Chapter 61  Derek shot him a meaningful glance. “Honestly, I kind of wish I had hidden her away myself.”  “What do you mean?”  “Truth is, I have no clue where Amanda is.”  Derek slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Chase, I’m done giving you chances.”  With those words hanging in the air, Derek wheeled out of the room, leaving Chase staring blankly at nothing.  Feeling utterly drained, Chase shuffled back to his room and picked up a call from his assistant.  “Mr. Reyes, you wanted me to look into your wife’s situation. I’ve dug up some leads.”  “Go on!”  turns out, when you were caught in that earthquake, your wife wasn’t lying. She really was trying to find you but got caught in a storm at sea, Mr. Derek managed to get her safely to shore. I found records of the merchant ship disaster. Hundreds died, and it made quite the headlines back then.”  Hearing this was like rubbing salt into Chase’s wounds. Fuming, he snapped, “Why didn’t you find this out sooner?”  The assistant, almost whispering, said, “Well… you believed everything Ms. Nicole said, and you never asked me to look into it,” Chase ended the call and tossed the phone aside, collapsing back onto the bed, looking completely dejected. It dawned on him that he had no right to blame his assistant, who was only stating the obvious.  From the beginning, Chase hadn’t wanted to believe me, so why would he have ordered an investigation?  Throughout the day, Chase’s emotions were like a rollercoaster. He felt like a withering flower, murmuring. “Amanda, I know I messed up now… please come back.”  “Boom!”  Thunder crashed again, jolting Chase upright. The balcony door was ajar, allowing a gust of wind to send the curtains dancing wildly. Chase got up to close it, getting a face full of rain in the process. The icy raindrops only scattered his thoughts further. He sat on the carpet, leaning against the bed, his fingers busy with the rosary.  Oddly enough, the nightmares had stopped since he’d started wearing this rose rosary. It had become his sole comfort.  His fingers spun the beads faster and faster while I watched him from the bed with a cold gaze. If he knew my ashes were hidden inside, his reaction would be priceless.  I watched him appeared so unsettled as he dialed number after number.  “Yes, whatever it takes, I need to find Amandal Name your price. Just help me find my wife quickly. I place apart. We have to find Amanda“”  Chase spent the entire night restless, waiting for my message.  The next morning, someone brought him some news.  care if we have to tear the  “Did you  find my wife?” Chase asked, his eyes shadowed with fatigue.  “Not yet, Mr. Reyes. We’ve checked all of Mrs. Reyes‘ recent activities. Her phone’s been off the grid. We tried tracing it, and the last signal was from…”  “Where?”  “Ruby River”  Chase clutched his chest, probably recalling the distress call I had sent him. “What else?  “Since that night, Mrs. Reyes hasn’t logged into any social media, made payments, traveled, bought tickets, or stayed at hotels. This  suggests…”  The person hesitated, gouging Chase’s reaction, then cautiously added, “Based on what we’ve found, there’s a strong chance Mrs. Reyes may have met with some misfortune”  Chapter 62