The security team arrived at the underground parking garage and located Emma Johnson's vehicle. Her car was still parked there, but completely empty. There was no sign of Emma anywhere.
Isabella Miller's agent approached the hotel manager, demanding access to the garage surveillance footage to determine if Emma had ever made it down there.
"I'm terribly sorry, but our video system malfunctioned over thirty minutes ago. We lost all footage for a ten-minute window," the hotel manager said, his expression apologetic.
The agent knew he couldn't hide this any longer. He immediately called Christopher Martin and filled him in on the situation.
When Christopher rushed into Liam Williams's office to deliver the news, he watched the CEO's entire face transform. In an instant, Liam shot up from his black leather chair.
"Contact Captain David Reed. Dispatch every available security guard from the company. I'm heading to the Grand Orchid Hotel now. You follow right behind me."
After issuing his orders, Liam vanished from the office. Christopher didn't dare waste a second. He called Captain Reed while simultaneously heading for the door.
Just as he stepped out of the office, someone grabbed his arm. Christopher looked down in confusion at Emilia Clark, noticing a flicker of worry in her eyes.
"Mr. Martin, has something happened? Is it about Emma?" Emilia asked, studying his face.
"How did you know?" Christopher's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Besides Emma, what else could make the CEO this frantic? Plus, I overheard you mentioning her name during your call," Emilia replied matter-of-factly.
Christopher figured she was a friend of the CEO's wife, so he saw no reason to hide the truth. He told Emilia everything about Emma's possible disappearance.
"Oh no! Something's happened to Emma? I can't just sit here. I'm coming with you," Emilia insisted firmly.
Unable to refuse, Christopher agreed to drive her along. They headed straight for the Grand Orchid Hotel.
When Liam arrived at the hotel and confronted Isabella Miller, his face was stone cold and menacing.
"What the hell happened here? How does a grown woman just vanish into thin air?"
Facing Liam's piercing gaze, even though Isabella had mentally prepared herself, she couldn't suppress the fear creeping through her. This man's presence was overwhelming. She cried even harder, her voice trembling as she spoke through sniffles.
"This is all my fault. My cousin wanted to go to the garage to get my stomach medicine from the car. I never imagined she'd disappear. If I'd known, I never would have let her go."
Isabella sobbed pitifully. Her agent gently tried to comfort her.
"This is absolutely your fault. Emma should never have been here in the first place. If she hadn't insisted, I would never have let her accompany you. Now, if anything has happened to her... don't expect to ever come back from this."
Liam's cold words hung in the air as he stood up to find the hotel manager and search for clues. Isabella and her agent were left alone.
"Isabella, what are we going to do? If she doesn't come back, this press conference will be meaningless," the agent said, panic creeping into his voice.
Isabella bit her lower lip, her hands clenched into fists. She closed her eyes tightly, taking a long moment before opening them again.
Her eyes were filled with malice.
"Emma's not here? Isn't she at your company?"
Mia Lewis was changing the ointment on her leg at Brookhaven General Hospital when she received Liam's call. Hearing him ask if Emma was with her, confusion stirred in her heart.
After Liam explained that Emma had vanished without a trace, Mia immediately shot up from the bed.
"What? Emma's gone? How could she just disappear? Liam, this isn't funny at all."
But when she confirmed the news of Emma's disappearance a second time, Mia finally sank back down onto the bed.
For a moment, she couldn't process it. How could this keep happening?
"What did you say? Vivian's gone? Is that true?"
The familiar voice from the doorway made Mia look up. She saw Elijah Clark standing there, his eyes burning with intensity as he stared at her.
"I wish it weren't true. But Liam told me she disappeared from the Grand Orchid Hotel. The hotel's surveillance system went down right when she vanished. Elijah, don't you think this looks like a deliberate kidnapping? This isn't the first time something like this has happened to Emma. Is being a wealthy wife really this dangerous?"
Mia was on the verge of tears. She tried calling Emma's cell phone again, but the response was always the same: "The number you have dialed is currently switched off." Frustrated, she nearly threw her phone to the ground.
Elijah's heart was racing with anxiety. He was trying to figure out who could be so cruel as to take Vivian away. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive that person.
"Elijah, I'm so worried about Emma. With all these missing person cases lately, people are terrified. Do you think Emma could be their new target?"
Mia's careless words struck Elijah like a thunderbolt. He didn't want to connect the two things. After all, his father knew Vivian. Although they had never discussed it, his father had seen a photo of him and Vivian at home.
Since his father knew she was his friend, he shouldn't target her.
Elijah kept dismissing the thought in his mind. He comforted Mia, then stepped into the empty corridor to call Ryan Kim. He ordered Ryan to mobilize everyone to find Vivian's whereabouts. No possible lead was to be overlooked.
After hanging up, Elijah couldn't stop himself from calling his father.
"Father, what are you doing?"
Elijah could hear the faint tremor in his own voice, but his father's voice was as flat as ever, almost devoid of emotion.
"Since when do you care about what I'm doing?"
His father's voice was cold. He didn't directly answer Elijah's question. But Elijah caught the sound of something being moved in the background—the sound of an operating table. He tried to control his voice, making it sound normal.
"I just finished lunch and thought I'd call you. Don't you always forget to eat?"
Elijah said to his father.
"I see."
His father's icy voice softened slightly. After two brief exchanges, he hung up. The moment the call ended, Elijah didn't even bother changing out of his white coat. He left the hospital immediately.
He got into his car and sped off toward his family home.