Alexander’s POV
The manager’s expression imdiately changed.
I sat up straighter.
"Retrieve every CCTV recording from the past week."
The manager blinked.
"Every recording, sir?"
"Every single one."
I wasn’t willing to miss even the smallest clue.
The manager quickly nodded.
"Right away, Mr. Blackwood."
Less than an hour later, several staff mbers entered the conference room carrying laptops and storage drives.
The manager personally handed a flash drive.
"We’ve gathered footage from all available caras within the resort."
I took it without a word.
At this point, I wasn’t looking for answers anymore.
I was looking for hope.
Even the smallest sign that Alicia had truly been here.
The footage began playing.
One screen showed the beach.
Another showed the reception area.
Others displayed the restaurants, walkways, gardens, swimming pools, and private villas.
Hour after hour, we searched.
Every path.
Every corner.
Every cara.
Whenever a familiar silhouette appeared, my heart would imdiately leap into my throat.
Then disappointnt would follow seconds later.
Not her.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The first day ended with nothing.
The second day wasn’t any better.
The resort manager even distributed Alicia’s photograph to every employee on the property.
Housekeepers, receptionists, security guards.
Restaurant staff, tour guides, everyone.
Yet nobody had any useful information.
By the third day, frustration had begun settling deep inside my chest.
I hadn’t slept properly.
als were brought to but mostly left untouched.
Even Jane had stopped trying to convince to rest.
She knew it would be pointless.
Henry stared at another screen before finally removing his glasses.
"Sir."
I looked up.
"How about we expand the search?"
I remained silent.
Henry continued carefully.
"M City isn’t very large. There are only a limited number of luxury resorts in this area."
Jane imdiately nodded.
"Henry is right."
She turned her laptop toward .
"If Mrs. Alicia was trying to avoid being found, it’s possible she stayed here briefly before moving elsewhere."
The possibility made my chest tighten.
Moved elsewhere.
The thought alone was enough to make restless.
Jane continued.
"We can contact every resort in the city and request cooperation."
Henry nodded.
"We’ll provide her photograph and ask them to review their guest records and surveillance footage."
For a mont, I stared at Alicia’s picture on the table.
The sa picture I had been carrying everywhere these past few days.
Then I looked up.
"Do it."
Jane imdiately stood.
"I’ll start making preparations."
She was already dialing numbers before she reached the door.
As she left, I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes briefly.
Three days.
Three entire days.
And still nothing.
Yet sohow, I couldn’t bring myself to give up.
Because if Alicia had truly been here...
Then I was still following her footsteps.
And sooner or later, those footsteps had to lead sowhere.
My phone suddenly rang.
I glanced at the caller ID.
Tristin Blackwood.
I stared at the screen for a mont before silencing the call.
The phone stopped ringing.
A few seconds later, it started again.
This ti, I didn’t even bother looking at it.
I already knew why he was calling.
Ever since I arrived in M City, my phone had barely stopped ringing.
Company executives.
Shareholders.
Board mbers.
Everyone wanted the sa thing.
For to return.
For to take over the chairman’s position.
For to deal with the company’s problems.
But I ignored every single call.
Right now, I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of that.
I could barely focus on anything else right now.
The the last thing i could do is return to the company.
So it’ll have to wait, for now at least.
Third Person POV
The atmosphere inside Blackwood Corporation had beco increasingly tense over the past week.
Ever since Rosaline Blackwood’s passing, the position of chairman had remained vacant.
Ordinarily, that alone would have been enough to unsettle investors.
But what made matters worse was the complete absence of Alexander Blackwood.
The man who now held the largest percentage of shares had seemingly disappeared.
Inside the executive conference room, several major shareholders sat around the long table while Tristin Blackwood stood at the front trying to maintain control of the eting.
"Mr. Blackwood," one of the older shareholders spoke, his expression stern. "With all due respect, we have been patient."
"We understand the family is grieving."
"We understand there have been complications following the forr chairwoman’s passing."
"But the company cannot continue operating like this."
Several others imdiately nodded.
Another shareholder leaned forward.
"The market is already beginning to react to the uncertainty."
"Rumors are spreading."
"We need stability."
Tristin silently listened.
His expression remained calm, but internally he was already exhausted.
For the past week he had been handling both his own responsibilities and the matters left unresolved by Alexander’s absence.
"What exactly are you proposing?" Tristin asked.
The shareholders exchanged glances.
Then one of them finally spoke.
"We want Alexander Blackwood to officially assu the position of chairman."
"And if he refuses?"
The room fell silent.
A middle-aged shareholder sighed.
"Then we may have to reconsider our investnts."
Tristin’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Are you threatening to pull out?"
"We’re protecting our interests."
The man corrected calmly.
"The company needs leadership."
"The employees need leadership."
"The investors need leadership."
"And right now, nobody knows who’s actually in charge."
A heavy silence followed.
Tristin understood their concerns.
The company had lost its matriarch.
The chairman’s seat was empty.
Alexander was nowhere to be found.
And despite doing everything he could, Tristin knew he didn’t possess enough authority to permanently calm the shareholders.
The eting ended shortly afterward.
As the shareholders filed out, Tristin remained seated alone in the conference room.
His fingers tapped against the table.
Sothing wasn’t right.
When the vice chairman first ca to speak with Alexander about assuming the chairman’s position, Alexander had only asked for ti.
Ti to put himself together.
Ti to sort out his emotions.
At the ti, everyone had assud it would only take a few days.
After all, Alexander Blackwood had always been soone who handled his responsibilities no matter what was happening in his personal life.
But now it had been almost a week.
And there was still nothing.
No appearance at the company.
No response regarding the chairman’s position.
No explanation.
What worried Tristin even more was that Alexander had stopped answering calls altogether.
He frowned and pulled out his phone.
After scrolling through his contacts, he pressed Alexander’s number.
The line rang once.
Twice.
Three tis.
No answer.
Tristin tried again.
The sa result.
His brows furrowed even deeper as he lowered the phone.
That wasn’t like Alexander.
No matter how much he was grieving Rosaline’s death, Alexander would never completely abandon his responsibilities.
Sothing else was clearly going on.
And whatever it was, it had to be serious.
Without wasting another mont, Tristin grabbed his car keys and left the building.
An hour later, his vehicle pulled up in front of Alexander’s villa.
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