Chapter 56

Rudolf's POV
A new day began, and I took the children to school. In the car, the atmosphere felt cheerful, although in my heart there was still a feeling of anxiety about Mikayla's whereabouts.
I kissed them one by one, "Take care of yourself, honey. Daddy loves you," I said lovingly. Seeing their smiles was an encouragement in itself, although the feeling of worry still loomed.
After making sure they entered the school safely, I left the parking area and headed to the office. This morning, I already had an important meeting schedule with a client that could not be postponed. Even though I wanted to continue searching for Mikayla, my professional responsibilities must still come first.
In the office, the atmosphere looked busy. I entered the meeting room, arranging all the files and presentation materials that I had prepared carefully. After a few minutes of chatting with the team and preparing everything, I managed to focus on this task.
During the meeting, I tried hard to stay in the moment even as thoughts of Mikayla kept nagging at me. Discussing numbers and business strategy wasn’t easy when I had so much anxiety.
“What do you think about this move, Rudolf?” one of my colleagues asked, and I snapped out of it. I found myself back in the conference room, facing a multitude of faces waiting for my response.
“Oh, sorry. I think that’s a good move. We need to make sure that…” I began to explain, trying not to look distracted. The sounds around me were muffled as my thoughts drifted back to Mikayla.
With each passing second I became more and more anxious. I knew that focus was key in this meeting, but I couldn’t stop wondering what was happening to her. Was she safe? Did she miss us? These questions kept swirling around in my mind.
As I finished my explanation, I noticed my colleagues’ attention was on me. They seemed to appreciate my contribution but also probably realized that my mind wasn’t fully there.
“Are you okay, Rudolf?” asked one of my colleagues, looking at me with concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said quickly, trying to sound professional. “Just a little too much to think about.”
With an effort, I tried to end the conversation and return to the meeting. We continued our discussion, but my mind wandered again. Today, I was anxious to get everything done and get back to searching for Mikayla, hoping for some new developments on her whereabouts.
After the meeting ended, I felt a little lighter on my shoulders, but not completely gone. I had to make a plan to continue the search. Although there were many tasks waiting for me at the office, Mikayla was my top priority.
I assigned a few tasks to the team so they could continue their work in my absence, and quickly left to find new opportunities to find Mikayla. Every second was precious, and I wasn’t going to waste any more time.
My steps quickened as I walked out of the office, knowing that today was another step in finding a way to bring our family back together.
Despite the bureaucracy of the workplace, there was a part of me that desperately wanted to find Mikayla. The anxiety and restlessness couldn’t completely go away. I prayed in my heart that she was okay and that she would be found soon.
After the meeting was over, I went back to my desk and opened my laptop. Checking emails and giving my little attention to winning the project we were working on—all were small steps I had to go through until I went looking for Mikayla again after office hours.
Not long after I left the meeting room, the finance manager approached me with a worried expression on his face. “Rudolf, there is a pretty serious problem with the company’s money control,” he said immediately, his voice firm and serious.
I frowned, feeling uneasy. “What is the problem?” I asked, trying to focus even though thoughts of Mikayla were still running through my mind.
“After the latest audit, we found significant discrepancies in the financial statements. Several transactions looked suspicious and did not match the records that should have been. We are concerned that this could have a major impact on the company’s reputation,” he explained, his eyes reflecting a heavy burden.
I nodded, digesting the information that had just been conveyed. This was a problem that could not be taken lightly. “Have you checked all the transactions involved?” I asked, trying to think rationally and find a solution.
“Yes, we have traced some of the transactions and found that there are some that do not have strong evidence. We need to do a more detailed audit to ensure clarity,” he replied, handing me the relevant documents.
I looked through the documents, scrutinizing every detail and trying to find patterns that might help. “We need to communicate with the legal team immediately and engage an external accounting firm to do a thorough audit. We cannot take any more risks,” I suggested, feeling the pressure to find the right solution.
“Agreed. We need to move quickly so that this problem does not get worse,” the finance manager said, looking more at ease as he saw that there was a first step that could be taken.
Although this situation added to the burden on my shoulders, I knew I had to stay focused and lead the team to resolve this issue. After we discussed the next steps, I tried to arrange an emergency meeting with the relevant teams.
“Thank you for letting me know. Let’s take action to solve this immediately,” I said, determined to resolve this issue as soon as possible before it damages the reputation of the company we had built.
After the finance manager left, I leaned back in my chair and tried to calm myself down. With so many responsibilities to face, there was no time to rest. The most important thing now was to think clearly so that this would not drag on.
But in my heart, there was still one thought that dominated: Mikayla. After all this, my search for her was not over yet.
After finishing the discussion about the money control issue, I felt the need to coordinate with Hannah again. I called her, and after a few rings, she picked up the phone.