Chapter 3: Vanishing Without a Trace
1104 Words
The city was still asleep when Emily boarded the first long-distance bus leaving before dawn.
She wore a simple hoodie, a baseball cap pulled low over her face, and carried only one suitcase. Her phone rested in her lap, switched off for the last time.
She stared at the dark screen for several seconds.
Five years of memories.
Hundreds of photographs.
Thousands of messages she had never deleted.
All of it belonged to a life she was leaving behind.
With trembling fingers, she removed the SIM card, snapped it in half, and dropped the pieces into the small trash bin beside her seat.
"No one will find us," she whispered, gently resting her hand over her stomach.
The bus slowly pulled away from the station.
Emily didn't look back.
She couldn't.
...
At Kingston Group Headquarters, the atmosphere was unusually tense.
It was barely seven in the morning, yet the executive floor was already bustling with employees. Everyone knew something had happened.
Ethan stood in Adrian's office, holding a tablet filled with reports.
"We've checked her bank accounts."
"No transactions."
"Her phone has been switched off."
"No airport records."
"No train bookings."
Adrian stood by the window, his face unreadable.
"What about the bus terminals?"
"We're still checking."
Adrian turned around.
"Expand the search."
"I want every transportation company in the city contacted."
"Yes, sir."
Ethan hesitated before asking, "Should we inform the police?"
Adrian was silent for a moment.
"If we do, the media will find out."
"The divorce and the engagement are already attracting enough attention."
He looked at the city skyline.
"Find her quietly."
"I don't want her life disturbed."
Ethan nodded.
"I understand."
As he turned to leave, Adrian spoke again.
"And Ethan..."
"Yes, sir?"
"When you find her..."
He paused.
"...tell me immediately."
...
Emily arrived in a quiet coastal city just after noon.
The salty breeze greeted her as she stepped off the bus.
It was peaceful.
No reporters.
No luxury cars.
No memories.
Exactly what she needed.
Lily had already arranged a small apartment through one of her relatives.
The elderly landlady smiled warmly.
"You must be Emily."
Emily nodded politely.
"Welcome."
"It's not much, but it's clean."
Emily looked around the modest apartment.
A tiny kitchen.
A small bedroom.
A balcony overlooking the sea.
It wasn't a mansion.
But for the first time in years...
It felt like home.
"Thank you," she said sincerely.
The landlady smiled.
"I hope you'll be happy here."
Emily silently prayed she was right.
...
Days passed quickly.
Emily found a part-time job at a neighborhood café while searching for design work online.
The salary was small, but enough to cover rent.
Every morning she battled nausea before going to work.
Every evening she returned exhausted.
Still...
Whenever she remembered the tiny lives growing inside her, she found the strength to smile.
One afternoon, Lily arrived carrying bags full of groceries.
"You look thinner," Lily complained.
"You should be eating for three now."
Emily laughed softly.
"I'm trying."
Lily unpacked fresh fruit and vegetables.
"Have you seen a doctor yet?"
"I have an appointment tomorrow."
"Good."
Lily suddenly grew serious.
"Emily..."
"If Adrian knew..."
Emily gently shook her head.
"He made his choice."
"I won't become a burden."
"He deserves to live the life he wants."
"And my children deserve a peaceful one."
Lily sighed.
"I still think he should know."
Emily lowered her gaze.
"If fate wants him to know..."
"He will."
"But not from me."
...
Meanwhile...
Adrian stood inside Emily's now-empty apartment.
Everything was gone.
The wardrobe was empty.
The kitchen cupboards were bare.
Only a small flowerpot remained on the windowsill.
He slowly picked it up.
Inside was a tiny white daisy.
He remembered it immediately.
Three years ago, Emily had insisted on buying it from an old woman on the roadside.
"It's beautiful," she had said with a smile.
He had barely looked at it.
Now...
It was the only thing she had left behind.
Ethan entered quietly.
"We've traced her movements after leaving the apartment."
Adrian looked up.
"Where did she go?"
"She visited a pharmacy."
Adrian frowned.
"A pharmacy?"
"Yes."
"Security footage confirms it."
"What did she buy?"
Ethan looked uncomfortable.
"We couldn't determine that."
"The receipt had already been destroyed."
Adrian nodded slowly.
Something about it unsettled him.
Emily rarely bought medicine.
Why visit a pharmacy on the day of the divorce?
Before he could think further, his phone rang.
It was his grandmother.
He answered immediately.
"Grandmother."
A stern voice replied.
"Come home."
"Now."
...
Half an hour later, Adrian entered the Kingston Estate.
His grandmother, Eleanor Kingston, was already waiting in the study.
Despite her age, she carried herself with remarkable authority.
She fixed Adrian with a disappointed stare.
"So..."
"You finally divorced her."
Adrian remained silent.
Eleanor struck her cane against the floor.
"Do you know what your greatest weakness is?"
He looked at her.
"You mistake silence for strength."
Adrian frowned.
"I did what was necessary."
"For whom?"
"The company?"
"The family?"
"Or yourself?"
He didn't answer.
Eleanor sighed deeply.
"Emily loved you."
"Even I could see it."
"But you..."
"You spent five years pretending not to notice."
Adrian looked away.
"Our marriage was built on obligation."
"So was mine," Eleanor replied firmly.
"Your grandfather and I married because our families arranged it."
She smiled faintly.
"I learned to love him."
"He learned to love me."
She stepped closer.
"But love only grows when someone is willing to open the door."
"You kept yours locked."
Her words lingered in the room.
For the first time, Adrian wondered...
Had he truly never given Emily a chance?
...
That evening...
Emily sat nervously inside a hospital examination room.
The doctor smiled warmly as she studied the ultrasound.
"Congratulations, Miss Carter."
Emily smiled nervously.
"Is... everything alright?"
The doctor chuckled.
"Better than alright."
She turned the monitor toward Emily.
"There are two healthy heartbeats."
Emily blinked.
"I'm sorry..."
"Two?"
The doctor nodded.
"You're having twins."
Emily stared at the screen.
Tiny shapes.
Two little hearts beating side by side.
Tears filled her eyes once more.
"Hello..."
"My babies."
Outside the examination room, a man wearing a black cap quietly lowered the phone he had been using to photograph the ultrasound monitor through the partially open door.
He immediately sent the image to an encrypted number.
A reply came within seconds.
Twins.
The man smiled.
"So the heirs are even more valuable than we expected."
Far away, the mysterious figure looked at the ultrasound photograph before locking it inside a safe.
His cold laughter echoed through the room.
"The game has finally begun."
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