LOGINThis was Christopher's responsibility, and a promise he had made to his grandparents.Jayden watched Christopher's retreating back. The smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by something darker.He called out, "Chris, is there nothing you want to say to me? Aren't you curious about Amelia?"Christopher paused for a second but didn't turn around. "I don't need to know."With that, he walked out of the conference room, leaving Jayden standing there, his expression turning grim.Christopher stepped out of the Zephyr Group building and looked up at the sky. The sunlight was bright, almost blinding, but it did nothing to cut through the weight pressing down on him.He pulled out his phone and called Nigel. "Any updates on Amelia?""Not yet."Nigel's voice carried a hint of frustration. "We've checked every lead we can think of, but there's still no trace of Ms. Sinclair or Mr. Burns. However, we did find that before Ms. Sinclair disappeared, Jayden moved a large sum of funds. The
Northon.Whitmore Manor was filled with a heavy, suffocating silence.Christopher stood in his study, a black suitcase at his feet, methodically packing up his personal belongings.He placed a few worn books with curled pages inside, along with a scuffed fountain pen and a framed photo of him as a boy with Dorothy.Gerald leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed as he watched Christopher's calm, unreadable profile, his eyes filled with quiet scrutiny.Ever since the news of Amelia's disappearance came in, Christopher had acted as though nothing had happened. He went to work on time and handled company affairs as usual. Now, he even had the time to come back to Whitmore Manor to pack.There wasn't a trace of worry or panic on his face, as if the missing woman had nothing to do with him."Aren't you worried about Amelia?"Gerald finally broke the silence.He couldn't read Christopher. He had always been like this, keeping everything buried, never showing anger or emotion.Ame
"So what if I mean Christopher?"Jayden didn't deny it. There was a hint of madness in his tone. "Doesn't he care about you? Isn't he supposed to be capable? I want to see what he does when he can't find you. See if he runs around like he's lost his mind. I want him to know what it feels like to lose the person he cares about most. I want him ruined, with nothing left!"Amelia looked at his twisted expression. "Jayden, this is low, even for you. You think using me will actually get to Christopher? He's not going to give in because of me.""Really?" Jayden let out a soft laugh, his eyes full of mockery. "We'll see. I'm sure it won't be long before he's scrambling everywhere, trying to find you. When that happens, he'll realize he can't beat me."After saying that, Jayden stood and turned to the bodyguards behind him. "Keep an eye on her. Don't let her wander. If anything happens to her, you answer for it.""Got it, boss," the guards replied.Jayden walked out, and the door was l
This work site Amelia was at was extremely confidential. Only core members of the Academy of Aerospace knew about it.Jayden's lips curled into a cold smile. "Come with me. I won't hurt you."His voice was soft."Why would I go with you?" Amelia took a step back, her eyes sharp as she glanced at the men behind him. "Where's Keith? What did you do to him?""He's fine. Just asleep," Jayden said calmly. "I'll say it one more time. Come with me. Don't make me do this the hard way."Amelia was about to refuse when a wave of dizziness hit her. The strange sweet scent in the air grew stronger, her vision blurring.She reached out and tried to steady herself against the tent, but her body went limp, as if all the strength had drained out of her. Darkness closed in, and she lost consciousness.In the last moment before everything went black, she saw Jayden lift a hand. The men behind him stepped forward and picked her up.-When Amelia woke up again, she found herself lying on a soft b
After Amelia finished the soup, Keith handed her a pack of compressed crackers. "Have some of this, too. It'll keep you going. Later, let's check the tents and secure the rain covers. This rain's probably going to get rough."Amelia took the crackers and nodded. "Okay. Thanks for the help."The two of them grabbed flashlights and went from tent to tent, checking each one.As Keith secured the rain covers, he reminded her, "If you hear anything strange from your tent tonight, or if it starts leaking, call me right away. Don't try to deal with it on your own. This isn't the city. Out here, we need to look out for each other.""I got it. Thank you."Amelia felt a quiet sense of gratitude.The conditions on this trip were rough, and Keith had been looking out for her the whole time. He carried the gear, made hot soup, and reminded her of things like this. It made her feel a lot more at ease.By the time they finished checking the tents, a fine drizzle had already started falling,
The terrain and climate in the forest were unusual.Amelia crouched beside the equipment, a clipboard in hand, carefully recording the temperature and humidity data transmitted back by the drone.Keith stood next to her, adjusting the weather monitoring device. The two of them exchanged a few comments about the data from time to time, working in easy sync."That's the last set of data. We're done for the day." Keith checked his watch and smiled at Amelia. "We've been at it since morning. The sun's almost down. Let's set up the tents before it gets dark, or it'll be a hassle."Amelia nodded. She put away her clipboard and helped him unload the tent gear from the SUV.The wind cut through the forest, loud and restless, mixed with strange calls from wild animals.Other than that, there was nothing.They split the work. Keith handled the tent frame while Amelia laid out the ground mats and sleeping bags. Both moved with practiced ease.By the time the last tent was up, the sky had
Amelia stood up to say goodbye to everyone.Some of her colleagues were slightly tipsy, and Jasper had to drive them home.Amelia intended to hail a cab to the hospital instead of troubling Jasper further.The summer night was exceptionally hot and stuffy, but the sky looked dark and gloomy from
Those eyes that resembled Christopher's were filled with innocence and joy. It stood in stark contrast to the coldness and distance in Christopher's eyes.Amelia hugged Evelyn tight. In this life, she would never neglect her daughter.At the dinner after visiting the grave, Christopher didn't turn
Christopher sat right next to her and noticed that she seemed to be taking notes of what was shared on stage during the press conference."Can you understand what's going on?" he asked.Amelia furrowed her brows and turned her notebook away from him, not letting him look at her notes."She's just
Amelia reached out to rub her temples.She lowered her head and said weakly, "It's all over, and there's no need to keep harping on what's already happened. I'm almost fully recovered now."Her priority right now was to make sure the project was progressing well. She had to get it on track as quic







