CHapter 256


    The production team was pacing nervously


    Midway through filming, the lead actors, Stirling and Yesbel, had mysteriously vanished. If word got


    out, it would spell disaster for


    involved, from the investors down to thest crew membert


    The person in charge of the crew sighed in relief at Noells’s arrival. “We’ve been keeping it under


    wraps, too scared to even call the cops. Thank heavens you are here, or we’d have no clue how to


    handle this messt


    Noe frowned, her tone stem. “How could you even think of not reporting something this serious?


    If anything happens to Stirling and Yashet, who’s going to take responsibility?”


    She wasn’t a cop or a detective. Surely, the crew couldn’t expect her to find them, could they?


    Sewing the faint anger on Noe’s face, the crew leader wiped his sweat and hurriedly exined,


    ‘We wanted to, really, but Stirling and Wasbel’s agent told us to wait for you!”


    Yasbel was under contract with Pris Star’s own entertainmentpany, East Sea Culture


    Company. The agent, being an internal staff member, decided not to alert the authorities, uncertain


    of what had actually happened.


    Noe stepped into the room. “If there’s no news in two hours, call the police. You’ve already


    missed the golden hour for a search and


    rescue


    The production was a massive investment, and they were hoping this movie would be their ticket to


    major awards. If it leaked that the leads were missing, billions in investment would go down the


    drain!


    The crew leader didn’t dare hesitate and quickly agreed.


    Noe’s gaze then turned to the two agents waiting by the side. “Has Stirling been harassed by any


    fans recently?”


    “Just those. Even if Stirling filed aint, most of them are underage, barely fourteen. It’s tricky


    to handle.”


    From day one of shooting, several obsessed fans, barely twelve, had been lurking around, forcing


    the crew to arrange transportation to send them home. Unfortunately, this made those fans think


    Stirling was indulging and weing them!


    An agent pulled out a phone. “This is Stirling’s phone. I don’t know the passcode, Ms. Noe.


    Maybe you could try.”


    The lock screen was a photo of Stirling and Noe together, with a few members of the Schnabel


    family cropped out at the edges.


    Noe paused for a moment, then tried her birthday as the passcode, and it worked.


    She remembered Stirling mentioning that he had set all his devices, including his bank PIN, to her


    birthday!


    The message inbox was filled with offensive content.


    “Why didn’t Surling just contact his carrier to disable messaging?”


    The agent exined, “Stirling used to ignore his messages, but after you went home, sometimes


    you’d text, and Stirling would check in case he missed something from you.”


    In reality, the times Noe actually texted were few and far between, as she preferred to call if there


    was something important.


    Stirling’s fear of missing any message from Noe was evident.


    Noe didn’t know whether to me herself for texting Stirling in the first ce or regret that she


    hadn’t sent him more messages!


    The few messages she did send were all saved as favorites by Stirling!


    Palmer, seeing Noe’s guilt, whispered soothingly, “Even if he disabled messaging, those fans


    would just start calling, making it even more of a hassle. It’s not your fault. Besides, we shouldn’t


    have to limit ourselves to avoid these situations. The most important thing is dealing with these


    intrusive fans effectively”


    Noe quicklyposed herself. “Let’s focus on finding them. Where was Yasbel’sst known


    location?”


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    Nn replied, “North, near a small creek.”


    Glen Vige was small, surrounded by mountains, with the border only a hundred kilometers


    further.


    Noe pocketed Stirling’s phone. “Lead the way”


    As they approached, the gate of a nearby house creaked open, and Maddox emerged, draped in an


    army coat.


    “Ms. Noe and Mr. Pock, you’re back? Why didn’t you let me know!”


    “Maddox, have you heard anything unusual these past few days?”


    Living not far from Verdant Garden, Maddox would’ve noticed if Stirling and Yasbel had


    disappeared!


    Everyone looked at Maddox with hopeful eyes.


    Maddox pondered for a moment. “Let’s see, Ellsworth Fuller came by the other night, along with the


    rest of the Fuller family, asking for Ms. Noe’s contact. I didn’t give it to them!”


    Remembering the Fullers‘ expressions made Maddox angry. They clearly had no good intentions!


    “I didn’t hear anything unusual at night. The young master mentioned their filming was a bit noisy,


    so I didn’t stay here at night.”


    Maddox lived nearby mainly to keep an eye on Noe’s property and to guard Old Mrs. Lambert’s


    coffin.


    When the Schnabel family came in full force to respectfully relocate Old Mrs. Lambert to the


    Schnabel family’s cemetery, Maddox was somewhat relieved. He worried about who would


    apany Old Mrs. Lambert when he passed away!


    With Stirling staying at Verdant Garden, Maddox decided to spend his nights at a distant nephew’s


    house, away from the film crew.


    Maddox was quite pleased with the Schnabel children; they were clearly extraordinary folks.


    Stirling’s concern for his rest was touching!


    Hearing that they were missing, Maddox grew anxious too.


    Noe nodded. “I’ll check the north.”


    “North? The Fuller family’s old house is up there too!”


    The Fuller family’s ancestral home had been neglected for years, left to crumble and decay, yet it


    indeedy to the north!


    “Take me to see it!”


    “Sure thing!”


    Maddox, without any hesitation, led Noe and the film crew on a grand trek towards the northern


    hillside.


    The paths around Glen Vige were treacherous, with wild grass towering over humans, and many


    areas were simply impassable. The film crew grumbled under their breath but dared not voice their


    comints too loudly.


    They had seen Noe striding ahead, leading the way without so much as a word ofint. Not


    only did she notin, but Noe also moved at a brisk pace!


    She and Palmer followed Maddox, leaving the rest of the film crew far behind, clearly very


    concerned about Stirling!


    The sibling bond between the Schnabels was admirably strong!


    Palmer reached the hilltop first and turned back to extend a hand to Noe. “Come on!”


    He showed no sign ofint in such a setting.


    One moment he was the CEO covered in gold, hands tied up with international contracts worth


    billions, and the next, he stood on the challenging slopes of a hillside vige, reaching out through


    the thorns to Noe.


    cing her hand in Palmer’s, Noe easily climbed up the hillside with his help, then turned to


    Maddox. “Maddox, the film crew might not make it up here. Wait for them and take them around


    another way.”


    Noe and Palmer, being top–tier assassins ustomed to operating in border areas, found scaling


    such slopes to be as easy as pie.


    However, for the film crew attempting to climb this nearly vertical hillside, the task would prove


    much more challenging!


    To save time, Noe and Palmer opted for a shortcut.


    Maddox, unable to make the climb himself, stayed behind to wait for the crew.


    “Alright! Just over this hilltop, and we’ll be at the Fuller family’s ce