LOGINLeon moved his finger along the faded lines until he found it. There was an old address was written beneath Grace's name.Daniel immediately pulled out his phone and photographed the page."I'll have the team search for her.""Do it," Leon said.Daniel glanced at the address again. "This is quite far from here.""How old is the record?" Leon asked.The elderly man leaned closer to examine the document. "Twenty-six years, perhaps a little more."Leon nodded slowly. "Then there's a good chance she doesn't live there anymore.""That's what I was thinking," Daniel agreed. "But we should be able to trace her through the address."Leon closed the folder carefully. He raised his head to meet the man's gaze. "Thank you for your help, sir. You have no idea how much this means to us."The old man smiled. "I'm happy I could help.”Leon gave a faint smile before slowly rising to his feet. Daniel rose from his chair as well, thanking the elderly man before following Leon toward the door.The momen
It took a while before the man came out of the room. While he was away, Daniel glanced toward the hallway before lowering his voice. "Do you think we're finally onto something?"Leon kept his eyes fixed on the doorway. "I don't know."Daniel let out a quiet breath. "I've been involved in hundreds of investigations over the years," he admitted, "but this one is different."Leon turned slightly. "How so?""I mean… we're not chasing a criminal." Daniel paused. "We're trying to find someone who spent more than two decades making sure she couldn't be found."Leon nodded in agreement. “You're right. But I'm certain we'll find her very soon.”Before Daniel could respond, the sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor came from the house.A few moments later, the elderly man reappeared, slightly out of breath, carrying a dusty cardboard box with both hands. He set it carefully on the coffee table.A cloud of dust rose into the air, he coughed as he waved a hand in front of his fa
LEON'S RESIDENCE…Sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Leon's study. The room was quiet except for the steady rhythm of fingers moving across a keyboard.Seated behind a broad walnut desk, Leon focused intently on the laptop before him. Several documents were open across the screen—financial projections, business proposals, and handwritten notes scattered beside the computer. Although he had stepped down as CEO of Viremont Holdings, remaining idle had never been part of his nature.Over the past few days, he had begun outlining plans for a new venture. Nothing had been finalized yet, but putting his thoughts on paper and practising his piano gave him something productive to focus on while everything else in his life slowly settled.He paused, rereading a paragraph before making another correction. Just then, his phone vibrated against the desk.Daniel Brooks.Leon immediately reached for it. "Daniel.""Good morning, Mr. Viremont.""Morning. What have you got?""We
She pulled the phone away from her ear for a brief second and glanced at the screen again.“Is everything okay?” the woman asked.The moment the question came, the voice sounded familiar. "Ma'am Alice?" Amber asked uncertainly."Yes," Alice replied gently. "It's me."Amber blinked several times before letting out a quiet breath. "Oh..." She closed her eyes briefly, guilt washing over her. "I'm sorry," she said, bringing the phone back to her ear. "I thought you were someone else."A small laugh came from the other end. "I can tell."Amber pressed her lips together. "I'm really sorry.""It's alright, dear," Alice said warmly. "Considering everything that's happened, I can't blame you."From the kitchen doorway, Rina watched Amber's expression soften. She mouthed silently, Who is it?Amber covered the microphone with one hand."It's Ma'am Alice," she whispered.Rina's eyebrows lifted in surprise before she quietly returned to drying the dishes, giving Amber some privacy."I hope I didn
Amber glanced at the screen. Her brows knitted together as she saw the caller ID."Who's calling? Is it Zara?" Rina asked between mouthfuls.Amber shook her head. "No… it's an unknown number.”The phone continued vibrating across the table."Answer it," Rina urged. "It could be someone important."Amber hesitated before picking it up. "Hello?"There was no response.She frowned. "Hello? Who's this?"Still, nothing. All she could hear at the other end of the phone was the faint sound of breathing. She slowly lowered the phone from her ear and checked the screen to make sure the call hadn't disconnected.It was still connected."...Hello?"The line went dead.She stared at the phone for a few seconds before placing it back on the table."Wrong number?" Rina asked."I... don't know. They didn't say anything."Rina frowned."They just... breathed into the phone." A small shiver crawled up Amber's spine. It was like a replay in her memory. She had experienced the same thing in Leon's place
UNKNOWN LOCATION… Thursday afternoon. The room was dimly lit, its only source of light streaming through a narrow gap in the curtains. A man in a black jacket stood silently beside a table, waiting.Several seconds later, the sound of approaching heels echoed through the hallway. After a moment, the door clicked open. Isabel Miller stepped inside, dressed in an elegant ivory blouse tucked into a fitted black skirt. Dark sunglasses concealed her eyes, and her expression remained unreadable as she walked toward the table.The man straightened immediately. "Miss Miller."She removed her sunglasses and placed them on the table. "Report."Without wasting a second, the man slid a thick brown envelope across to her. "We've maintained surveillance on Amber Rose Adao for the past few days."Isabel opened the envelope. Inside were dozens of glossy photographs. Amber standing on Rina's balcony, watering flowers, Amber leaving a neighborhood grocery store with two shopping bags in her hands, Amb
BACK AT LEON'S PLACE…While Leon was away, Amber stayed curled on the couch, hugging a pillow, trying to process everything. The house felt too big, too quiet, too overwhelming.A sudden knock at the front door startled her. She stood slowly, wiping her eyes before opening it. It was Rina. As soon
The appearance of the headlight sent shivers down the ladies spine. Amber stiffened. Rina grabbed her arm. Zara took a step back.Leon raised a hand gently. “It’s okay,” his voice calm. When the car rolled to a stop, a familiar figure stepped out.“Darious,” Leon exhaled.Darious hurried over to t
Isabel had been the one all along. She had hired a journalist to investigate Amber. During her visit to Amber’s home, she had secretly recorded Mrs. Adao confessing to everything. The video that played was that of her mother talking about Amber's encounter with Leon, their debts, the fake engageme
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Amber, Happy birthday to you!!!"“Hip hip, hurrayyyyy!!!” They all sang joyfully. Her eyes drifted from face to face. Rina was there, grinning wide, holding up her phone to record. A few of her former co-workers were there too, wa







