Chapter 32

Mikayla's POV
Haltingly, I told him everything: how a stranger broke into the house and kidnapped Emma, and the helplessness I felt at the time. Hearing my story, Rudolf’s expression turned serious, and deep concern appeared in his eyes.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find Emma,” Rudolf said, trying to calm me down. “I’ll contact the authorities right away.”
I nodded, hoping with all my heart that this would all be resolved soon. This strength and courage needed to be awakened, and Rudolf was there as my support in this terrifying situation. After gently laying Daniel down, we immediately tried to call the police to report Emma's abduction. As my gaze drifted to Rudolf, I felt a combination of tension and hope. Working together, we knew that things could get better.
Rudolf grabbed his phone and began dialing the emergency number. “We have to give them all the information we have,” he said, his voice calm but firm. I felt the anxiety creep back in. Emma, we’ll find her.
Rudolf's POV
After finishing some business out of town, I returned with a calm mind. However, when I met Leo, one of my trusted employees in the company, I felt something was wrong.
“Sir, something seems wrong,” he said with a serious expression that made me worried.
“What do you mean?” I asked, suspecting that it had something to do with my family. With each passing second, my heart began to beat faster.
“I can’t say for sure what, but there’s definitely a problem with your family,” Leo replied, his appearance making me even more anxious.
My heart immediately responded. Was this about Mikayla and the kids? It felt uncomfortable if something bad happened to them. Without hesitation, I immediately tried to contact Mikayla, wanting to know her condition immediately and make sure that everything was okay.
However, when I reached for my phone, frustration came over me. My phone’s battery is low. “What?” I shouted to myself. This can’t happen now!
Every second felt longer. Without communication, I was reeling from the uncertainty and worry that was weighing on my mind. I couldn’t let this go on any longer.
“Leo, I need to go find a place to charge my phone,” I said, trying to stay calm even as my mind raced with worries.
“Okay, we can go to the nearest cafe. They should have an outlet there, and we can quickly find out what’s going on,” Leo replied in a reassuring tone.
We quickly made our way to the cafe, which wasn’t far from where we were. During the ride, I kept praying in my heart that Mikayla and the kids were okay. My family means everything to me, and if there’s a problem, I want to know as soon as possible.
When I arrived at the cafe, I quickly found an outlet and plugged in my phone. As my phone screen lit up, I felt a pang of hope.
“Please hold on a moment,” I told Leo before trying to reach Mikayla. The tension between us was boiling in the air around me.
Holding my phone, my hopes were high, “Mikayla, pick up the phone!” I whispered softly, although my voice had to be calm. Waiting for the connection to be connected felt like a dozen years.
Unfortunately, Mikayla no longer responded to my calls. Anxiety pushed me to continue my journey to the scheduled agenda. Tomorrow was an important meeting, and I had to focus even though my mind was filled with worries about my family.
After that tiring meeting, I was determined to try calling Mikayla again tomorrow. Maybe she was busy or there were other obstacles that prevented me from contacting her. But the pressing feeling inside me did not go away.
The next day, I was present in the meeting room with several important people—investors and several board members. We discussed the company's expansion plans, discussing operational details and financial strategies ahead to move forward.
The atmosphere in the meeting was quite tense, and everyone seemed serious listening to my presentation. “We have several new projects that will be launched in the next quarter. I believe, with the commitment and hard work of this team, we can achieve the targets that have been set,” I explained, trying to sound confident.
However, even though my focus was on the presentation and answering questions from investors, my mind couldn’t leave Mikayla and the kids. Is everything okay? Why haven’t we heard anything?
As the discussion continued, we talked about potential risks and mitigation steps that needed to be taken. I felt compelled to keep the stress within the scope of professional use. Talking about strategic and technical matters seemed to be the only way to stay focused amidst the worries that plagued my mind.
“We need to be prepared for challenges in the field and make sure we have a backup plan,” I continued, and several team members nodded in agreement, reflecting their understanding and support for what I was saying. However, in my heart, my anxiety could not be completely hidden.
“What about our resource management? We need to make sure that our team is ready and has backup as needed, especially if something unexpected happens,” asked one of the team members, making me feel a little relieved that we were still on the right track.
“That’s right. We have to maintain good communication between teams and keep an eye on the progress of each ongoing project,” I replied, trying to project confidence despite the uneasiness that continued to haunt me.
Every time I glanced at my phone, my hopes dwindled when I saw no signal. The noise from the meeting room played in the background, while my thoughts revolved around Mikayla and how she was doing.
“That’s the right move, and we also need to emphasize the importance of ongoing training for each team member,” I added, though my mind was still bogged down with overwhelming worry. Every time I spoke, I felt like something was missing.