Ch. 7

12 years later

Adler outs on his sunglasses and mask as he leaves the hotel room. Now 20 years old, he has become the biggest playboy of the country. As he walk out, he is confronted by a mass of paparazzi and reporters.

"Mr. Rebal, is it true that you are dating the actress Anne Hartford?"

"Who were you with last night?"

"Mr. Rebal, didn't you just break up with the singer Lydia White?

Adler smiles and waves at the cameras. His curly white hair accentuates his icy blue eyes, like always.

As he is escorted to his car by bodyguards, another person steps out out of the hotel. The reporters immediately rush over to her.

"Miss Hartford! Were you with Mr. Rebal last night?"

"I won't reveal anything about my personal life at this moment." The lady says. She is extravagent looking with glossy black hair and blood red lips. Her green eyes and attractive figure stand out as she walks down into her own car.

Adler laughs out loud. "She really wants attention." He thinks to himself as his car leaves the hotel.

Sitting in the car he scrolls through the news and sees a familar face, the dictator. It shows the dictator playing with little children and laughing. The caption reads, "The Dictator says one day he wants a child himself." Adler scoffs. What a joke. It seems that only he knows the truth, the Dictator's daughter.

He thinks back to that day.

________

8 year old Adler goes back home, dejected. Is that man really Lilac's father? More than anything though, Adler wants to go back to that time and chase after Lilac. Why did he just stand and watch as she was carried away? And who was that man? All these unanswered questions swirl inside his mind as he enters the living room.

His father is watching the news. It shows chaos as a caption reads, "Dictator leaves in the middle of an important conferance this afternoon." Adler peers closer at the picture of the dictator on the screen.

He is the man that was holding Lilac.

Adler stares in shock. He quickly turns around to his father. "Dad, do you know this man?"

His father looks confused. "I do know him, who doesn't? He is our dictator."

"No, I mean, do you know him personally?"

"Yes, I do. We both need to cooperate in order to keep the economy growing."

"Okay. One more question." Adler asks. "Does he have a daughter?"

Adler's brother Ruben cuts him off. "Adler, are you stupid? The dictator is not even married. Don't you know that?"

Adler feels confused. Lilac definitely talked about her mother before and even briefly mentioned her dad. So, why does no one know about Lilac?

Adler leaves the living room and walks upstairs. His brother, Ruben, senses something is wrong and he follows Adler. He walks into Adler's room.

"What is it?" He asks Adler.

"What is what?" Adlers says as he feignes ignorance.

"Why did you ask whether the dictator have a daughter?"

Adler sighs and he looks at his older brother. Being only 1 year apart, they are closer than most would think. Suddenly, Adler cannot hold it in anymore as he tells his brother everything that happened over the course of this trip. Ruben's expressions go from suprise to shock.

"So..." Ruben says when he finishes listining to his story.

"I want to find her again." Adler says as he looks at his older brother for help.

"Okay." Ruben smiles at Adler. "Let's find her."

________

For the next 12 years, Adler and Ruben researched everything about the dictator. They even created a highly specialized team of private investigators. However, there was absolutely no information about Lilac. As if she never existed.

Adler is driven to the company, W.R. Corp. He looks at the driver. "Hey! Why are you droping me off here?"

"I'm sorry sir, but it's the CEO's orders."

"Heh." Adler scoffs. "What makes him think he can order me around?"

Suddenly, Adler gets a text message from the CEO.

"I found her."