Chapter 144 - An Invitation

It took a while for Raven to settle in with the routine. Scarlet really was overworking and he made sure to include that in his daily reports back home. Orita wasn't too pleased but she understood why Scarlet had to work so hard. After all, Alex's schedule was just as busy as Scarlet's. While they were still young, it was important to build an unshakable reputation if they wanted to remain in the showbiz for a long time.

Nevertheless, she entrusted Raven and Pamela to care for Scarlet's needs. Tina was looking after Scarlet's diet and the manager was very capable when it comes to handling the jobs Scarlet took on. Raven was also gradually improving over the weeks following Scarlet around as her bodyguard. Now, he even doubled up as Scarlet's driver and personal assistant when he could.

With that, Raven wondered what he should be doing about the shadow in the distance. For a while now, Scarlet's residential mailbox had been flooding with tons of anonymous letters. While it wasn't unusual for Scarlet to receive fan mails, they were usually collected at Jupiter Records or personally handed to Scarlet at the site of her work or at the airport. Never has there been a fan mail directed to Scarlet's personal letterbox, her residential address was top secret after all.

Raven knew it was not an ordinary letter when he saw it and asked Pamela about it before they passed it to Scarlet. Luckily, the manager agreed that it was odd and they opened the letter to scan through the contents before they passed it to Scarlet. Needless to say, the letters never made it to Scarlet's hands. Pamela, Tina and Raven made an agreement to keep it from the busy actress while Raven investigated.

Right now, he was busy holding a video call with his ex-boss while Scarlet was in the make-up room.

"What is it? Alex is currently on her break but I need to get back in fifteen minutes," Claire frowned.

Raven's smile was grim. "Hello, boss… it's been a while. I've been on the new job for a few weeks now but there is a situation I'd like to ask for your opinion. Has there been any malicious stalking incident going on over on your end? Something like sending letters to the supposedly secret residential address and suspicious characters tailing after your ward with no intention of approaching?"

Claire thought about it. "I've been taking care of the nuisance from my end but now that you mentioned it, there has been an increase in the number of cases lately. Is Scarlet in some sort of trouble?"

Raven shook his head. "Not at the moment. Pamela, Tina and I have it under control although we're being more cautious and checking everything before Scarlet gets to it. Have you seen letters like this before? They don't seem to be done by just an individual. I feel like there is some kind of organization or group backing them."

Claire took a look at the pictures of the letters Raven sent over the chat. She frowned. For some reason, although the sender was different, Claire could see a similarity. Such things were also happening on Alex's side but Claire dealt with them swiftly. They were unable to catch the mastermind behind the disturbing invitations but thankfully, the attempts have stopped.

"A few weeks ago something similar happened at my side but ever since we took action and tried to weed out the mastermind, they've stopped. I think they're targeting Scarlet now because they could not get Alex. Be very careful about it and stay on the lookout for now. I need to report this to Wilmer for further instructions. In the worst case, we'll have to accept the invitation and have Scarlet act as the bait to smoke the mastermind out."

Raven nodded solemnly. If possible, he didn't want to do that. His job as a bodyguard was to protect Scarlet and not put her in potential danger when he knew it existed. Yet, Claire was the actual commanding officer when it came to the overall security of the two Wilde princesses.

"Roger that, I shall return to my duties and keep you updated should we see any changes."

After the video call ended, Raven talked to Tina and Pamela about what they should do. The lingering shadow of the stalker who had been following them from Scarlet's residence to the shooting location was nowhere to be found now but Raven was certain that they would be back again. In order to prepare to catch that stalker, the bodyguard devised a plan.

"I want to catch the person and ask them questions later so I will be leaving Scarlet in your care for that. Please let her know that I have something on today, I will be taking my leave for now. A replacement driver will be coming in the evening when the shoot wraps up."

Tina nodded. "Please be careful. We've been rejecting a lot of gifts from unknown sources lately according to your instructions. They were things that ranged from accessories to tickets and some even food. If you don't catch the stalker soon I think they'll start to be more bold the next time and knock on the main door to deliver the gifts."

Pamela didn't look too pleased with that thought. "I think I should start packing my things tonight to prepare and stay over at Scarlet's apartment for a few weeks. Auntie Tina, will there be room for me? I know Raven lives with Scarlet as well."

Tina smiled. "No worries! The apartment is big enough. I will prepare your room tonight so you can come tomorrow. It's safer if everybody sticks together in times like this. The other day Raven found a basket of fruits by Scarlet's apartment door with a card from the stalker. Luckily Scarlet wasn't around so we quickly got rid of it. These people are getting more and more daring, isn't it scary?"

Pamela didn't know what to say to that. They've already come to the front door and that means the situation is more serious than she thought. Pamela looked at Raven. Although she knew that the man was a capable bodyguard trained and sent by the Wilde family, she still thought it would be safer to at least alert the local authorities about the matter. Also, it would probably be wiser to look into moving to a new apartment for the time being.

Raven sensed the manager's thoughts and shook his head. "Give me a little more time. If it doesn't work, we'll escalate it and increase the measures taken. Right now, the Wilde family is trying to find out the mastermind. A similar thing happened to Miss Alex but the mastermind has now switched targets to Miss Scarlet since they've failed previously. They're much more cautious now and any signs of defense from us will send them running quickly before we know who they are."

Pamela sighed and relented with a nod. If the Wilde family was investigating the matter privately, she would stay out of it. After all, she was an outsider when it came to family matters. With such a powerful family like the Wilde's there will definitely be a lot more than met the eye. Some past feud can be the cause of this stalking incident and it might not be just a simple case of fan obsession like she previously thought.

"Understood. I will leave it to you, take care."

Raven took his leave and pulled out a phone to begin his serious work. Orita might have sent him alone over to protect Scarlet but Claire was more prepared for cases like this. After working with Wilmer for so many years, they were all on guard against Anastasia should he try something against Wilmer's family. Orita doesn't know it, Jenna might have guessed it but a lot of the servants employed in the main house were also professional bodyguards trained by Claire. The security in the main house is the strongest and Wilmer thought that it would help keep his family safe. Who knew that the two princesses decided to place themselves out in the world as a target for Anastasia? The Sweet Sixteen gala that Orita held made things more complicated because Anastasia's activities suddenly decreased and disappeared like the calm before the storm.

"Ready teams six and nine for a crackdown. Send agent four, five and nineteen to rotate on Scarlet. Nineteen is the driver. Team eight on standby with agent four and agent five as captains. Report back if there are any unusual sightings."

Raven didn't need to wait for a reply before he ended the message that was sent out to every guard's phone. In a café near Scarlet's shooting studio, two men stood up simultaneously and paid for their drinks before leaving. A tourist who was feeding pigeons in the park nearby also brushed his hands and got up before walking away. They were agents four, five and nineteen reporting for a change of shift.

Meanwhile, three cars from a rented office not too far from Scarlet's apartment departed with men dressed in casual clothes and serious expressions. Two cars headed in the same direction to meet up with Raven and one care was headed to Scarlet's shooting studio. Beside Scarlet's apartment, the occupants finally returned. They were a very convincing couple who looked like newlyweds. However, once inside the apartment, wire tapes were being set up and the building's security feed was being hacked. When everything was ready, the couple sent the information back to Raven who praised them for the quick action.

Now, all the bodyguard had to do was wait for his ride, change his clothes and attend one of the meet-ups from the letters that he received from Scarlet's mysterious 'fans'. There was a party to crash.