All she wanted was a quiet life–on her own terms.
Chapter 14
15.73%
Chapter 15
In Cresthaven, Alexander awoke in a hospital bed, the stark white ceiling blinding him for a moment. Instinctively, he rasped, “Get my wife here–have someone bring Emily to me.”
His assistant recoiled, face ashen. “Mrs. Harrington. she’s gone.”
Alexander’s gaze sharpened. Memories of the past days surged back, igniting a fresh blaze of fury and panic.
Emily had vanished.
Disregarding the doctors‘ objections, he insisted on signing himself out. Back at Skyloft Towers, he had the penthouse stripped and redone–every trace of Sophia erased.
Search teams went out repeatedly, but Emily remained nowhere to be found. It was as if she’d disappeared into thin air
Day after day, Alexander sat in his office like a shell, indifferent to everything. Multibillion–dollar deals stalled or were month, he’d driven the Harrington Group to losses in the hundreds of billions.
ere cancelled on
on a whim. In just over a
Only now did he understand; it wasn’t Emily who couldn’t live without him–it was he who couldn’t function without her.
He stared through the floor–to–ceiling windows at drifting clouds against a blue sky. Each cloud seemed to form Emily’s face. He watched, mesmerized, even as his heart hollowed further.
When
When William Harrington Alexander’s grandfather–burst into the office, clutching financial reports, Alexander’s vacant stare met him.
“Alexander Harrington! Explain yourself What have you done this past month?” the old man thundered, flinging the papers across the desk. “What about all the promises you made when you took control?”
Alexander barely glanced at the scattered reports. “It’s just a few hundred billion. I’ll recover it.”
William’s eyes burned. “You’d jeopardize the entire company over a
ver a woman who’s left you?!” He raised a hand as though to strike, but Alexander’s cold
glare froze him in place.
“She is my wife,” Alexander said quietly, voice calm but edged with chilling resolve.
“She’s divorced you.” Grandfather Harrington shot back, stepping back. “To her, you’re a liar who broke his vows, a man who watched her suffer and did nothing. She won’t forgive you. She won’t come back.”
“Stop playing the repentant husband and focus on what matters here. Harringtons don’t do faithful, kid, and you’re no trailblazer. There’s only one Emily Harper, but women like her there are plenty more.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened. William saw the darkness in his grandson’s eyes and fell silent, then turned and left.
The office went quiet. Alexander sat frozen for a moment, fists clenching and unclenching.
Grabbing his coat, he stormed out and barreled straight for the county clerk’s office. His car smashed into the building, embedding itself in the wall; debris scattered across the lobby.
He leaped from the wreckage and charged inside. Security guards stepped in his path; a single punch sent one sprawling. He surged forward like a man possessed.
He found the clerk who had handled Emily’s paperwork and grabbed her by the collar, eyes blazing. “Tell me Emily Harper’s new identity.”
The clerk’s voice trembled. “I–I can’t. It’s against regulations.”
Alexander’s grip tightened. “Last chance. Speak, or..”
His menace left no room for argument. Routine channels had failed. He needed answers now.
The clerk broke, panic in her eyes. “Okay, please don’t hurt me,” she sobbed, fumbling to bring up the files on her computer.
16
