“Yes, sir!”
The bodyguards charged into the airport, only to be confronted by rows of security personnel–impeccably uniformed, formidable, and utterly unyielding.
“This is a restricted military airfield. No entry without explicit orders!”
As the words echoed in the chill night air, streaks of white arced overhead–planes taking off one after another, their engines splitting the silence.
Eddy gazed up into the dark expanse, danger flickering in his eyes. “Break through!” he commanded.
He wasn’t about to give up even the faintest chance of finding his wife.
His men didn’t hesitate. They hurled themselves at the security team, fists flying. Amid the chaos, Eddy moved like a force of nature, cutting a path straight toward the control tower.
That was where the surveillance feeds were–where he could spot every person in the facility.
At that moment, Fernando and Terrell emerged, only to witness the mayhem. Fernando stepped in, blocking Eddy’s advance.
“Are you out of your mind? You can’t just start a fight here!”
Fernando had to stop him. He couldn’t let Eddy take another step.
Eddy’s gaze slid to Terrell’s neck, eyes narrowing sharply. “That’s my wife’s favorite necklace. She’s here, in this airport. Bring her to me.”
Fernando remembered what Eddy had done to Laney at the gala–something unforgivable. His tone was ice–cold. “I don’t know where Laney is, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. After everything you’ve done–do you really think she’ll ever forgive you? That she’d come back?”
Eddy’s stare turned glacial, the air between them freezing over. “Get out of my way”
“Eddy! After all you’ve put Laney through, have at least enough self–awareness to leave her alone! Even if you do find her, she’ll never return to you. Let her go.”
No sooner had Fernando finished speaking than a shadow lunged forward–Eddy’s fist landed hard, knocking Fernando to the ground.
Eddy bristled with menace, his eyes cold as the depths of winter. “My wife will hear
Chapter 160
me out. She’ll forgive me. She’ll come back to me.”
His obsession was a vice, squeezing tighter and tighter around his heart. If he let go, he’d shatter.
Without looking back, Eddy strode into the tower.
His bodyguards followed, quickly taking control of the staff and pulling up the surveillance footage.
“Sir, those are international dignitaries,” one bodyguard exclaimed. “And… Ablett.”
Eddy’s eyes locked on the feeds. Just thirty minutes earlier, world leaders had arrived and boarded planes. Ablett was there too–he’d gotten out of the car with someone by his side…
Suddenly, the video flickered, the picture distorting.
“Ablett’s alone!” the bodyguard reported anxiously. “And there’s no sign of Mrs. Simmons anywhere. She’s not here!”
Fernando entered the tower, voice grim. “Eddy, you broke into a military airfield. There will be consequences for this.”
But his warning fell on deaf ears.
Eddy stormed out of the tower, long strides eating up the distance to the runway.
He needed to see with his own eyes.
“Are you insane? The planes are taking off!”
Fernando shouted after him, but all he could do was watch as Eddy’s figure blurred, swallowed up by the gusts kicked up by a departing jet.
The plane rolled down the runway, lifting into the night sky.
A deep ache twisted in Eddy’s chest–he was certain Blanche was on that flight, about to vanish from his life.
His eagle–eyed stare caught a fleeting silhouette at a window–a woman’s profile, turning back for a split second, locking eyes with him.
Agony tore through him. “Blanche! Don’t leave me-”
In the blink of an eye, the distance between them became infinite.
Blanche was finally free.
She was no longer Mrs. Simmons. She was herself–Cipher, a legend in the digital.
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Chapter 169
world.
And Eddy? Just another mountain she’d climbed and left behind, unworthy of a second thought.
Spent, Eddy collapsed on the tarmac, gasping for breath, pain etched deep across
his face.
That silhouette had vanished as if it had never existed. He teetered on the edge of
collapse.
A bodyguard hurried over, concern etched on his face. “Sir, we’ve found your wife’s phone. The data’s being recovered–we’ve discovered several mysterious calls.”
In an instant, Eddy was back on his feet, dark eyes icy and determined.
His wife wasn’t gone for good. She was just angry–she’d come back once he found
her.
He would never give up. Not until she was in his arms again.
“Bring me her phone,” he ordered, his resolve unbreakable.