SEBASTIAN’S POV
The road stretched out before us, dark and endless, but I refused to let it swallow me whole. Wherever she was, whatever had happened, I would find her. And when I did, nothing would stand in my way.
Roland stood by the door, his face unreadable as usual. He had been my shadow for years, but right now, his silence was grating.
“Roland,” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended.
“You’ve worked with her father for years. Surely you know if there’s another place she might have gone to. Did he have a second home? Another property? Anything?”
Roland’s expression didn’t falter, but his hesitation was clear in the slight pause before he answered. “No, sir. Not that I’m aware of.”
I stopped pacing and turned to face him fully, narrowing my eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying, sir,” he said evenly, but there was something in his tone, something evasive that set my teeth on edge.
I stepped closer to him, my frustration spilling over.
“You’ve been with the man longer than I’ve known her. You mean to tell me you know nothing about any other place they could have stayed?”
“I don’t know, sir,” Roland repeated, but this time, his voice wavered ever so slightly.
Liar.
I clenched my fists at my sides, the urge to explode barely contained. But losing control wouldn’t help me find her.
“Fine,” I ground out, taking a step back.
My mind raced as I pulled my phone from my pocket. The screen lit up, displaying her name in my recent contacts. Without hesitation, I hit the call button.
The line rang. Once. Twice. Three times.
Nothing.
I ended the call and redialed, the knot in my stomach tightening with each unanswered ring.
“Sasha,” I murmured under my breath, as if saying her name would somehow make her pick up. “Come on. Pick up the damn phone.”
But she didn’t.
The call went to voicemail, just like it had the last dozen times I’d tried. The robotic voice instructing me to leave a message was the only response I got, and it made my blood boil.
I ended the call abruptly, shoving the phone back into my pocket. My hands were trembling, a mixture of anger and worry coursing through me.
“She’s not answering,” I muttered, more to myself than to Roland. “Why the hell isn’t she answering?”
Roland didn’t respond, and his silence only made me more agitated.
“What if something’s happened to her?” I said, my voice rising. The thought clawed at me, dark and insidious. “What if she’s in trouble and can’t answer?”
“Sir,” Roland said, his tone calm but firm. “We have no reason to assume the worst.”
“No reason?” I snapped, rounding on him.
“She’s disappeared without a word, isn’t answering her phone, and you’re telling me there’s no reason to assume the worst?”
“Perhaps she just needs space,” he suggested.
“Space?” I echoed, my voice dripping with disbelief.
“If she needed space, she could have said something. She could have told me.”
Roland didn’t argue, but the look on his face told me he wasn’t convinced.
I turned away, running a hand over my face as I tried to think.
My mind was a whirlwind of emotions-anger, frustration, fear-but beneath it all was an ache, a hollow, gnawing ache that came from not knowing where she was or if she was okay.
I pulled my phone out again, staring at her name on the screen. My thumb hovered over the call button, but I knew it was pointless. She wasn’t going to answer.
Damn it.
I dialed her number anyway, holding the phone to my ear as it rang.
And rang.
And rang.
Voicemail. Again.
I ended the call with a growl of frustration, gripping the phone tightly in my hand.
“She’s not going to answer,” I said, my voice bitter. “She’s ignoring me.”
Roland didn’t respond, but I could feel his eyes on me, watching, waiting.
“Do you have any other suggestions?” I demanded, turning to face him.
“Because right now, I’m out of options.”
There was a long pause before Roland spoke. “We could try tracking her phone,” he suggested.
I scoffed, shaking my head. “And how do you propose we do that? She’s not answering her calls, which means her phone is either off or she’s deliberately avoiding me. Either way, tracking it isn’t going to help.”
“It’s worth a try,” Roland said.
I stared at him, weighing my options. Tracking her phone felt invasive, wrong even, but what choice did I have?
“She’ll hate me for it,” I muttered.
“If it means finding her and making sure she’s safe, do you think it’s worth it?”
His question hung in the air, heavy and loaded.
I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. “She’s going to hate me,” I repeated, more to myself than to him.
But the thought of her out there, alone, possibly in danger… I couldn’t just stand here and do nothing.
“Fine,” I said finally, my voice firm. “Let’s do it.”
Roland nodded, pulling out his own phone and making a call. I watched him, my stomach churning with a mixture of hope and dread.
As he spoke quietly into the phone, I turned away, my mind racing. What if we found her and she was fine? What if she was safe and happy, and I was the one who had been overreacting?
But what if she wasn’t?
The thought made my chest tighten, my breathing shallow.
I didn’t know what I would do if something had happened to her.
Roland ended the call and looked up at me. “It’ll take a few minutes,” he said.
I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest as I leaned against the wall. The minutes stretched on, each one feeling like an eternity.
My mind replayed every interaction I’d had with Sasha over the past few weeks, searching for some clue, some sign that she was unhappy, that she was planning to leave.
Had I missed something? Had I done something to push her away?
The questions swirled in my mind, relentless and unforgiving.
Finally, Roland’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen.
“Well?” I asked, my voice tight with anticipation.
“She’s still in the city,” he said.
Relief washed over me, but it was short-lived. “Where?”
He hesitated, and I could see the conflict in his eyes. “There’s a location, but it’s not exact. It’s near an old industrial area on the east side of town.”
“Then that’s where we’re going,” I said, pushing off the wall.
“Sir-”
“Don’t argue with me, Roland,” I snapped. “We’re going.”
He sighed but didn’t protest further, following me as I grabbed my keys and headed for the door.
The drive to the industrial area was tense, the silence in the car heavy. My mind raced with possibilities, each one worse than the last.
When we finally arrived, I stepped out of the car, my heart pounding in my chest as I scanned the area.
It was quiet, almost eerily so, the buildings around us dark and abandoned.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I asked, glancing at Roland.
“This is where the signal came from,” he said.
I clenched my fists, my jaw tight as I stared at the buildings.
“She’s here,” I said, more to myself than to him. “She has to be.”
And with that, I started walking, determination driving me forward.
I didn’t know what I would find, but I wasn’t going to stop until I found her.
Not until she was back where she belonged-with me.