It was exactly as he’d seen before..
Not his wife.
In that instant, the glimmer of hope in his chest faded.
Eddy’s worry had reached its breaking point, he hurried out of the room.
Where are you, sweetheart? Where did
you go?
Down the hall, the sharp voice of a woman scolded someone, while a security guard’s hurried apologies echoed behind her.
As he reached the doorway, Eddy suddenly stopped. His eyes swept over the closet across the room. He strode over and placed his large hand on the closet handle.
“What are you doing?” the secretary cried out, panic lacing her voice. “There are important documents in there!”
Eddy glanced back at Ablett, then slowly began to open the closet.
Just then, a security guard burst in from the hallway, breathless but beaming, “Mr. Simmons, we’ve found Mrs. Simmons! Her phone signal is coming from the ballroom!”
Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief.
Eddy’s hand hesitated, but the next second, he yanked the closet door open.
It was empty, save for a small safe.
The secretary’s voice rose in protest, “This is outrageous! There are confidential files in there! You can’t just–We won’t stand for this!”
Ablett stepped in front of her, blocking her way. “Mr. Simmons is only worried about his wife. His anxiety is understandable,” he said, dabbing blood from the corner of his mouth with a calm, composed expression. “But there cannot be a next time.”
Eddy knew he’d crossed a line, but the man’s imperturbable calm only made his own frustration worse. “I’ll apologize to you, Mr. McCarthy, after I find my wife.”
With that, he strode off and turned urgently to the security detail at his side. “Is the call connected yet?”
“Sir, the signal’s spotty and we haven’t made contact yet. The IT department is tracking it now, and the team’s already searching. We should find Mrs. Simmons
1/3
soon.”
On the ninth floor, Blanche stood by the window and watched as Eddy’s tense figure was swallowed by the night.
The alarms finally fell silent; fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances all departed in
turn.
Everything quieted, as if the chaos just moments ago had never happened.
She glanced at her watch. Nearly ten.
Eddy rushed into the ballroom, but the security team still had nothing.
His anger at their incompetence simmered, but he kept it in check. Heart pounding with dread, he scooped Healy into his arms and turned to the media’s live feed. “Healy, ask Mommy to come home for your birthday.”
Sensing his father’s grief, Healy faced the camera and called out, “Mommy! Please come back for my birthday! Daddy and I really miss you!”
Healy noticed his father trembling, fear flickering in his eyes–something Healy had never seen before. The boy’s own fear welled up, and he began to sob, “Mommy, come back. I promise I’ll be good, I won’t call Miss Jean ‘Mommy‘ anymore, and I won’t play with Lara ever again…”
The ballroom was packed, and the sight of a child pleading for his mother tugged at everyone’s hearts. The crowd whispered among themselves.
“Do you think something terrible happened to Mrs. Simmons?”
“Maybe she just ran away? I saw that video…” someone muttered under their breath. “Don’t say that! Mr. Simmons loves her too much. He’d never do something like
that.
The clock on the wall struck ten. Eddy’s phone rang.
He gripped it tightly, opening his inbox as if clutching a lifeline thrown to him in the middle of a storm. For a moment, his worry eased.
It was Blanche’s special ringtone–the one she’d set before leaving for two years abroad, a sound that had haunted his dreams.
Eddy read the email, and his face went white as a sheet. In disbelief, he whispered, “She wants a divorce?”
“What did you say?” Kelvin was first to react, snatching the phone from Eddy’s
21.49
Grupie TOD
hand.
“A divorce agreement! Blanche is asking Eddy to leave with Healy and give up everything else! The reason–irreconcilable differences due to his infidelity? Kelvin read aloud, stunned. He turned to Eddy, incredulous. “How could Blanche have found out…”
Meeting Eddy’s icy, devastated stare, Kelvin tried to offer comfort. “Blanche loves you, Eddy. She loves Healy. She would never leave you, and she would never abandon Healy.”
“Someone must have hacked Blanche’s email. This is a cruel joke…”
Before he could finish, the room erupted in commotion. Suddenly, the giant screen in the ballroom flickered on.
Healy tugged at Eddy’s hand and gasped, “Daddy, look! Mommy’s on the screen!”
