Page 85 of Broken Bonds

Josh, co-owner of Oracle Security, and his wife Mathilda are experts in their field of intelligence. With their help, we will get to the bottom of what’s happening.

“We’ve got two patrols scouring the neighborhood,” Sanders explains, detailing the measures we’re taking. But I know it’s all in vain. Stella is not here.

I grab her phone from my pocket and unlock it, frantically searching for any clues. Did she request a ride or call a taxi? Nothing.

The last thing I find is a message sent to Valerie forty minutes ago, with a photo of Stella ready to go out.

My heart pounds against my chest as two realizations hit me. First, she looked even more stunning than I could ever imagine. And secondly, we’ve wasted too much time.

Stella could be anywhere by now.

Fuck.

My mother. She was the only one who left the house tonight, but she despises my wife. I can’t imagine them working together. Especially after our argument earlier.

Josh arrives at my office as I pace back and forth, having shed my jacket and loosened my bow tie. Images from tonight replay on my computer screen as I desperately search for any clue or escape route.

I see the taillights of my mother’s car driving away, and in the house not a single movement.

“We have her,” says Josh as soon as he enters my office in his penguin suit. He was obviously preparing to attend the ARC event with his wife before receiving the call from Sanders. “She just boarded a flight to Miami, her final destination is San Juan.” How the hell did she get out of the house?

Couldn’t she choose somewhere closer?

Of course, Stella doesn’t do anything half-ass, she had to go to the other side of the country.

I already have the phone to my ear, ready to ask Hadley—my assistant—to rent me a private plane to get out of here as soon as possible.

“She’s ahead of us,” Josh announces as he reads the train of my thoughts. “Right now I’m sending one of my men from Virginia Beach to intercept her as soon as she disembarks in Miami.”

That’s true, it’s a long flight from here, around five hours. Considering I can take off within the next two, I wouldn’t be on time.

My entire body is consumed with a rage I have never felt before. My mind is fixated on one thing and one thing only. Stella. She’s alone, on a plane heading to a city she’s never been to, and it’s driving me insane.

I want to cause destruction. To make someone pay for taking her away from me.

“My plane is ready whenever we are,” Josh says calmly, but I can see the fire in his eyes. “We have a few minutes to change before we head out.”

But clothes mean nothing to me. All I want is to get to Stella, to beg for just one chance to talk to her.

If she had stayed, we would have solved this by now. We would be celebrating at the party or tangled up in our bed sheets.

If only she had given me that chance.

Frustration builds within me as Josh efficiently arranges our trip. The moment we arrive at the airport, our private jet is ready for takeoff. But even as we soar through the sky, tensions high and exhaustion weighing on our bodies, I cannot sleep.

It’s been four hours since we’ve been in the air when Josh’s phone pings with a message.

“Shit,” he mutters under his breath.

“Is she there?” I demand, my heart racing with fear. “Have they found her?”

“Simba,” he uses my ridiculous nickname from The Lion King, a translation of my name. “Stella did not board the plane.”

The knot in my chest tightens even more. “B-but you said she got on!”

He makes a frustrated gesture and looks up at the ceiling of the aircraft before answering. “I don’t know what happened. As soon as we land in Miami, I’ll have more information.” There’s a hint of desperation in his voice as he continues, “But Mathilda is already taking over. There’s no one better than my wife.”

I hope he’s right, because all I want is to find Stella and bring her back to me. Nothing else matters in this moment.

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