A Trail Gone Cold
445 Words
The hotel room was dimly lit, the glow from Olivia’s laptop casting shadows across her exhausted face.
She hadn’t slept in days.
Every hour that passed without an answer gnawed at her like an open wound. She had built her life around certainty, control. But now? Everything was slipping through her fingers.
*Adrian is gone.*
And no one had a damn clue where he was.
Across the room, Marcus was on the phone, his voice low and firm as he spoke to another investigator. “No, check again. Traffic cameras don’t just *lose* people.”
Olivia closed her laptop with a sharp sigh, rubbing her temples. She had gone through every call, every message, every piece of data they had on Adrian’s last known whereabouts.
And nothing.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
A knock on the door broke through her thoughts. One of their private investigators stepped inside, his face unreadable. Olivia sat up immediately.
“Tell me you have something.”
The man hesitated. “We found… something. But I don’t know if it helps.”
Olivia’s pulse quickened. “Show me.”
He handed her a plastic evidence bag. Inside was a torn piece of fabric—dark, stained with what looked like dirt.
“We found this about fifteen miles outside the city,” the investigator explained. “Near the edge of a wooded area.”
Olivia frowned, inspecting the material. It was expensive, high-quality.
Adrian’s wardrobe was filled with custom suits and designer shirts.
She looked up sharply. “You think this is his?”
“It’s possible,” the man admitted. “But there were no tracks, no signs of a struggle. Just this.”
Olivia’s grip tightened around the bag. It wasn’t enough. It didn’t tell her where he was, if he was safe, if he was even *alive.*
Marcus leaned against the desk, arms crossed. “If that’s his, it means he was out there. But how the hell did he end up in the middle of nowhere?”
Olivia’s jaw clenched. “Someone took him.”
Marcus nodded. “Or he ran.”
She shot him a sharp look. “Adrian wouldn’t just disappear.”
Marcus held her gaze but didn’t argue. Instead, he pushed off the desk. “So what’s the next move?”
Olivia exhaled slowly, her mind racing. The clue was small—frustratingly small. But it was something.
“We expand the search,” she said finally. “If he was there, we’ll find out where he went next.”
She turned back to the fabric in her hands, her heart hammering in her chest.
They were close.
- Writer
