5. WHFL

Aurora stood shaking, trying to contain the emotions that began to flow like unstoppable cracks in glass. Her father's voice had just torn open all the old wounds she had been keeping tightly closed.

"I'm sorry, Aurora... I can't tell you where I am now," the voice sounded heavy and distressed.

"But... please, just hold on for a while. Trust me."

Aurora frowned, her heart pounding violently.

"Surviving? Do you know what I'm going through right now?" she almost shouted, making several people turn their heads, but Aurora didn't care.

"I know... everything, Aurora."

The voice on the other side sounded regretful yet firm. There was no doubt that he was watching from afar, knowing very well her every move.

"You have to stay there. Keep doing what you're doing now. When the time comes... it's like before. Like before.

Father will come back, and everything will be quiet again."

Everything broke.

Tears began to fall unbidden. Aurora wanted to believe it. She wanted to. But the wound was too deep, and reality was too painful.

As her father's voice sounded like he was about to hang up, Aurora hurriedly exclaimed, "Wait! Father! Did you really embezzle the company's money? Is everything Rafael said true? Are you really a fraud like everyone says?"

Silence.

There was no sound.

Aurora held her breath.

Then, one soft word was heard before the connection was cut off.

"Sorry..."

Tuutt... Tuutt...

The connection ended. The long ringing sound was like the clang of a hammer hitting her heart. Aurora stared at the phone screen, trembling. She tried to redial, her fingers frantically pressing the call button, but the result was always the same.

"The number you have reached is not active."

"No... please don't," she whispered brokenly, before finally lowering the phone from her ear and looking down. Her tears burst forth unabashedly, flowing unbidden. In the crowd of strangers passing by, Aurora sobbed silently, hugging her bag tightly as if it were the only support she had left. She no longer cared about the destination of the bus or the passing time.

Quick steps echoed across the office floor. Aurora walked in fury, her face dark, her eyes still puffy but filled with embers. Upon arriving in front of Rafael's room, Nadine, Rafael's secretary, immediately stood up from her desk and stopped her from entering.

"Miss Aurora, wait! Mr. Rafael has guests. You can't just walk in!"

But Aurora didn't care. She pushed the door open roughly.

"RAFAEL!"

Inside, Rafael was sitting with two clients in formal suits. All three turned around in surprise. Rafael quickly stood up, took a deep breath, and then smiled diplomatically at his clients.

"Pardon me. I'll finish this in a moment." Quickly, he grabbed Aurora's arm and pulled her out of the room, closing the door behind them before anyone could react.

Without a word, Rafael dragged Aurora toward the fire escape and carried her to the roof of the building.

Once on the roof, Rafael released her arm and looked at Aurora sharply.

"Are you out of your mind?!" she snapped. "You think because I'm a little soft, you can just barge into my office in front of a client?!"

Aurora didn't flinch. Her breath was ragged, her eyes blazing. "With all the money you have... all the power you wield... is it that hard to find my father, Rafael?!"

Rafael was stunned. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did he call you?"

"How have you been looking for her all this time? Why weren't you able to find her?"

Aurora did not answer Rafael's question but continued to demand a definitive response.

"Aurora!" Rafael gripped Aurora's arm firmly, her body shaking slightly. "I asked, did he contact you?!"

"YES!" cried Aurora, finally breaking. Her tears fell in torrents. "He called me this morning! But now his number is no longer reachable... I... I don't know where he is."

Rafael paused. His grip slowly loosened, then he released Aurora's arm.

"Give me the number," he said flatly.

"I told you I can't reach him."

"Give me the number!" snapped Rafael, his voice sharp and firm, as if not accepting any rebuttal.

Aurora was surprised. They stared at each other, both breathing heavily, emotions hanging in the air. Finally, with trembling hands, Aurora opened her cell phone and showed him the number. Rafael looked at it for a moment, memorizing it silently. Then he looked at Aurora once more, calmer yet still cold.

"I'll look for him," she said simply. "But don't ever do this again. If you embarrass me in front of important people again, I'll make sure you don't just lose your job; you'll lose everything."

Aurora simply stared at him. No words came out of her lips. With pent-up anger, Rafael left Aurora alone.

Aurora gazed at Rafael's back as he slowly moved away. Her body was motionless, her lips remained mute. There were thousands of words she wanted to say, but they were stuck in her throat, drowning along with the tears that had not completely dried.

Meanwhile, in the corridor of the upstairs office, Rafael walked with quick, heavy steps. His emotions were still burning, but his face remained flat, like a mask trained to hide the storm.

He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. His fingers deftly punched in a special number. Soon the connection was made.

"Get me information on this phone number. Immediately," Rafael said firmly, without hesitation.

Preamble, and then he mentioned the number Edgar used to call Aurora.

"That number called Aurora this morning. I'm sure he was trying to cover his tracks, but I know his style. Edgar finally revealed himself."

There was a brief pause on the other end, then the other person's voice returned, more serious. "Well, start tracking now."

"I don't understand what he wants, but he's crazy enough to contact his daughter and foolish enough to leave a gap."

"Understood." Click. The connection was broken.

***

Aurora returned to the main floor of the office with shaky steps. Her eyes were puffy, the shadow of tears still clearly visible on her pale face. Although she tried to straighten her shoulders and put on a face as if everything was fine, the look in her eyes couldn't lie; she had been crying, and everyone could see it.

But no one dared to reprimand her for her tardiness this morning. Some of her coworkers just exchanged silent glances. There was something about Aurora that made everyone fall silent. Not because of her puffy eyes, but because everyone knew... she had just barged into the director's office, even though Nadine had tried to prevent her.

Aurora's steps came to a halt when she noticed the soft whispers coming from the corners of the room. "He was screaming in the director's office."

"Are you sure? Do you really dare to come in?"

"I heard that Nadine stood up to block him, but he still insisted."

"There must be a special relationship. There's no way an ordinary person can just walk into Chairman Rafael's office."

"Look at her eyes. It's like after a fight with a girlfriend."

"Apparently, they do have a special relationship."

Aurora clenched her jaw, holding her breath. She was surprised by the rumors she had just heard until suddenly Rafael, who was walking past their room, shot Aurora a quick glance towards the elevator, as if to confirm that the two were indeed in a relationship

*_*