Chapter 62

Chase shot up from his chair, slamming his fist on the table. “That’s absolute nonsense! How can you possibly jump to such conclusions?”

“Mr. Reyes, please, take a breath,” his assistant, Mark, urged, trying to calm him down.

Chase adjusted his collar, sat back down, and took a sip of his iced coffee. His eyes turned icy as he focused on the private investigator, Joshua. He said, “Go on.”

“Mr. Reyes, in today’s digital world, it’s nearly impossible for someone to vanish without a trace. Even if Mrs. Reyes used cash for her travels, she’d still need identification to purchase transportation tickets.”

“She might have taken an unregistered cab…”

“Sure, that’s possible. Mrs. Reyes might have been trying to avoid leaving a trail, but she’d still need a place to stay. It’s unlikely someone like her would stay at a cheap motel, right? Plus, even those places require identification.”

Joshua continued, “I found no trace of her at any hotels, and I checked the rental market and properties under Mr. Reyes’ name—nothing. I’ve also scoured every social spot in the city—internet cafes, bars, private cinemas—and found no sign of her. I heard that a designer wedding dress, stained with blood and slashed, was pulled from the river the day after your wedding. My advice, Mr. Reyes, is to consider contacting the police. If she’s alive, I might be able to find her; if not, that’s beyond my expertise.”

Chase hurled his coffee cup, shattering it. “Get out! My wife is just upset with me. Nothing’s happened to her!”

The private investigator hesitated, then said, “Mr. Reyes, I’m sorry for the intrusion.”

Mark quickly interjected, “Mr. Reyes, I’ll see him out. Maybe we can get more information on your wife later.”

Chase sat stunned, silent and motionless.

Mark rushed after the investigator, settling the remaining payment outside as agreed. I leaned against the door, eavesdropping.

“Sorry, Joshua, our CEO is just distraught over his wife’s disappearance. He’s not usually like this.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

“Joshua, can you tell me if you found anything else?”

Joshua paused, thinking. “Based on what I’ve found and that wedding dress, there’s a strong chance Mrs. Reyes met with foul play, but…”

“But what? Go on.”

“There’s another possibility. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but many women have been disappearing around here lately. If she wasn’t murdered, this could be the explanation.”

“I’ve heard about that. It’s mostly women, right? Joshua, can you dig into this? He’s on edge trying to find his wife.”

“But that bloody wedding dress…”

Mark pressed on, “Honestly, I can’t believe she’s been murdered. She’s so kind-hearted and always helps homeless kids. She’s beautiful inside and out and not the type to have enemies. Who would want to hurt her? Plus, she mentioned someone was following her before she disappeared.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, I forgot to mention it. If you have any leads, please help. We’ll make it worth your while if you find her.”

Joshua glanced back at Chase inside and lowered his voice, “Mark, since I took this case, I’ll keep at it. But I’ve got to be upfront about the risks. If she hasn’t been murdered but taken, that’s a bad situation, too.”

Chapter 63