New beginning: Billionaire love story (Claire and Alex) novel Chapter 173

After that failed attempt of finding the person at the internet café, Matthew decided to head to the second location.

The sun has set, and the weather is not really friendly. As usual, London weather is doing their job.

Matthew parked from across the street. The bright light of the internet place are the only ones shining through compared to the other shop.

The second location is different than earlier. While the first location is located at a strategic place and near a city, the second one is located far from the city and in a more quiet environment. No different than the first one, there are still a lot of people going in and out of the internet café.

“It looks the same as earlier.” He muttered to himself.

Matthew sat inside his car to observed the situation before going in. As he sat in the driver seat, for fifteen minutes, people are exiting and also entering. Couldn’t wait for another minute, Matthew stepped out of the car.

The cold chilly night air hit his skin and he tightened his coat around his body.

He crossed the street and stood in front of the internet cafe, taking in the scene before going inside. The place was indeed different. It looked dirtier, if Matthew could say that. The windows were dusty, and he noticed one word from the neon sign was off, flickering intermittently.

“Ok, maybe a little bit different.”

He sighed and opened the door. The smell of cigarettes hit his nostrils immediately, making him scrunch his nose. He walked up to the counter, feeling the eyes of two people who passed by him, staring at his outfit.

The young man behind the counter raised his brows as he stared at Matthew's outfit. His curiosity piqued, he asked, “What can I help you with?”

Matthew just realized that his formal attire looks so different than the other customer at the internet café.

Matthew didn't bother with chit chat and went straight to the point. “Have you seen anyone suspicious or weird coming here?”

The young man shrugged. “Look around,” he said, gesturing to the eclectic mix of people engrossed in their screens. “Everyone that comes to the internet café is weird.”

Matthew pulled out his phone and showed it to the young man. “What about this post? It was uploaded from here.”

The young man took a quick glance at the screen and shrugged again. “I don't know anything about that. Even if it did happen, I'm not involved.”

“Do you know who posted it?” Matthew pressed.

The young man shook his head. “No idea. We get a lot of people in here. I don't keep track of them.”

“Can I see your surveillance footage?” Matthew asked, determined to get some answers.

“Sure,” the young man replied. “But we only have one functioning camera.”

He led Matthew to the back of the café, where the surveillance monitors were set up. True to his word, only one camera was functioning, and it was pointed at the entrance.

“Here you go,” the young man said, pulling up the footage on the monitor. “This is all we have.”

Matthew watched the footage, scanning the faces of everyone who entered the café. It was a slow process, and he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he hoped something would stand out.

“How often do you check this footage?” Matthew asked as he continued to watch.

“Not often,” the young man admitted. “Only if there's an incident. We don't have the resources to monitor it all the time.”

Matthew nodded, understanding the limitations. “Do you remember anyone acting particularly strange recently?”

The young man shook is head. “Nah, man. I don’t really remember.”

Mattthew couldn’t help asking him another question to quench his curiosity “Why do you only have one functioning surveillance camera?”

Jack leaned forward, feeling curious. “How did it happened?”

“A drunk driver crash on to my car and resulting into a big crash. My parents died including my driver and I…got an amnesia.”

Jack was stunned for a moment. It seems like he couldn’t say anything as he digested the information.

“Claire, oh my God, I am so sorry. I never knew. I should have known your disappearance without any news is unusual.”

“It’s okay, Jack. It is not your fault.”

“Have you found the one behind it?”

Claire shook her head. “Not really although, I do have someone I am suspicious, but I can’t tell you yet. I still don’t have enough proof.”

“I understand, Claire. Please tell me if you need help. And how did you get married to Alexander Harris?” His eyebrow scrunched up in confusion as he tried to match the puzzle. “Did he…save you?”

Claire snorted as she found it funny. “Sorry but no. Alex did not save me. Instead, it was the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I save his grandfather. I don’t want to get into detail because I kind a have enough telling this story and reliving it a few times. But the point is I save his grandfather, he felt like he owe me so he help me from finding a place and a job and then he grew fond of me and ended up pairing me with his grandson.”

“Wow…that’s just like a novel.”

“Pretty much.”

Claire couldn’t help imagining if she haven’t meet Alex. Will her life be the same as it was? or will it be much worse and dangerous?