Yearning

The following days passed uneventfully. Each brother took turns taking Maya out for brunch or dinner or shopping. They made sure she was never alone and constantly showered her with gifts and things she would require for her trip.

Irene understood the heartbreak her daughter was nursing. It pained her to see Maya so down but she knew only time could heal certain wounds. She wished Maya would forget all her unpleasant memories and relax in Germany.

Germany was one of Maya's favorite countries to live in. Her father bought her a penthouse in Dusseldorf overlooking the Rhein river. Living in Germany was never difficult for Maya as she could converse in German fluently.

She boarded the family jet with her Aunt and cousins. They were travelling to Germany for summer break. She quietly sat at the back of the plane and fell asleep immediately as the plane took off. She couldn't wait to file this horrible experience deep in her vault.

She grew tired of being a pawn in her own life. She felt her heart break a little bit every time she thought of him or remembered him. She was not planning on going back anytime soon. She would only return for the birth of her niece she thought to herself.

As she was flying halfway across the globe, Lucas was tearing his company to pieces. He tried locating her after he was done with his call but she was nowhere to be found. He tried calling her but it was unreachable. He asked around the office but no one knew her whereabouts.

He grew frustrated and impatient at her sudden disappearance. He grew wary and decided to check the CCTV footage of the office. What he saw shocked him. He saw that it was Melissa who was earlier in his office, he even saw Maya storm out of the office shortly after Melissa left his.

He was stunned. He never realised Melissa was such a person. He boiled in rage as he stormed to her office. He fired her on the spot without listening to her pleading. He got the security to drag her out of the premise.

He then rushed out of the office and drove straight to her house. He reached her aunt's house as that was the only address he had of hers. At the gate, security refused to allow him in. He said the house owner had moved overseas.

Lucas demanded to see Maya but the security denied anyone named Maya living there. Lucas didn't believe him. He called Tim to pull up the ownership information of that house and true enough the person who lived there didn't have any children named Maya.

He was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe that she vanished into thin air. He was rudderless. He just leaned against his car and stared up into the sky. The next few days he tried finding out any information he could about her but everything led to a dead end.

He had not slept in days and he had not had a complete meal since she left. He looked haggard with his handsome face covered in days' old stubble. He had not been to the office in days. Once he fired Melissa they discovered that she was the mole who has sold the design to Isotech.

His company's stocks boommed but he suffered day and night yearning to find her. He vowed that he would find her if that was the last thing he did. He remembered that she was friends with Ray. But Ray was no easy person to meet or contact.

He used all his resources to get hold of Ray but every advance of his was rejected by Ray's assistants. He had no choice but to use his father's connections to secure a meeting with Ray.

He used one of his subsidiary companies to secure a meeting with Ray. He groomed himself to face the only person who knew her whereabouts. The minute he walked into the conference room in MKR towers, Ray was furious. He shouted at his assistants, " I thought I specifically told you never to agree to any meeting with Mr Damien." His assistants shuddered at his tone and bowed their heads in fright. His chief assistant Robert spoke up, " Mr Damien is the CEO of Fitz Corp. He owns 30% of MRK shares." " I don't care even if I have to bankrupt this company, I want nothing to do with him, buy him out at triple the share price," demanded Ray whilst ignoring Lucas in the room.

" I will never sell these shares but give them to you for free if only you tell me where she is," he spoke calmly. " I will rather let this company rot in hell then give you any information about her!" he proclaimed directly at Lucas. Ray's employees were shocked. They had never seen their boss this careless about his company. They watched him expand his empire from the ground up and treated his company with utmost care.

" Maya is my woman and I will not allow you or anyone to stand in my way of finding her!" Lucas suddenly exploded while standing up. " Your woman? Hahahaha. Maybe you should find out who she is first before you state your claim," chucked Ray cynically staring directly into Lucas' eyes.

" Don't test me Ray!" boomed Lucas. He stood half a head taller than Ray. As the two men stared down at each other the atmosphere in the room started to chill. " You thought Maya was some woman you could play around with? You're lucky she stopped me from destroying you," sneered Ray full of anger.

" I can bring you to your knees in a minute Ray, it would be wise for you to give me the information I need," Lucas calmly said contrary to the anger simmering beneath his skin. He was beyond livid that Ray staked his claim on Maya and refused to give her information even after his threats.

" You dare break my sister's heart and now with what face are you asking about her!" spat Ray out. " Get out from my office now! I do not fear your threats! Do your worse," challenged Ray. Lucas was speechless. His sister? Maya was Ray's sister. That would make her Manick Enterprises' only daughter.

As he was trying to process this shocking information, his assistants led him out of MKR Towers. He climbed into his car still reeling from the news he received. He loved her madly but he knew nothing about her. He was pissed at himself for not knowing more about her, at the same time he was fuming she hid such information from him.

He didn't know what to do but all he knew was that he needed her by his side. He needed to win her trust back. He needed her to be with him and he vowed once he got her he would not allow anyone to come between them again.

When he reached home he started digging up information about Manick's only daughter. There were some tabloid pictures of her with some second generation heirs during her uni days. Most of the news about her was buried deep. There was not even a single picture of her on the Internet. He knew this was due to her father and brothers. Each Manick controlled a different branch of Economy in the country. They secretly ran the country.

He did not fear them as his status was on par with them but he knew now how impossible it would be to get information about her. Her brothers prevented anyone from coming within a 10 mile radius of their sister. He was not even sure if she was still in the country. He knew they too had properties all over the globe.

All these information didn't dampen his need or his resolve to find her. He knew he would go to the ends of the world to find her. She was his. He was certain of that. He knew she probably hated him now after all the misunderstandings but he knew her love for him was equally strong.

He came to only a single solution. He needed to go to her house. That's the only way he could find her. He got his assistant to give him the Manick's address. He prepared himself for an uphill battle.