While the two of them were tangled up in their own little world, Lucas was on the verge of losing his mind. It had already been a full night, and there was still no sign of her. He’d searched everywhere he could think of, every possible place she might have gone, and came up with nothing. At this point, he couldn’t even imagine where else to look. Desmond wasn’t any help either. In fact, he was now too scared to answer Lucas’ calls or even send him a message. He knew his boss’ temper all too well. But hiding wasn’t a solution either. He couldn’t avoid Lucas forever, and ignoring his calls would only make things worse. Eventually, Desmond decided he had no choice but to call.

“Sir, I… I’m sorry.”

There was no emotion on Lucas’ face as he listened. He hadn’t slept a wink all night. Every location Aurora might have visited had been searched, and still, she was nowhere to be found. Now, hearing Desmond’s apology, Lucas felt numb. “If you haven’t found her,” he said coldly, “Then what are you still standing around for? Keep looking. Don’t let anyone in the company even remotely connected to Aurora off the hook.”

With that, he ended the call. Then, once again, he picked up his phone and dialed her number. And once again, the same lifeless message played back at him: “The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later.” That flat, mechanical voice echoed in his ears, and Lucas’ face remained completely expressionless. He couldn’t fall apart, not until he found Aurora. His Rora was still waiting for him.

And those two fragmented, cryptic messages – what on earth did they mean? Lucas couldn’t stop worrying about Aurora’s condition. Inside the house, Wendy heard the frustration in his voice and could barely contain her glee. How perfect. An entire night had passed, and still no word from Aurora. At this rate, she wouldn’t even need to lift a finger – Aurora would simply vanish from Lucas’ life on her own. That meant she could continue living here, without anyone daring to push her out. She could stay as long as she liked. The thought alone lit up Wendy’s face with unrestrained joy. “Aurora Walton, you’d better never come back. As long as you’re gone, I can replace you – bit by bit. And when that time comes, winning over Lukey will just be a matter of time.” The best-case scenario? Aurora dying out there, never to return.

Meanwhile, Desmond was just as lost. The exhaustion from the long, sleepless night had left his mind foggy and scattered. Desperate to track down Aurora, he had stationed himself outside the Walton Corporation building, waiting for Ian to appear. If he could just catch the assistant, maybe he’d finally get a lead on where Aurora had gone. After all, Ian had always been close to her. Desmond had seen it firsthand – Aurora valued that assistant more than most. That was why he was convinced Ian would know where she was. He’d wanted to reach out to him last night, but he didn’t have Ian’s contact details. If he had, none of this would’ve dragged on so long. Now, running on fumes, Desmond had parked his car a short distance from Walton Corporation and was watching the building like a hawk, scanning every person going in and out.