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“Esme, Esme, what’s wrong?”
Someone was calling my name. I jolted awake, gasping for air like I’d been drowning.
Why were those memories–ones I barely recognized–showing up in my dreams? And why did they feel so real, like I’d lived through them, with a heartache so sharp it nearly stopped my breath?
And that blurry face that never fully came into focus–who was it?
It took me a long moment to catch my breath. My chest was tight. I forced a faint smile and nodded to signal that I was okay.
Once we arrived, the earlier nightmare slipped away completely.
This place was stunning. Nico was a great travel partner–not only did he plan everything down to the last detail, but he also booked the finest hotels.
From our room, we had a sweeping view of the skyline.
He took me to all kinds of places and introduced me to plenty of local specialties.
Meanwhile, back home, Aiden was pacing the floor of his apartment. Still no update from Luca. His patience snapped. He grabbed his keys and drove to the office himself.
“Luca,” he barked the moment he walked in, “didn’t I tell you to find Esme? It’s been all afternoon! What exactly have you been doing?”
Luca flinched, glancing nervously toward Selene. She stepped in, sliding her arm around Aiden like she belonged there.
“Aiden, Luca’s been buried in reports all day,” she said sweetly. “Besides, Esme’s an adult. She can take care of her- self. Isn’t it time we stopped wasting company resources on someone who doesn’t want to be found?”
Selene was acting like Aiden’s wife now. Before Aiden could say anything, she waved off Luca and told him to leave.
“Wait–I never said you could go. And if you’re not working, what are you doing here?”
Aiden didn’t bother sparing Selene’s pride. He brusquely shrugged her off and called Luca back into the office.
“Start the search right now. Call everyone you can–fast.”
Terrified of making things worse, the assistant scrambled to dial.
“Mr. Caruso, the airport staff said Ms. Morgan left this morning around 10 a.m. with a man. They flew to Paris.”
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10:01
Chapter 7 Trouble
288 Vouchers
Aiden immediately booked a flight to catch up. Before leaving, he made an announcement to the entire office. “No one here speaks for me. Is that clear?”
Selene’s face fell in embarrassment as Aiden strode out, leaving her alone and awkward.
When Aiden reached the hotel address Luca had tracked, he was told the room had been checked out long ago.
Disheartened and lost, Aiden wandered out into the unfamiliar city streets. So many things still needed his attention back home.
With no leads left, Aiden had no choice but to return home. He needed to put his company in order before he could come back.
While Aiden was gone, Selene kept a low profile–on the surface. But underneath, her resentment toward me only grew darker.
Behind the scenes, she hired a private investigator to dig into my background. And worse, she exploited the power Aiden had entrusted her with–leaking confidential files to rival companies.
“Mr. Caruso, something’s wrong. Our internal system’s been breached. We’ve lost over half our sensitive data.”
Aiden’s plate was already overflowing. Between chasing leads on me and running the company, he hadn’t even real- ized Selene had disappeared.
10:01
