My wife was carrying trauma like this, and I knew nothing about it?

A wave of self-disgust rose in my chest.

I had neglected her.

Ignored her.

Failed her.

Whatever had happened...

I would find out.

And whoever was responsible—

Would pay for it.

I had already made the mistake of overlooking her once.

But not anymore.

The next morning, I woke earlier than usual.

As always, I went downstairs for my workout.

The house was quiet, the only sound coming from Maria as she prepared to begin the day’s cleaning.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted when she saw me.

"Morning, Maria."

I continued to the gym on the second floor.

After finishing my workout, I headed back toward the stairs, intending to shower.

Maria was now cleaning the living room.

Just before I reached the staircase, I stopped abruptly.

Last night’s event resurfaced in my mind.

"Maria."

She immediately turned toward me.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need to ask you something."

My voice was calm, but firm.

"And I need you to tell me the truth."

She straightened at once, sensing the seriousness in my tone.

"Of course, sir."

I held her gaze.

"When I wasn’t around... did Alicia ever have an accident? Or mention anything that might have hurt or frightened her?"

Maria was the only person I could ask.

She was always at home, and Alicia had never been someone who opened herself easily to others.

If anything had happened, Maria was my best chance of learning it.

She blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question.

She thought for a moment before shaking her head slowly.

"I don’t remember Madam Alicia mentioning any accident, sir."

A wave of frustration rose in me.

Maria had been my only lead.

If she knew nothing, then I had nothing.

Alicia had no close friends I could turn to, and I had spent the entire night wondering how to find the truth without forcing her to relive it.

I exhaled sharply and turned to leave.

"But..."

Her hesitant voice stopped me.

I looked back.

Maria seemed nervous now, clutching the cloth in both hands.

"There was one night that miss Alicia returned home looking... very disheveled."

Something in my chest tightened instantly.

"She had bruises on her body," Maria continued cautiously. "Especially on her face. But she didn’t tell me what happened."

My expression darkened at once.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

The anger in my voice made her visibly flinch.

How could Alicia hide something like that?

Why did she always choose to carry everything alone?

"Sir... it happened the night of your anniversary."

Maria’s voice trembled slightly.

"You didn’t come home that night."

I froze.

She lowered her head quickly.

"I wanted to tell you when you returned, but you left again in a hurry... and later, it slipped my mind. I’m sorry, sir."

I closed my eyes.

That night.

Every memory came rushing back.

I suddenly remembered the small bandage I had seen near the corner of her mouth when I followed her to Nevaris City.

At the time, her face had looked slightly off—as if something was wrong.

But I had been too preoccupied with trying to get her to listen to me, while she kept refusing, that I failed to think about it carefully.

Afterward I didn’t think much of it.

Now, recalling it, a cold heaviness settled in my chest.

I had noticed.

And still... I had overlooked it.

No wonder she had become more distant.

Often distracted after returning from the trip.

No wonder.

A sharp wave of self-loathing tightened in my chest.

It was all because of me.

I returned to the master bedroom still in a daze.

Alicia was still asleep.

For a moment, I simply stood there watching her before heading into the bathroom to freshen up.

After getting dressed, I sat at the edge of the bed and studied her sleeping face quietly.

She looked peaceful now.

Calm.

Untouched by pain.

But no matter how serene she appeared, I could not erase the image of her crying in her sleep the night before.

My chest tightened.

How many things had she endured alone like this?

How many times had she suffered in silence while I remained unaware?

Alicia stirred slightly in her sleep.

I rose immediately, careful not to wake her.

Taking my phone, I left for the study.

Once inside, I scrolled through my contacts and dialed Michael.

I distinctly remembered asking him to take Alicia home that night.

If he had really done so...

Then how had she ended up injured?

Only he could answer that.

The call connected after a few rings.

"Hello?"

Then Michael’s voice came through.

"Alexander? Calling this early—everything alright?"

"Everything’s fine," I said evenly. "I just need to ask you something."

His tone became more serious at once.

"Go ahead."

"Do you remember the night of the fire incident involving Lilian?"

There was a brief pause.

"Yes. Why?"

"When you came to inform me in the restaurant,before I left, I asked you to take Alicia home. You remember that, don’t you?"

Michael answered quickly, almost defensively.

"I tried convincing her to let me drive her back, but she refused and ran off."

I let out a slow breath.

So that was what happened.

"She was furious," he continued cautiously. "Kept cursing at me and telling me to leave her alone. In the end, I had no choice but to let her go."

He hesitated.

Then asked carefully,

"Did something happen?"

"No."

My voice came out lower than usual.

"It’s nothing. Thanks."

"...Alright, man."

I ended the call.

Closing my eyes, I exhaled slowly.

I should have expected it.

Alicia had always been stubborn.

And after the way Michael had treated her that night, there was no chance she would have gone anywhere with him.

I opened my eyes and immediately dialed another number.

Jane answered almost at once.

"Jane."

"Yes, sir."

"I need you to pull every CCTV feed outside and around the restaurant where Alicia and I had dinner on the twenty-fifth September."

There was no hesitation.

"Right away, sir."

The call ended.

Knowing Jane’s efficiency, I was certain I would have answers soon.

I remained standing in the silent study, waiting.

I kept glancing at my phone.

Every passing second felt longer than it should have.

Soon enough, Jane called back.

As expected.

"Boss, I contacted the restaurant and had them review the CCTV footage."

I straightened immediately.

"At first, nothing seemed suspicious," she continued. "But after checking further, we discovered the cameras near the area were broken that day."

My expression darkened.

Broken.

Was it coincidence—

Or deliberate?

"But we managed to retrieve footage from a camera mounted on an abandoned building farther down the street," Jane added. "The image isn’t very clear because it was nighttime, but the streetlights captured part of the incident."

"Send it to me immediately."

"Yes, sir."

The call ended.

I stared at my phone, waiting for the file to come through.

A moment later, it arrived.

I opened it at once.

Then froze.

My jaw tightened.

My free hand curled into a fist at my side.

The footage was dim, but I recognized Alicia instantly.

The dress she was wearing that night.

The way she moved.

She was walking alone. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Then, from behind—

A masked man rushed toward her and struck her violently.

She was thrown to the ground, her back slamming hard against the pavement.

My breathing hitched.

But what happened next was worse.

Instead of snatching her bag and running like a normal thief, the man crouched beside her—

And punched her directly in the face.

My vision darkened.

He rose again, preparing to kick her.

Then suddenly, as if someone nearby had noticed the attack, he stepped back, took her bag and fled.

But I knew better.

The bag was just a distraction from the main reason for the attack.

But why would anyone want to target Alicia like this?.

A woman ran into frame moments later and helped Alicia to her feet.

I replayed the footage immediately.

Then zoomed in.

When the woman approached, the attacker had turned briefly.

Though his face was hidden beneath a mask, his eyes were visible.

And at the edge of his collar—

A portion of a tattoo showed along his neck.

Not enough to identify clearly.

But enough.

A cold fury surged through me so violently that I could no longer continue watching.

I already knew what to do.

Without hesitation, I forwarded the footage to another contact.

"Do whatever is necessary."

"Find this person."

A moment later, a reply came back.

"OK."