5.Chapter 5 We Found Her
Elsewhere, on the 99th floor of Frost Group headquarters in Grovis, a voice spoke up inside the CEO’s office, “Sir, we found her.”
Julian Frost stood with both hands behind his back, his icy eyes finally showing a flicker of emotion at those words.
“Where is she?” he asked.
He had been searching for that girl for three years. With his power and influence, tracking down someone should’ve been easy. But she had vanished without a trace, like she’d dropped off the face of the earth.
He had searched across the globe and come up with nothing.
“Metroville,” replied Noah Frost, Julian’s assistant.
“Alright. We’re heading there now,” Julian said, giving a small nod. He couldn’t wait a second longer.
Noah added, “Sir, but your grandfather’s birthday is coming up soon. If you leave now…”
Julian raised a hand, cutting him off. “Save it. I know what I’m doing.”
The Frost family was now fully in Julian’s control. He didn’t need to explain himself to anyone.
“Yes, sir,” Noah said. “Shall we leave tomorrow morning then?”
“No. We leave now,” Julian replied curtly. Now that he finally had her location, there was no way he could wait another second.
Noah glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already past eleven in the evening. A flight from Grovis to Metroville would take at least two hours.
Still, he knew better than to argue, especially when this was about the woman Julian had been searching for all these years.
*****
Meanwhile, in Metroville, inside the Blackwood residence, Sophia Blackwood opened the door, looking haggard.
It had been ten days since her son, Ethan, went missing. Sophia had tried everything—calls, posters, hiring help—but there was still no sign of him.
She was nearly falling apart. She’d already lost her daughter, and she couldn’t lose her son anymore.
She returned home after yet another exhausting day of searching, having plastered the city with flyers. The longer it dragged on, the more hopeless it felt. But she knew she couldn’t give up.
Collapsing onto the sofa, she stared blankly ahead. She hadn’t eaten properly in days. She blamed herself internally, ‘It’s my fault. I didn’t protect them. That’s why they both went missing.’
Just as despair was about to swallow her whole, the doorbell rang. She leapt off the sofa almost subconsciously.
“Ethan? Is that you? Are you back?” She threw the door open.
To her disappointment, it wasn’t Ethan. It was Dylan Blackwood, her late husband’s brother. Sophia frowned the moment she saw Dylan standing there.
“Hey, Sophia,” Dylan said with a smirk, “how’s it feel to lose your son? Been ten days, huh? Think he’s ever coming back?”
Sophia’s expression turned sharp as she shot back, “What are you saying, Dylan? Did you take him away? Give him back. Do you hear me?”
Dylan laughed, “Give him back? I told you already to hand over the company, but you just wouldn’t listen, would you? I already gave you a shot.”
Sophia’s words choked back in her throat. “You—”
‘I knew it. I knew Dylan had something to do with Ethan’s disappearance,’ Sophia thought bitterly.
“I’ll kill you, you jerk.” Without thinking, Sophia launched herself at Dylan.
But she was no match for him. Dylan easily caught her wrist and shoved her against the doorframe.
He said, “Sophia, why do you keep fighting me? Donald’s dead. You know what that means? He’s gone forever. Would it really be so bad to be with me? I will treat you well…”
Sophia spat in his face, cursing inwardly, ‘How disgusting.’
Dylan’s face twisted in rage. He thought, ‘This damn woman. She keeps stomping on my pride like it means nothing.’
“You know what? I’m done playing nice,” he growled. “Let’s see if Donald will crawl outta his grave when I screw you right here.”
