Chapter 186 Discovery
Madison turned around slowly. The car arranged by Victor was still parked by the curb. After her bodyguards ensured her safe return to the hotel, they left. Back in her hotel room, Madison began to pack her bags only to discover that this was the room Matthew had stayed in before. Matthew's suit jacket is still hanging in the wardrobe.
She took out the jacket and hugged it close, inhaling deeply as if it still held his scent. Finally, clutching the coat, Madison broke down into heavy sobs. "Matthew, Matthew, where are you? Please come back, just come back."
After a bout of crying, Madison felt somewhat relieved; the emotions she had been suppressing were ready to burst. She dutifully hung Matthew's clothes back up, feeling as if he were right there beside her. Just after she had finished packing, a knock on the door sounded. Opening the door, she saw Victor standing there, holding bags of food. "Brought you something to eat. You need to be well-fed to keep up the search for Matthew."
He had heard from his associates that Sister hadn't eaten anything all day at the dock and had specifically packed food from a local restaurant.
Madison took the bag from his hands and noticed his tired face. He clearly hadn't rested much, either. She advised, "Thanks. You should look after yourself, too."
"No worries. With Matthew away, we've got to take good care of you. Now, have something to eat, and I'll get back to you with any news," Victor said before returning to his room. He, too, hadn't slept properly in days, constantly expanding his search area for any news of Matthew.
With a poor appetite, Madison only managed a few bites of the well-prepared meal Victor brought before she couldn't eat anymore.
Tossing and turning in the hotel's big bed, she struggled to fall asleep and only dozed off in the latter half of the night.
Madison woke up early the next day and continued her search near the docks. Holding Matthew's photo, she asked passersby one by one—yes, she resorted to this simplest and most direct method to find Matthew.
Even though Victor and Dorian both had professional search teams on the lookout, Madison didn't want to sit idly in her hotel in Rome waiting for updates; she tried to search for him in person.
Thus, for five days straight, she walked the streets of Rome, detaining people with her inquiry, "Excuse me, have you seen this man?" She must have repeated that sentence over a thousand times in three days, but all she got were shakes of the head.
After another exhausting day, Madison was weary and anxious, her mind racing with questions about the lack of news. Head down, she took a seat on a bench by the roadside to rest.
Madison's eyes slowly tracked upward to a pair of leather shoes. Standing before her was Dorian, and she managed a faint smile. "What are you doing here?"
Dorian took a seat beside her, "I was discharged from the hospital today. Victor told me you've been searching the streets for any news about Matthew. Any luck?"
Madison shook her head dejectedly. "Nothing."
No news is good news, right? Dorian offered.
Yeah, she thought, no news is better than bad news. With no news, there's still a thread of hope, and where there's hope, miracles can happen.
"Come on, let me take you home. It's already late, and the streets are almost empty. We can continue the search tomorrow. I'll join you," Dorian stood up after speaking.
Following his lead, Madison stood as well. She didn't want to go back, but it was true; the streets had grown quiet, just as Dorian said.
"You've been a great help already. I can manage," Madison said with a gentle refusal. After all, their acquaintance with Dorian had been brief, and it didn't seem right to impose on him repeatedly.
"I'm on leave to recuperate and have nothing pressing besides your husband saving my life." Dorian insisted, clearly concerned about her being alone in the streets of Rome at this hour.
He had asked a friend to run a DNA test on a strand of hair they found, though the results still needed to be back. But his intuition, that uncanny gravitational pull of blood relations, made him see Madison as a younger sister.
Regardless of the test results, he had already resolved that she was now, in his heart, his younger Madison.
The next day, Dorian arrived as promised and brought a small yacht. He explained that Matthew had disappeared at sea and suggested they try their luck on the waves.
Madison boarded the yacht, surprised to discover that Dorian could pilot it. Standing at the bow, feeling the sea breeze loosening her taut nerves, she realized Victor and Dorian were both concerned about her well-being—today's voyage was Dorian's way of getting her to relax a little.
She had avoided video calls with her two kids the past few days, only keeping in touch with Rachel via Facebook. She feared the children, especially the astute Quentin, would notice something was amiss.
As the yacht paused in the ocean's embrace, Madison embraced the sun and wind, her thoughts unfettered as she wondered about Matthew.
Today marked her seventh day in Rome—a full week with no progress or news.
Matthew had been missing for half a month now, and even when Victor came to see her last night, he had let slip that there wasn't much hope. Madison told Victor that as long as she didn't see Matthew's body, she would keep searching, whether it took a week, a month, or even a year... She wouldn't give up looking unless she were certain he was dead.
Victor had only one word in response, "Okay!"
Madison stood on the deck, lost in thought, reminiscing about the times she had spent with Matthew. A luxurious two-deck yacht was slowly approaching, passing close to their smaller vessel. Madison felt someone's gaze on her and looked up without really thinking about it...
The person looked down at Madison from the higher deck. Madison froze in place. "Matthew..." she whispered.
But as soon as she spoke his name, the person turned and walked away. Madison stared at the familiar figure, her emotions welling up as she called out several times, but it seemed he didn't hear her. In a panic, she rushed to the yacht's bridge and said in a chaotic rush to Dorian, "Turn around, turn around. It's Matthew. I saw Matthew."
Dorian saw her in distress and quickly tried to calm her. "Don't panic; take it slow. Where did you see him? Are you sure it was him?"
Madison took a deep breath and spoke rapidly, "Just now, on that luxury yacht that just passed us, I saw Matthew. We need to catch up to it quickly."
Dorian frowned slightly. The yacht that had just passed was a private royal yacht. Could Madison have really seen Matthew on board?
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