I remained in the car for nearly thirty minutes.

The engine was off.

The world outside continued moving.

Yet I felt trapped.

I didn’t know where to look next.

Then my phone rang again.

Jane.

I answered immediately.

"Did you find something?"

"Sir..." Jane sounded confused.

"We checked both the airport records and Mrs. Alicia’s bank transactions."

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.

"What did you find?"

There was another pause.

"It appears Mrs. Alicia purchased several airline tickets over the past few days."

My entire body went still.

"What do you mean... over the past few days?"

"The first ticket was purchased on October 10th."

October 10th.

My grip tightened around the phone.

That was the day she was discharged from the hospital.

Jane continued.

"After that, she purchased several more tickets on different dates."

My breathing slowed.

Not because I was calming down.

Because I suddenly couldn’t breathe at all.

"Different destinations?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, sir."

"Hotels?"

"No."

"Transportation arrangements?"

"No."

"Nothing."

The call ended shortly afterward.

I lowered the phone and stared blankly through the windshield.

October 10th.

The day she left the hospital.

The day I thought she was beginning to recover.

The day I believed we still had a chance.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

So while I was trying to help her heal...

She had already decided to leave.

While I was looking for ways to make her smile...

She was planning her escape.

While I was hoping we could start over...

She was preparing to walk away.

Every single day.

Right under my nose.

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.

Why...

Why do things always end up like this?

The question kept replaying in my head as I finally started the car and drove away.

Why?

Why would Alicia leave now?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized something.

The tickets weren’t meant to help her travel.

They were meant to mislead me.

Alicia wasn’t stupid.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

If I found out about one ticket, I’d follow it.

If I found another, I’d investigate that city too.

By the time I figured out which destination she had actually chosen, she would already be settled somewhere else.

Somewhere I might never find her.

The thought made my grip tighten around the steering wheel.

I pressed harder on the accelerator.

Soon, the familiar glass building of Aurelius Technologies came into view.

I drove into the underground garage, parked, and headed straight for the elevator.

The moment I stepped onto the executive floor, several employees greeted me.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Blackwood."

"Sir."

I barely acknowledged them.

My mind was elsewhere.

When I reached the CEO’s office, the assistant immediately stood from his seat.

Surprise flashed across his face.

I rarely came here.

"Welcome, sir. CEO Raphael is inside."

I nodded and pushed open the door.

Raphael was seated behind his desk reviewing a stack of documents.

The moment he looked up and saw me, he frowned.

"Alexander?"

His expression immediately changed.

"What are you doing here?"

I closed the door behind me.

"Alicia is gone."

The words sounded strange even to me.

Raphael froze.

"What do you mean she’s gone?"

I walked toward the couch and sank into it heavily.

"I don’t know."

For the first time that day, my voice sounded exhausted.

"I left her at the villa while she was sleeping."

I ran a hand through my hair.

"When I came back, she was gone."

Raphael stood up immediately and walked around the desk.

"What do you mean gone?"

"Maria didn’t see her leave."

"The house was empty."

I laughed bitterly.

"Then I found out she’d taken a taxi.

His brows knitted together.

"A taxi?"

I nodded.

"The estate security saw her leave."

I pulled out my phone and handed it to him.

"Look."

Raphael took it.

First, he watched the CCTV footage jane had just sent me.

Alicia stepping out of the villa.

A luggage case in her hand.

No hesitation.

No signs of being forced.

Then he looked through the flight reservations Jane had forwarded.

The more he read, the more conflicted his expression became.

When he finally handed the phone back, the room fell silent.

I leaned forward and buried my face in my hands.

For several moments, neither of us spoke.

Then Raphael broke the silence.

"Did something happen?"

His voice was careful.

I looked up slowly.

"I don’t know."

The answer felt pathetic.

"I thought she was getting better."

I stared blankly at the floor.

"I thought she was healing."

The image of Alicia eating fruits with Aiden flashed through my mind.

The smile she’d given me when I told her about the chairman position.

The way she’d finally started coming downstairs.

Everything had seemed better.

Or maybe I had simply wanted to believe it was.

"I thought she was finally accepting things."

Raphael sighed.

Then he sat beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Alexander."

I didn’t look at him. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"You can’t blame Alicia."

His words landed heavily.

"She’s suffered enough."

I closed my eyes.

"I know."

Of course I knew.

Every sleepless night.

Every tear she’d shed.

Every misunderstanding.

Every time she looked at me like a stranger.

I knew exactly why she’d left.

That was what hurt the most.

"I know."

My voice came out hoarse.

"But I’ve been trying."

I swallowed hard.

"I’ve been trying to fix everything."

Raphael remained silent.

"And she still left without saying a word."

The office fell quiet again.

Raphael was one of the few people who knew the truth about my marriage.

About everything that had happened these past months.

Which was why I came here.

Finally, I looked at him.

"Raphael."

He met my gaze.

"I have to find her."

The determination in my voice surprised even me.

"I don’t care how long it takes."

"I don’t care where she went."

"I need to find her."

Raphael studied me carefully.

For a long moment, he didn’t speak.

Then he stood.

Without a word, he walked back behind his desk.

He pressed the intercom button.

"Get the cybersecurity team leader and the data analysis department to Conference Room Three."

The assistant sounded confused.

"Immediately."

"Yes, sir."

The line disconnected.

I watched him quietly.

Raphael looked back at me.

"You came here because of Aurelius."

It wasn’t a question.

It was a statement.

I nodded.

Aurelius Technologies wasn’t just Raphael’s company.

It was ours.

Back in high school, before family responsibilities consumed my life, software development had been something I genuinely loved.

Raphael and I spent years building projects together, even after we joined the university.

But then I had to study a different field for the sake of my family business.

While Raphael studied Technology.

When Aurelius was founded, Raphael became the public face of the company while I remained in the background.

Very few people knew I was one of its founders.

Not my family.

Not even Alicia.

For years, Raphael handled everything while I focused on Blackwood Dominion.

But the systems we built...

The resources Aurelius possessed...

The people working here...

They could find information ordinary investigators couldn’t.

Which was exactly why I came.

Raphael folded his arms.

"If Alicia really planned this, she won’t make it easy."

"I know."

"If she’s trying to disappear, she’ll avoid every obvious trail."

"I know."

His expression softened slightly.

Then he nodded.

"Good."

"Because we’re going to need to think several steps ahead of her."

For the first time since discovering Alicia was gone, I felt the smallest spark of hope.

And right now...

That was enough.