Chapter 82

Little Viola sat at the dining table, absentmindedly pushing her food around on her plate, her appetite seemingly gone. With a sad expression, she looked up at her father. "Daddy."

"Yes, my love?"

"Why hasn't Mommy returned yet? You said she would be back today, so where is she?"

Alexander's heart sank. He had anticipated her question about her mother but wasn’t prepared for how to respond after spending the last 35 hours searching for Lilly. He had to summon all his strength just to come home for dinner with Viola, knowing he needed to be there for his daughter. He never imagined a time would come when his influence and connections would feel utterly useless. Despite deploying every resource to find her, there was no trace, nothing to lead him to her. He didn’t know what he would do if she wasn’t found. Whoever took her would pay dearly once they were caught.

“Daddy?” Viola's voice brought him back to the present when she noticed he hadn’t answered her.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Alexander forced a smile. He had always promised himself never to lie to his daughter, but now he had no choice. There was no way he could tell her that her mother was missing.

“Sweetheart, Mommy is still away on a business trip, but she'll be back in a few days.” He hoped that would satisfy her, but her next words caught him off guard.

"But I haven't talked to her since she left yesterday. Mommy always calls to check on me, but she hasn't called. Doesn't she want to talk to me?" She looked at him with a sorrowful expression.

Running a hand through his hair, Alexander felt more lost than ever before. He had never been this unsure of what to say.

Viola didn’t understand why her father was taking so long to reply.

After carefully considering his words, Alexander finally spoke, “Mommy is somewhere with a poor phone signal, which is why she hasn’t been able to call. You know how much she loves you, and she would never miss calling you unless she couldn’t.”

Little Viola thought it over and then nodded. "Okay."

"Now eat up, and Daddy will read you a bedtime story," Alexander said.

Viola smiled, reassured. "Okay, Daddy," she said, picking up her spoon and starting to eat.

Alexander breathed a sigh of relief.

After dinner, he helped her brush her teeth, tucked her into bed, and read her a bedtime story.

Clara stood outside Viola's bedroom door, sighing quietly. She hoped the madam would be found soon and return home because her absence was weighing heavily on the boss, and it wouldn't be long before Viola felt the impact too.

After ensuring Viola was asleep, Alexander kissed her forehead and left the room.

"Take good care of her. She won’t be going to school tomorrow."

"Yes, young master," Clara replied, bowing her head.

Alexander left the house afterward and met Ethan at one of their bases to discuss new strategies to find her.

“The only logical conclusion now is that she’s been taken,” Richard said, despite the tension between him and Alexander, knowing he had to support him during Lilly's disappearance.

“Who would dare take her without leaving a trace? Alexander is the most powerful man in the underworld. No one would risk provoking him,” Ethan added.

“I’m just saying we have to consider every possibility. What do you think, Alexander? Do you agree with me?” Richard asked, turning to their friend, who appeared utterly devastated.

Ethan and Richard watched their friend, who looked like his entire world had collapsed.

Suddenly, Ethan had a thought. Given their widespread connections, if someone had taken her, they would have uncovered it by now. If she was injured, perhaps someone from a nearby village had found her, but their men were searching those areas with no success. If she couldn’t be found, maybe she was hiding on purpose, using this situation to punish Alexander. Pondering this, Ethan called out, “Alexander?”

“What if Lilly doesn’t want to be found?” he suggested.

Alexander, who had been lost in thought, snapped his gaze to Ethan. “What are you implying?”

“Could it be she left the mountain on her own and is staying hidden to make you regret sending her there?”

Alexander considered it but shook his head. “No, that’s not possible. She didn’t know I was taking her to the mountain. If she had left, she would have needed help, but she didn’t know anyone or have any idea of what I had planned.”

“I’m just suggesting we consider the possibility.”

Alexander thought again but remained unconvinced. There was no way she could have known his plan.

Then he remembered Lilly had a friend who was a hacker—Jacob. With that thought, Alexander stood up and headed out of the office.

“Alexander, where are you going?” Richard called after him, but he received no reply.

“We should follow him before he does something reckless. He’s not thinking straight right now,” Ethan said, and the two hurried after him.

Alexander found Max, who was guarding outside.

“Boss,” Max greeted, bowing his head the moment he saw Alexander.

“Hand over your cell phone.”

“Huh?” Max was confused. Why did his boss need his phone?

“Do it quickly,” Alexander ordered.

Max pulled out his phone and handed it to him without hesitation.

“The password?”

Max unlocked the phone and handed it back.

“Did you delete our conversation about the mountain?”

“No, Boss.”

Alexander nodded and headed back inside the base.

Max was still bewildered, not understanding why his phone was taken. As a loyal guard, he had nothing to hide, but he worried he might be in trouble.

Richard and Ethan observed, equally puzzled, but followed Alexander to see what he was up to.

Alexander entered one of their computer rooms and handed the phone to their hackers.

“Check if this phone has been compromised.”

“Right away, Boss,” the hackers replied, immediately getting to work.

“Alexander, what’s going on? You know Max is loyal, right?” Ethan asked, thinking Alexander might be doubting his right-hand man.

“I’m aware.”

“Then why do this?”

“You suggested Lilly might be hiding from me, so I’m checking if Jacob hacked Max’s phone to get information about what I planned.”

“Oh,” Ethan said, nodding in understanding. But he was surprised by how quickly Alexander had put the pieces together.

Richard was equally stunned but waited silently to see what would happen.

“If it turns out you’re right, what do you plan to do?” Ethan asked. Would Alexander let it go, or would he make her regret her actions?

“Before you decide anything, remember that this all started because you tried to punish her,” Richard reminded him, wanting Alexander to acknowledge his role in the situation.

Alexander sat on the couch, silent, his expression unreadable, leaving Richard and Ethan unsure of what he was thinking.

---

Meanwhile, Lilly was comfortably settled in front of a television, enjoying an action movie with a large bowl of popcorn and a glass of juice, completely unbothered by her husband’s frantic search for her.

Jacob was keeping her updated on Alexander’s efforts to find her. According to him, her husband might turn the entire city upside down if he didn’t find her soon.

After this, Alexander wouldn’t dare try to punish her again. Who orders their loving wife to climb a mountain for hours? Even the seven hours she endured felt like a death sentence.

Lilly had gone hiking before, but this was different; the mountain was treacherous. Her legs had ached terribly, and if Jacob and Michael hadn’t arrived in time to get her out, she might have passed out.

She was still amazed at how they managed to find a way to climb the mountain and rescue her. Jacob had tracked her location by hacking into Alexander’s systems.

Occasionally, she glanced at her phone, waiting for Alexander to call. She knew it wouldn’t be long before he figured out who might be helping her and reached out to either Jacob, Michael, or Sarah, confident they were in on it. When he did, she would give him a piece of her mind.

She had already told Sarah to give Alexander her new number so he could contact her.

Lilly hated resorting to these measures, but if she didn’t, Alexander would continue to think it was acceptable to punish her as he pleased. Despite everything, she missed him terribly—his cuddles at night, his kisses all over her body. She couldn’t wait for this to be over so she could return home to him and their daughter, Viola, whom she also missed dearly. She was sure Alexander had told Viola she was on a trip so she wouldn’t worry about where her mother was.

Currently, Lilly was staying at a resort about three hours away from the city. The resort was small, luxurious, and discreet, hidden from public view, with its location not even marked on any map. Only the wealthiest of the wealthy seeking seclusion stayed there. Alexander was aware of such places but would have no idea which one she was at unless she told him.

After a few hours, her phone rang, and she smiled, seeing that it was him calling.