is off," Ryan said.
Adrienne was silent as a thought ran through her mind. 
Ryan was trying to get information from her. If not, why does he sound concerned about Annabelle?
"I don't know where she is. I didn't let her into my house. She must have gone to her family," Adrienne lied.
"Oh. That's okay then," Ryan said.
"If you are free this evening, can we have dinner together at your restaurant or your hotel? It'll be private, so you won't feel uncomfortable," Ryan asked.
"Hearing you mention the hotel reminds me of the quarrel that led to our breakup," Adrienne quipped.
Ryan didn't say anything. He had nothing to say, or perhaps, he didn't know how to express what he had in his mind.
"Well, I think I'll be busy this evening. Let's just see how it goes, okay?" Adrienne said.
"Alright then. Just give me a call if you'll be available," Ryan said.
"Sure, I will," Adrienne said, and they said their goodbyes before ending the call.
After she ended the call, she placed a call to Richard, but there was still no answer. Almost two days and she hadn't heard from him. From the pictures he sent the previous day, he probably lost his phone, because why would he send her that kind of picture?
"So much to do! So much to think about! What the hell?!" Adrienne's frustration spilled over.
Linc would know where Richard is, but she had no way of contacting him. So, she made a phone call to the officer to inquire about Linc's arrest.
"I told you he can't be arrested but only invited for questioning as the video didn't prove anything. We've started examining the car, and we'll get back to you once the results are out," the officer said.
"So did he come in for the questioning? What did he say?" Adrienne asked.
"He isn't around. And from what we were told by his neighbors, he hasn't returned home in almost three days," the officer said.
Adrienne sighed. Richard had gone to meet Linc to rescue Juliette from him, and there has been no word from him for almost two days. She thought of reporting it to the police, but she had a feeling that it would only make things worse. Also, Richard didn't even have an identification card.
She then thanked the officer and ended the call. She decided to go to Annabelle instead. Perhaps she had some information that could help her.
*
Adrienne quickly freshened up and drove herself to the hotel. She went straight to the suite where Annabelle was and found her sleeping.
"Hey," Adrienne tapped Annabelle, and she stirred lazily from her sleep.
"What are you doing here?" Annabelle asked as she rubbed her eyes.
"I need some information on Linc. Where and how can I find him?" Adrienne asked.
"Uh... his house?" Annabelle said.
"According to neighbors, he hasn't returned in three days."
"That's not true. He was around two days ago. Or was it three days ago?" Annabelle said.
"Call him," Adrienne said.
"What? Hell no! You are the same person I told yesterday that he is gonna deal with me, and now you want me to call him?" Annabelle retorted.
"Yes. I want you to lure him here," Adrienne said.
"That means risking my self, my life. Hell no!" Annabelle protested.
"It's not like I care about you, but I promise, I won't let him hurt or do anything to you," Adrienne said desperately.
"And how do you plan to do that? What do you even want to tell him? You want to set him up and get him arrested?" Annabelle asked.
Adrienne heaved a sigh and collapsed onto the bed.
"That's true. I didn't even think of what's next after reaching Linc. He can't be arrested because there's no evidence," Adrienne said.
"No evidence of what?" Annabelle asked.
"The incident that happened three years ago, my car's explosion, kidnapping Juliette. Now, Richard's missing, and I know Linc has a hand in it," Adrienne said exasperatedly.
"Who is Richard? And also, what did you mean kidnapping Juliette? Linc kidnapped Juliette, his partner in crime?" Annabelle was astonished.
"Are you really surprised that someone like Lincoln would betray his accomplice? He even dumped you, his supposed lover," Adrienne said.
"Ouch!" Annabelle rolled her eyes at Adrienne, offended by her words.
"What's his motive behind kidnapping Juliette? I know she has no family, so what could he possibly want from her. Did they have a misunderstanding?" Annabelle asked.
"Well... that's where Richard comes in. Richard is Juliette's father, and Linc demanded money from him in exchange for Juliette," Adrienne explained.
"No way!" Annabelle exclaimed.
"That explains it all. It makes sense now. Linc was broke, he needed money to run away, so he kidnapped Juliette and demanded money from her father. 
 If the so-called Richard is missing, it means the exchange didn't go as planned. Adrienne, I am sure Linc has successfully left the country. We are too late," Annabelle said.
"Not exactly. I still have you," Adrienne said, sitting up to face Annabelle.
"Me?" Annabelle said, taken aback.
"You said you are with his secret or hidden card, whatever you called it. You claimed he would come back for it, right? That's how we'll find out if he's still in Nigeria," Adrienne said, feeling proud of her idea.
"So you are asking me to help you by risking my life," Annabelle said.
"Well, you came to me first, and I gave you this beautiful place to stay, so yeah. That's the least you can do for me," Adrienne said.
"I'll just pay for the hotel suite then," Annabelle said adamantly.
"Come on. There's no one else that can help me right now. 
Ryan said he would help me, but there's nothing he can do here. The police too are powerless here. You don't have to meet him physically, just call him so we'll confirm whether he's in Nigeria or not. I'll tell you what to say," Adrienne said.
"How much do you trust Ryan?" Annabelle asked her.
"I trust him more than I trust you," Adrienne said.
"Well, you shouldn't. When next you see him, ask him what his relationship with Rosa was," Annabelle said cryptically.
"I hate cryptic words," Adrienne frowned at Annabelle.
"Go ask him," Annabelle said, stretching to collect her phone from the bedside drawer.
Adrienne's face lit up with a smile when Annabelle switched on her phone.
"You are gonna call him?" Adrienne asked.
"What do I have to say to him?" Annabelle asked.
"Just tell him you are officially ending the relationship and you want to return everything he gave you back to him," Adrienne said.
"Come on. That's lame. You think someone like Lincoln will believe something like that. And besides, the only thing he has ever gifted me was a necklace," Annabelle said.
"Well, girls are usually sentimental about necklaces gifted to them by a lover, so yeah, it is believable," Adrienne said.
"I don't know about this, Adrienne. What if he figures out I am trying to lure him to someone?" Annabelle panicked.
"Relax. You just have to call him first. I'll arrange everything after you successfully set up a meeting with him, okay?" Adrienne assured Annabelle.
"Let's call him then..."