The moment he stepped outside, his assistant called.
"Boss, I've checked. A day ago, the madam hired a private investigator to look into the treaty's archive records. She didn't say anything, just made a copy and left."
"The NYPD won't file a missing person report until she's been gone for 24 hours."

"She must have figured it out! You need to get home and see what's going on!"
James stopped dead in his tracks.
"A day ago?"
In that instant, something clicked.
He ran to his car like a man possessed, slammed his foot on the gas, and sped toward our home.
He must have run a dozen red lights.

At every opportunity, he tried calling me, sending messages.
But the chat window just showed a line of red exclamation points.
My phone went straight to voicemail.
This had never happened before.

In three years of marriage, we had barely even argued, let alone had a complete communication breakdown like this.
James didn't even know how to begin to smooth things over.
Listening to the robotic voice on the phone, the unease in his chest grew into a suffocating dread.
The moment he pushed open the front door, he froze.
The wall where our wedding portrait used to hang was now bare.
Everything that belonged to me, every trace of my existence in the house, was gone.
James's eyes turned red.
He stormed into the bedroom and threw open the closet doors.
Only his own suits remained.
He searched every corner of the house, finally finding a single document left on his desk: a statement severing all ties.
He opened it.
In the section for asset division, four words were clearly written:
Nothing is required.
The words stabbed him in the eyes, and in the heart.
He clutched the paper, sinking onto the sofa and lighting one cigar after another.
The last three years flashed through his mind.
Scene after scene played out, pushing him to the brink of insanity.
His phone continued to dial my number on repeat, but it was useless.
After a long time, he emerged from his memories and sent a message to his assistant.
"Find her. Find Olivia, no matter what it takes."
He didn't stay at home that night.
He took the statement and went to see the family's legal counsel, David Carter.
David glanced at the paper and shook his head wearily.
"Now that Olivia knows, she's not coming back. The fact that she didn't go straight to the Commission is the biggest mercy she could have shown you. You need to give up."
"If you push her too far, everything the Wilson family has built will be finished."