Chapter 5 04. Berlin

Hezfeld stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office on the eighth floor with his mobile phone in hand.Neither the majestic Berlin skyscrapers nor the snow-capped Schlepp below him caught his attention.He listened to his daughter's messages time and time again, each time defeating his hopes of getting clues about Hannah's whereabouts.Even if there was any information hidden in his daughter's message, he couldn't decipher it.After listening to it four times, he called the number where his daughter used to live. However, no one answered the phone at the single-family house on the shore of Schlahat Lake.

He wanted to call Hannah's mobile phone, but after he moved out, the daughter quickly changed the number and refused to tell him to this day. He swallowed and dialed again. "I'm Dr. Xun Haier, hello." He always felt hurt every time he heard the surname his ex-wife used in the divorce proceedings.But now is not the time for self-pity. "Hello, Norman, I'm Paul. I have to speak to Pedro." "What's the matter?" the man on the other end of the phone asked. Despite the poor signal, the man's sarcastic sneer was still clearly audible.Damn it, the enemy's road is narrow.This was the first time he called his ex-wife on his own initiative, but the person who answered the phone was the one who made them divorce.Two years ago, Pedro introduced him to Norman, her new assistant at her architectural firm.Two months later, this guy had sex with her.

"Where is she?" "Pedro's already on the plane. Want me to tell her something?" "What plane?" he asked, confused. "A380." The man replied arrogantly.It was only now that Herzfeld could hear the typical sounds of an international airport in the background: a bustling, multilingual broadcast.Pedro's specialty was gigantic projects in shopping malls all over the world, so traveling with her personal secretary was a no-brainer.But what puzzled Hezfeld was why she left her mobile phone with him.Maybe she saw the name on the caller ID, so she transferred the call to him.

"Listen, this is very important. I have to talk to her. It's urgent," Herzfeld pleaded.He almost said "it's a matter of life and death", but that would put his daughter in more danger. "You must never tell anyone." Norman pretended to clear his throat: "I'd love to let you talk to her on the phone, but Qantas doesn't allow first-class passengers to pick up mobile phones." Qantas? "She's in Australia?" When he heard the strange background sound of the call, he had already guessed that it must be an international roaming call.

"New Zealand. I guess it's none of your business." Herzfeld really wanted to yell at this idiot with the swear words that were already on his lips.While he was hesitating, the guy with the fake dry cough was about to hang up. "Listen, it's a pleasure to talk to you, but I have to check in now, and the ground staff wants me to turn off my phone immediately..." "Is my daughter with you?" Herzfeld interrupted him with the question he was supposed to ask his ex-wife.While he doesn't doubt the authenticity of that message, in the digital age it's a breeze to edit raw recordings into lifelike voicemails.He had to systematically rule out any suspicions, however trivial, that Hannah had been kidnapped.Only in this way can he concentrate on saving his daughter.

"Hannah?" Norman sounded surprised. "No. She's not with us. Have you forgotten, Professor? Your daughter is home studying for her exams." But I don't have her home phone! "Do you know Hannah's cell phone number?" "I know, but I also heard that she doesn't want to give her mobile phone number to others. Sorry." As soon as the words fell, the bastard really hung up. Hertzfeld clenched his phone angrily, wanting to throw it against the wall. It would be even better if it was a glass cabinet with antiques. It was a gift from his boss for his fortieth birthday.Perhaps, if he really couldn't help but smash it, the phone in his hand wouldn't vibrate at this moment.He looked at the caller ID for a moment before answering.No phone number was shown, but Herzfeld was pretty sure who it was.

He guessed it was a man, calling with a disguised voice, via a secret router located abroad. Hannah had said that he would call himself Eric.