CHAPTER 29: SHE'S GONE

He looked everywhere, and there was no shadow of her in the cabin and outside. He called the mansion to ask if she went over there, though he knows she doesn't go there if he's still in the cottage. But just like what he thought, she's not there.

Marco walked endlessly on the beach. After walking several times back and forth, He stopped at her favorite spot on the beach. Several images of her sitting there watching the shore and smiling played like a video in his head.

He walked closer and touched the rock where she always sits. "Bea, baby, where are you?" He mumbled. An uncomfortable feeling has been rising within him lately, but he ignored it. Now, he wants to punch himself for neglecting his intuition. He should have done something when he noticed something different. A thought came to his mind, and run back to the cabin.

He went inside their room and checked their wardrobe. Everything was the same. The only missing item was his wife's clothes when he found her on the shore.

"Bea..." He had mixed emotions when he found that she did not take any of the items he bought for her. Marco doesn't know if he should be happy that her things were intact or sad because she did not treasure anything he gave her.

Marco walked out of the room and went to her study. He sat on her chair and leaned his head on the chair. Marco tried to feel her presence in the room. He turned on the computer on her desk, and a picture of them showed up. He smiled bitterly. Marco remembered that his wife had taken a video on the phone when they went to the resort. He didn't know she had taken a selfie, and he was a few steps away from her. He was looking ahead when she took a picture, watching the road on, making sure she won't stumble into something since her attention was somewhere else.

His eyes did not move away from the computer screen until he realized that it didn't ask him for a password when he turned on the computer. His brows wrinkled, and he opened the files. But there's none. There are only pictures and videos that Bea transferred from her phone.

Marco opened the first and second drawer, but it didn't have any either. He had some doubts about the bottom drawer, but he opened it anyway, and he saw a book inside when he opened it. Marco picked it up and scanned each page until Marco noticed a rectangular-shaped hole in the middle. He was confused and wondered why she made a hole in the middle of this book? A thought came to his mind. He places his mobile phone inside the rectangular-shaped pit, and his cellphone barely fits inside.

'Bea, what are you hiding from me?' Marco closed his eyes, trying to think of how to find his wife's whereabouts. He then picked up his phone and called his assistant Anthony.

"Hello, Sir?" Since this morning, he has been calling him to know if he's going to work or not, but Anthony hasn't received any communications from him, so he has to cancel all his meetings today.

"I need you to find all the information about my wife, the sooner the better." He said, then hung up without giving Anthony a chance to reply.

He was confused why he had to investigate Mrs. Chavez? It won't be easy because the only information is her name, Bea Cruz. But, since he ordered him to do so, he has to do it diligently. He scratched his head and sighed.

City A Airport

Athena's plane just landed at City A's largest airport. She went straight to the airport after dealing with the assassins. A1 stayed behind in City S because he needed to watch Benjamin Baltazar's movement while waiting for his arrest. They cannot let him escape after the hard work they did to get all the information for the organization to file a case for him. He can only leave when his replacement arrives.

The four-hour flight from City S to City A was painful. Athena had difficulty breathing, and her eyes were like waterfalls, where the water flows freely. She feels like there's a hand squeezing her heart as the plane gets farther and farther away.

The pain was unbearable. The feeling was worse than the time when she lost her parents. Maybe because she was still young back then, her sadness turned into vengeance.

The plane landed, and the passenger started to walk out of the plane with their luggage. She waits until she's the only one left inside before she stands up to get her backpack and leaves. She stopped a taxi and gave the address where she used to stay with CamZ.

She looked at the window, looking at the high-rise buildings everywhere. Unlike City S, City A doesn't have water surrounding them. However, there's a river in the suburbs connecting all the towns and hot springs in some areas.

City A became her home temporarily when she joined the organization. She's been to every city in the country and even overseas since then. So, she doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere because her only connection with those places is her missions, not until Marco finds her.

Athena felt sour again and was about to cry, but she controlled herself not to. She doesn't want CamZ to see her eyes swollen because of crying.

The taxi stopped in front of the twelve-story building. Athena looked up and saw no visible changes in the one year that she was gone. She paid the driver and got off with her backpack. She inhaled and exhaled before she entered the building.

She entered the elevator and pressed number eight. It was almost noon, so people were primarily in their apartments, school, or work. The earliest flight from City S to City A was seven-twenty in the morning, so when she arrived at the airport at two-thirty, she stayed in the lounge and rested for almost five hours.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror and saw how haggard she looked. It was the combination of exhaustion and sadness.

Ding!

The elevator opened, and she walked out, dragging her feet. She forced herself to continue walking and stopped in front of their apartment door. She used her thumbprint to open the door and closed it lightly. Her slippers are still in the same position she left them a year ago. CamZ's slipper was beside it. Looking around the living room, she noticed that the only change CamZ made was changing the curtain.

She chuckled. Athena knows that CamZ hates doing the laundry, so she is sure she threw those curtains away. Athena went straight to her room to take a shower. She planned on staying home for a few days, so she doesn't have a plan to call Boss Z. She can't show up in front of Boss Z downhearted.

At the Private Training Center

"Boss Z, I'm tired! Can I go for lunch now? It's lunchtime!" CamZ complained. Boss Z called her to train recruits since she didn't have a new mission. He showed up and took over the training in the field and made her join the recruits. They've been running around for more than an hour now, and she's hungry! She didn't eat breakfast earlier because she woke up when he called and asked her to report immediately. And now, it's like she's going to miss lunch as well.

"Hey! Are you punishing me?" She can't help but ask. The last mission they had was successful, so what's the problem? 'Ugh, this old man is so annoying!' She complained internally.

After running for another thirty minutes, CamZ cannot take it anymore. She stopped and yelled, "Hey! I'm leaving! I don't want to die of hunger!" CamZ turned around and left, stomping her feet.

Boss Z signaled the recruits to stop and dismissed them. He looked at CamZ's back and shook his head.