Chapter 34

The following day was a workday. Rita made her way to the office building, her heart still shattered over Rodrigo's disappearance. Try as she may, all get efforts at finding him proved abortive. It seemed as if he had suddenly gone off the surface of the earth as every avenue she employed turned out to be negative.

"Good morning ma'am", Yasmin smiled.

Rita nodded, half-heartedly. She wasn't in the mood to take greetings knowing what she was currently facing. She was bleak, hollow and in need of a miracle from the way her life seemed to spiral downhill.

She got to her office soon, clearing all the files on the table as she rested her head on the table. Tears of pain slid down her eyes as thoughts of Rodrigo filled her mind. He should have been here to comfort her but he was gone just like the wind. Her whole mind was in disarray as she thought about the next line of action to take. It seemed as if no matter what she did in order to find Rodrigo proved abortive.

She smiled through her pains as she remembered Rodrigo's last words; "I'll always find you" . She didn't know how long she could wait before he found her as marriage with Edmundo was impending.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I hate to disturb you but Theresa is here to see you", Yasmin said.

"Send her in, thank you", Rita said.

She was happy that Theresa had arrived early. She didn't expect this early but was glad she was here, it would give them an early start in finding Edmundo.

Theresa walked in, wearing a beige skirt over a red chiffon top. Her long hair was loosely tied in a pony tail as her face was bare of makeup.

"I'll be honest with you girl, you look like shit", Theresa sighed.

Rita chuckled, dabbing the loose tears that fell from her eyes. She watched as Theresa brought out loads of sweets, her favorite from her bag.

"I'm not certain I'll have the appetite to eat these", Rita croaked.

"Of course you will, I even brought your favorite. Look girl, you have to woman up and find your man. Rodrigo is not dead, he's just out there somewhere", Theresa smiled.

Despite herself, Rita took some of the sweets, unwrapping it as she popped one in her mouth. If she was to find Rodrigo, she had to be bold without feeling anything. Rodrigo wouldn't want to see her this way.

"But babe, have you thought about informing the police", Theresa said.

"I gave that a thought. The thing is, I don't really want to involve the police on this, I have a feeling that I'll get the answers to all these soon", Rita said.

Despite everything, she just had that strong feeling that soon, she would learn the truth over his sudden disappearance.

"Okay, I see sense in what you said", Theresa said.

"I have a list of addresses that Rodrigo's mother gave me. It's the addresses of Rodrigo's friends whom he was close to. I want to check them out to see if they know his whereabouts", Rita said.

"Okay, I'll go with you. But we should probably take one or two of Marco's bodyguards since we don't know who we'll be meeting".

"Can they be trusted, i don't want a lot of publicity about this", Rita said.

"With my life. I understand what you mean, even u wouldn't want that".

"Okay, how does Saturday sound. It's the beginning of the weekday and I don't think we'll be able to see them", Rita said.

"I'm game. On my own, I'll search to see if I can find anything", Theresa said.

"Thank you".

"Have you gone to see Rodrigo's mother ever since then?", Theresa said, popping a candy in her mouth.

"No, I haven't. I plan on going tomorrow after work since I wouldn't have much stuffs to do", Rita said.

"Okay, I'll see you within the week. Please, calm down okay! Rodrigo would come back, I'm sure of it", she said, rising up to her feet.

Rita smiled, hugging her friend. She felt a bit relieved, knowing she had a backing from someone who isn't her fiance or her family.

Theresa left soon and Rita was once again left alone. She resumed attending to the files that she earlier threw away. What she read made her smile. Ever since Gabriel was arrested, the company's finances had been doing really well.

Investors were coming in and she couldn't quite believe they had gained a lot of promise two times what they had earlier projected. She was glad that they were out of the brink of bankruptcy and she couldn't wait to show her dad the reports. It was then she remembered that she wasn't really in speaking terms with her father ever since the incident. She expected him to apologize over what he did but he remained mute.

Rita didn't know why they took that decision but she hoped they knew what they were doing even though she didn't understand it at all. Nevertheless, she decided to give him the reports since he was the founder and he had a right to it. She smiled as she imagined what he'll do if he discovered she had been boarding the reports no doubt, he'll blow off the roof.

Rita put the files away, concentrating on other things that needed her attention. Top on the list was a dinner party that Senator Brabra was hosting this weekend. Even though Rita had no intention of going, she had to since she was technically living under their roof and she was Edmundo's fiancee, a title she hated.

In recent times, they seemed to be hosting a lot of parties no doubt trying to gather guests that would attend their supposed wedding, one that she knew wouldn't take place. Despite everything that had happened in recent times, Rita had a feeling that she would never get married to Edmundo. He wasn't the right man for her and she'll be damned if she agrees to marry him.

Rita put the report away, promising to show her father once she closes from work. There was no telling the joy that would radiate on his face when he reads it.

For the rest of the day, Rita was in a foul mood, nothing interested her anymore and the only reason she had the strength to come out was because of her work as the President of the Anderson group. Also, Rodrigo's promise kept ringing in her ears, one that she stood firmly on. Somehow, she knew he wasn't dead, just somewhere unreachable but she knew that he would be back soon and when he arrives, three was no stopping them.

At the close of work, Rita made her way downstairs, clutching her bags. Her car was parked in the private garage reserved for top officials in the organization. As she was about boarding the vehicle, she saw a face that halted her in her tracks.

Rodrigo

The figure of the person was backing her but she could swear it was him. Throwing caution to the wind, Rita followed the figure down the road, keeping a little distance from the person. Rita had no idea if what she saw was real or a figment of her imagination but she decided to move on.

Soon, the figure stopped in a nearby cafeteria. Rita watched him order some lattes before he resumed walking.

Her curiosity was eating her up. She decided to get brave as she simply ran ahead of the figure. Rita touched his hoodie, bringing the figure to a stop. He turned to look at her and Rita halted in her tracks. The man was nothing like Rodrigo. Though, he had the same height and build but his face was completely different from his. Where Rodrigo's face was sculptured and strong, this man's face had a softer look.

"I'm ... Sorry, I thought you were someone else", Rita stuttered.

"Ma'am, you need to have your eyes checked. Wait... Aren't you that Anderson chick", he said with a southern accent.

"No... No, I'm nobody".

"Oh come on, I'm sure of it. Let's take a picture", the man said.

He moved closer to her just as she bolted away from him. There was no way in hell she would take pictures with a complete stranger. As she made her way back to her car, she felt like a complete fool. She needed some rest but she couldn't not when Rodrigo was out there probably hurt or worse dead.

She drove off from the office building towards her home. She had to get home first to give her father the file before going over to her temporary home at the Brabra's.

When she got home, everywhere was a bit quiet. Not that she expected a band to be playing but it was more silent than usual. She decided to head over to her father's study, she usually found him there most days going over the company's records.

Rita got to the study soon, she found her father there just like she rightly predicted. He was going over some documents, his glasses perched on his nose. She stood for a minute to really look at her father. Rita could see that he was getting on in years, a thought that scared the hell out of her. His once shining hair was now a dull grey and there was no amount of creams or spray he could use that would bring the hair back to it's normal state.

She knocked lightly before going on. She could tell that he was surprised by her visit. He stood up to hug his daughter, pecking her cheek in the process. Rita took a seat opposite him, bringing out the files from her bag.

"I brought these", she said.

She handed over the files to him as she watched him read through. Under three minutes, he was done reading the ten page report.

"This is incredible, fantastic. This is the best I've seen in years", he beamed.

Just like she had predicted, he was happy. The joy on his face was palpable but she didn't have it in her to be happy knowing fully well that Rodrigo was out there, still missing.

"Rita, what's the matter?", Lawrence said, quietly.

She sighed. Everything was wrong. From staying with Edmundo to plans on her getting married to him down to Rodrigo's disappearance. Everything was terrible wrong.

"Dad, do you know my chaffeur is missing?".

She didn't know if he knew and she decided to tell him now. She saw the look of surprise in his face.

"I don't understand, when did he go missing?", Lawrence asked.

Rita narrated everything that has happened, leaving out her investigations with his mother. She couldn't trust her father not to do anything that would disrupt her plans. She wanted to find him alone with the help of her trusted friends.

"You should report this to the police. In fact, I'll help you with this", he said, picking up his phone.

"No... No, don't bother about this. I've got this this, I'll handle it", Rita said.

"Okay but I'll help you do some underground work", he said.

Rita nodded, rising to her feet. She had done what she wanted to do and now, it was time to go back to the penitentiary she called a home. Her father saw her sad face and ordered her to sit back down.

"Rita, what is really the problem? I know it's not only about Rodrigo's disappearance", he sighed.

"Dad, how can you ask me such when you really know what the problem is. You sold me out to his family, made me live with the people I despise. How can a father do that to his own daughter", she seethed.

The patriarch remained quiet for a long time no doubt affected by his daughter's words. Rita sighed, trying to calm her temper but try as she may, she just couldn't. The more she thought about the whole incident, the more she hated everyone involved in it.

"I'm sorry", Lawrence said.

For the first time ever, her father was apologizing to her. Even though she was surprised, she knew that there was still a trap somewhere.

"Sorry? Dad, is that all you're going to say", Rita huffed.

"That's all. You will leave Edmundo's house after the dinner party but your marriage to him still stands. That's the best I can do", he said.

Rita rose up from her seat, staring at her father with cold fury. She should have expected this but him saying the words hurt her more than she could imagine. She left the study, slamming the door in the process. She made her way out of the house just as the first drop of tears hit her cheek.