Chapter 437 Grandma’s Missing
“My pupil?” Veronica was dumbfounded. “Yeah, that’s right. Do you reckon I’m good enough to learn from you?” Stephen pointed at his nose and looked at her expectantly.
“Uhh… Well… Hahaha…” She revealed an awkward smile. She did not expect Stephen to be so obsessed with martial arts to this extent.
During the first half of last year, she had not been practicing martial arts properly; instead, for the later half of the year, Crayson had implemented a rigorous training regimen for her. Earlier this year, he had even come up with different ways to train her despite her injuries.
When she had injured her left hand, he made her train to fight by just using one hand. For the entire time, she had been forced to wake to train at about 4.00AM and she was not given a break either after she arrived home from work at night after dinner. She was thoroughly exhausted from all that training.
Thanks to her dayjob and business with Vincere Games, Veronica was able to improve leaps under the immense pressure and discipline. The extent of her improvement was impressive to the point where she was astonished too.
It was merely a year and even if she tried hard, she knew that there would be a limit to her advancing. However, she seemed to have a nagging sense that there was still limitless potential within her to be discovered.
She had once asked Crayson about her condition, but he had merely brushed her off by saying, “Perhaps you’re now blessed with some talent because of your idiocy.”
His words sounded too perfunctory, so naturally Veronica did not trust a word of that. However, she did not pursue it any further.
“Wow! That was an awesome performance there, you fierce one! I can’t believe that you’ve gained a pupil just like that from visiting me at work! You’re one of a kind!”
Larry was being a jerk and he continued to tease her.
Slightly resigned, Veronica mentioned, “Stephen, you’re great in martial arts and we’re an equal match for each other, so there is no need for you—”
“No. No. No.” Stephen shook his head and pointed at the high heels Veronica had on with his finger. “You fought me while wearing high heels nearly four inches tall. You haven’t even fought with your best effort, so I know that you’ve been holding back. How about you just agree to be my master?”
Even though he was in his thirties, he looked rather goofy as he revealed a sincere look when he spoke and it was hard to reject him.
At that moment, the director yelled out with his foghorn, “Stephen, are you ready? It’s your turn.”
“I’m coming.” Stephen nodded and placed both hands on Veronica’s shoulders. “I’ll treat you to a meal once I finish shooting this.”
After saying that, he clutched Larry’s hands. “Don’t let your friend leave.”
Subsequently, Stephen ran off in the direction of the indoor shooting scene.
The bystanders surrounding them came forward and heaped praises on Veronica.
Meanwhile, most of them were actors and actresses whom she had seen in those international blockbuster films.
She greeted them one after the other and for the first time ever, she found that it actually felt great to be praised by the others.
In the end, the crowd dispersed. Larry then brought Veronica to the rest area and continued to chat.
Shortly after that, Stephen finished shooting his scene and joined them. Stephen invited Veronica out for lunch and he mentioned that he had asked for some time off from the director.
He was very enthusiastic, so Veronica found it hard to turn down his invitation. Furthermore, Larry pestered her to accept it, so she ended up agreeing.
“Master, could I have a photo taken with you?” Stephen held up his phone and waved it in front of her as he asked.
“Sure thing.” Veronica nodded.
Consequently, the three of them took a group photo.
Veronica was in exceptionally great spirits, so she posted the photo on her social media. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to take a photo with Oscar-winning actor Mr. Stephen Armstrong. He’s a witty and charming man.’ She included a photo with her post.
Inside the photo, Stephen stood by her left side while Larry was on her right and the two guys flanked her. They had even pulled a funny face and it was a photo that left everyone dumbfounded.
She had just posted the photo on her social media minutes ago and soon enough, the comments streamed in.
Yvonne’s words were ‘You’re such a lousy friend! That’s my idol there, so you must get me an autographed photo!’
Skyler: ‘Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. He’s an international superstar and fights well. Did you two have a match?’
Ivana: ‘Aaahhh!! This is insane! He’s my favorite idol! Help me get an autographed photo, darling boss.’
Mia: ‘Tsk! There is nothing to be proud of for knowing Larry. Show-off!’
Caleb: ‘Great!’
Ruka: ‘Since when did you get to know these huge superstars? Introduce me to them.’
…
As soon as these people saw Veronica’s social media status, Matthew’s phone beeped subsequently too.
He retrieved his phone and unlocked it to take a look. His most frequently used profile on Twitter had no notification reminder, but there was a notification reminder on the Twitter profile of his ‘secret identity’ instead.
He tapped into it and there was a new tweet made by his friend and he merely followed one user—Veronica.
Someone like Matthew with an exalted status usually scoffed at the thought of creating a second social media account, but because he had broken up with her, they no longer maintained contact with each other.
Somehow, he had ended up registering a second Twitter account and followed her as his friend to stalk her life silently.
This was the first time in the past three months that she had released her first status update.
However, as soon as Matthew saw the two men by her side, he frowned and there was a thunderous expression on his face.
He continued to stare at the photo for quite some time before finally placing down his phone; he leaned against his chair while he remained lost in his thoughts.
Ring. Ring. Suddenly, his phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was a call from Mrs. Coleman, who served Elizabeth at Kings Residence.
Matthew knew that it was rare for Mrs. Coleman to call him, so something must have happened for her to contact him.
“What’s wrong, Mrs. Coleman?” He answered the phone.
“Gosh, Young Master Matthew, where are you right now? Something’s gone wrong. I was taking a walk with Old Mrs. Kings when she instructed me to go and get her a bottle of water. In a blink of an eye, she had gone missing.” On the other end, Mrs. Coleman was frantic with worry as she spoke.
“Missing?” Matthew lifted a hand and pressed the area in between his brows. “Where did she go missing exactly?”
“It’s a park near Falls Street.”
“Alright, don’t panic. I’ll send some men over to look for her right away.” He did not blame Mrs. Coleman at all and he hung up the phone after saying that.
He rose from his seat and grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger. Subsequently, he strode out of his office.
Ever since Elizabeth had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, they had been keeping a close eye on her. However, she had been behaving normally for the past few months, so that was why everyone had gradually overlooked her.
At the same time, Veronica, who was currently still located at Rocky Bay, received a phone call too.
Mrs. Coleman’s number was saved on her phone, so she saw from the caller ID that it was her on the line.
“Stephen, Larry, give me a minute. I have a call to take.”
She pointed at her phone and spoke to the two before walking to the side to answer the phone. “Mrs. Coleman?”
“Veronica, something’s gone wrong. Old Mrs. Kings has gone missing. I… I’ve searched for ages, but I can’t find her. What should I do?” Mrs. Coleman heaved a sigh.
“What? Grandma’s missing? How did that happen? I thought she was doing quite well lately?” Veronica instantly figured that Elizabeth’s Alzheimer’s disease had worsened.
Mrs. Coleman slapped her thighs out of anxiety. “Gosh! I know! You’re right. But then, I was well… I didn’t mean to take my eyes off her.”
“Alright there. Take a deep breath. Where did Grandma go missing? I’ll head over there right now to look for her.”
“We were at the park on Falls Street.”
“Sure, Mrs. Coleman. I’ll be there shortly.” Veronica hung up the phone and turned around to explain the situation to Stephen and Larry. “Guys. Something urgent has popped up back home, so I won’t be able to join you two for lunch. Please excuse me.”
