His Dearest Obsession

Chapter 5 - The Search

Damien Voss

Seven years later, I still remembered her.

I stood behind my desk, staring at the folder Adrian had left in front of me.

Aria Sinclair.

Her name was printed on the first page.

I ran my thumb over it.

Seven years.

That's how long it had been since I'd heard her voice.

Since I'd watched her disappear into the rain.

After that night, I tried to find her.

At first, I told myself it was simple curiosity.

I wanted to know who she was.

Who helped a stranger without knowing whether he deserved it.

But the more I searched, the more I realized I wasn't looking because I was curious.

I wanted to see her again.

I wanted to know whether she was always that fearless.

Whether she still challenged everyone who told her no.

Whether she still smiled the way she had that night.

I used every connection available to me.

I asked questions.

I had people search through records.

I even returned to the area where I'd met her.

Nothing.

It was as though she'd disappeared.

Then, weeks later, I finally got a lead.

Aria Sinclair.

But there was a problem.

She had already left New York.

She had moved to London.

I remember staring at the information for a long time.

I could have followed her.

I could have found her.

But at the time, everything around me was falling apart.

There were problems inside my organization.

Enemies were becoming bolder.

And then Julian Sinclair disappeared.

Aria's father.

His disappearance changed everything.

The investigation became complicated almost immediately.

People stopped talking.

Records disappeared.

Everyone seemed to have a different version of what had happened.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, Aria was gone.

I never found her.

Not until now.

I looked at the photograph attached to her file.

It was strange seeing her again.

She had changed.

She was older now.

More confident.

More composed.

But I knew her.

I would recognize her anywhere.

The woman from that rainy night was standing across from me again.

And she had no idea who I was.

I leaned back in my chair.

Why had she returned?

Why now?

I opened the file again.

Her career in London was impressive.

She had built a life without anyone's help.

She hadn't simply survived after leaving New York.

She had thrived.

For some reason, that made me respect her even more.

I turned to another page.

Then stopped.

The information about her departure was right there.

September 14.

I stared at the date.

Something about it bothered me.

I turned to the next page.

My eyes landed on another date.

Julian Sinclair — disappeared September 17.

Three days.

Only three days between Aria leaving New York and her father's disappearance.

I stared at the dates again.

Maybe it meant nothing.

Maybe it was simply a coincidence.

But I had lived long enough to know that coincidences were sometimes just secrets waiting to be uncovered.

I closed the folder.

For years, I had wondered why Aria left.

Now I have another question.

What happened to Julian Sinclair?

And why did his disappearance happen only three days after his daughter left New York?

I picked up my phone.

"Adrian."

"Yes, sir?"

"Find everything you can about Julian Sinclair."

There was a brief silence.

"Everything?"

"Everything."

I looked down at Aria's photograph.

"And start from seven years ago.”