Chapter 3

3.

However, the search didn't go as smoothly as Gideon expected.

The three-day deadline arrived, and he hadn't found a single trace of me.

In his office, he was throwing files around in a rage. His assistant stood by, terrified.

"Keep looking! Find her elementary school classmates, her high school teachers, even the coffee shops where she used to work!"

The assistant wiped sweat from his brow. "Sir, we've contacted everyone. They all say they haven't seen her in ages."

"Useless!" Gideon grit his teeth, sweeping everything off his desk. "Double the pay! Hire private investigators. I want her found!"

For the past few days, Gideon had put everything on hold to find me.

His obsession was making Jade anxious. She was constantly terrified the truth would come out.

She lay in her hospital bed, looking worse by the hour.

When Gideon visited, she couldn't even look him in the eye.

"Gideon, please... stop looking. I'm scared..."

"Scared of what?" Gideon held her hand. "Scared she won't donate? Don't worry, I have a way to make her show up."

His tone was grim. I knew his 'way' involved my parents.

Sure enough, back at the office, he called his secretary.

"Stop the pension payments and the allowance for Fiona's parents. Let's see if she can watch them starve!"

The secretary hesitated. "Sir, are you sure about this?"

Gideon paused for a second. A flicker of conflict crossed his face.

I saw it clearly. For a moment, my heart felt a strange mix of emotions.

My parents had truly loved Gideon like their own son.

He grew up an orphan, raised by his grandmother. He had no other family.

After we married, my parents cooked for him every day, worried he wasn't eating well.

When he worked late, my mother would always make me bring him homemade soup.

I remembered when he got his first big paycheck. My parents bought him a small gold bar, calling it his coming-of-age gift.

Even when I complained about him coming home late, my parents would scold me for not being more supportive.

Their love for him was deep and genuine.

But as soon as Jade came back with her 'true identity,' he cut us off completely.

My parents called, but he never answered.

My mom cooked his favorite meals, but he had security block me at the gate, saying he wanted nothing to do with us.

He took his hatred for me out on my parents, treating them like strangers.

But we were all just victims of a lie...

"Sir?" the secretary's voice snapped him out of it.

Gideon took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.

"...Never mind. I'll go talk to them first. Maybe they know where she is."

He grabbed his keys and headed out.

I followed him to the modest suburban neighborhood where my parents used to live.

He parked the car and stared up at the building, his eyes filled with unreadable emotions.

"I'm sorry, Mom, Dad," he whispered before heading up the stairs.

My heart tightened. I floated after him.

The apartment had been empty since they died. The keys were kept with the building manager.

He had clearly arranged things beforehand and opened the door easily.

A musty, stale smell hit him as the door swung open.

The furniture was exactly as it was before I died. My mother's half-finished knitting was still on the sofa.

And in the most prominent spot in the living room, there was a framed black-and-white photo of me.

The frame was wiped clean. A small vase of dried flowers sat beside it.

Gideon froze. His gaze locked onto my photo, and his face turned deathly pale.

He was one step away from the truth.

If he just took two more steps, he would see the death certificate tucked under the frame.

He would know I was really dead.

He would realize how pathetic his threats against my parents were.

But right then, his phone erupted. The screen flashed with the words "Lead Surgeon."

I couldn't hear the doctor's words clearly, but the tone was frantic.

Gideon's face went white. He nearly collapsed.

"What? Jade collapsed? She needs surgery now?!"

"I'm on my way!"

He hung up, forgetting everything in the room.

He didn't even look at my photo again as he bolted out the door.

He was in such a rush he didn't even bother to close the door behind him.

Watching him run away, I felt a void in my chest.

As always, nothing was more important than Jade.

Family, truth, and loyalty meant nothing when she was in trouble.