I also saw that my friends had arrived.
The two police officers spoke to me and interviewed my staff.
“We’ll do everything we can, Mr. Bonde,” one of them said before they left.
Hours passed, but there was still no news, and I couldn’t sit still.
“Calm down, Arlo. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since Lily went missing, and she’s not a child. Maybe she just went somewhere for an emergency. Have you spoken to anyone from her family or anyone she knows?” Gilbert asked me.
“Her sister, Olivia,” I replied.
Gilbert then asked me for Lily’s information.
“You’re acting like a detective, Gilbert,” I heard Rex say.
“It’s because she didn’t seem like an ordinary woman from the first time I saw Lily. I noticed something about the way she moved and spoke—there’s something about her, like she’s hiding something. The way she talks, she’s very careful,” Gilbert said.
We all turned to look at Gilbert.
I became curious about what he said and remembered how many times I asked Lily to introduce me to her parents and brother, but she always refused.
Hours passed, and there was still no news. By 3 a.m., we still had no updates.
“If I just sit here, nothing will happen. I need to take action.”
“Arlo, where are you going? Where will you even look for her at this hour?” Rex asked.
“I’ll go anywhere as long as I find her!” I shouted.
As I was about to leave, I ran into my private investigator and one of my friends, who’s also a private investigator.
“Good morning, Sir Arlo. We have important information to share with you,” one of them said.
I quickly let them in and asked them to sit down.
“Speak!” I commanded with authority.
My private investigator handed me a USB and instructed me to get my laptop.
I quickly retrieved it from upstairs. When the USB was inserted, footage of Lily appeared, starting from outside the gate of my mansion and leading to the park in our subdivision.
The footage showed Lily getting into a taxi and getting off somewhere, but there was no footage of where she went next.
“Why is there no footage of where she went?” I angrily asked.
“The CCTV in that area was broken, Sir,” the investigator replied.
“Fix it! Do something!” I shouted.
“Mr. Bonde, please calm down,” the other investigator said firmly.
“Who are you to tell me to calm down?” In my anger, I couldn’t control myself. I almost punched the two private investigators.
“Arlo, I told you to calm down!” Leo said.
“I cannot!” I yelled back.
“Mr. Bonde, here’s the information we gathered. There’s no record of anyone named Lily living in the area where she supposedly lives. Olivia is not her relative; she’s her friend. We will continue investigating to uncover Lily’s true identity.”
“What are you saying? Are you telling me Lily is using a fake name?” I asked.
I grabbed the envelope from the investigator’s hands. I couldn’t accept the information they gathered. I lost control, tearing the papers and throwing my laptop. I walked around the living room like a madman.
“This isn’t true! It’s not true! Tell me this isn’t true!” I shouted again. “Bring Olivia here, right now!”
My friends approached me, trying to calm me down.
“Who is she, Gilbert? Who is she? Lily loves me, and she would never deceive me. Tell me the investigators lied!” I pleaded.
My friends remained silent, and I saw Leo dismiss the two investigators.
I was utterly confused. What kind of day was this for me? Earlier, Claire passed away, and now Lily was gone. Is this some kind of punishment? Does everyone I truly love end up leaving me? Why is my life like this? Is it because I’m a worthless man? Because I’m a jerk?” I asked myself.
“Arlo, until we gather complete details, calm down. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow, you’ll see Lily’s face again,” Gilbert tried to reassure me.
“What if I don’t? What if it’s true that she isn’t Lily? Until I know the truth, I won’t be at ease,” I said.
THIRD PERSON POV
“Grandpa, please don’t do this to me. Dad, please help me!” Lily begged her grandfather and father.
“David, follow me. We need to talk!” Williams Davis said authoritatively to his only son, David.
