As the sky grew darker, Amelia returned to the hotel and stayed in a separate room from Landon, keeping to her principles. Under Landon’s resentful gaze, Amelia booked a new room. After taking a shower, Amelia went to bed, planning to replenish her energy for tomorrow, when she would meet William to collect Debra’s belongings.

But the next day, when they arrived at the law firm, they were told that William had gone missing.

“How could this happen? Did you call the police?” Amelia frowned, her heart pounding with unease. Her gut told her that William’s disappearance was likely connected to her.

“Yes, we’ve reported it, but we still haven’t found him,” Lucas sighed. “He’s been missing for almost a month. I’m afraid Mr. Smith is in serious danger.”

“A month?” Amelia gasped.

“Mr. Smith disappeared right after meeting with you,” Lucas said, looking at Amelia with a complicated expression. “Mrs. Kingsley, you must be careful.”

Amelia’s heart raced even faster. “Mr. Finch, what do you mean?”

“Just be careful,” Lucas said, shaking his head and refusing to elaborate further.

Landon’s expression darkened, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he muttered, “Can a small law firm really make that big of a splash?”

“Landon, please don’t say that.” Amelia quickly intervened, holding him back as she whispered, “I think someone must have taken Mr. Smith.”

“Who?” Landon asked.

Amelia wasn’t sure herself. The only people who knew about Debra’s belongings, aside from the Edwards family, were Zachary.

Walter and Melissa were already in prison. If they had taken William, they could’ve easily used it to control her, but they didn’t.

The thought of Zachary made Amelia’s blood boil. He had always been driven by greed, and he would do anything just to get what he wanted. He’d hurt her in the past, and now, he was ruining Sandra’s life. His cruelty was like a snake’s venom.

‘Could it have been him who took William?’ Amelia wondered.

“Mr. Finch, is it absolutely necessary for Mr. Smith to be present when we retrieve the deceased’s belongings?” Landon asked.

“Yes.” Lucas pulled out the confidential document Debra had signed back then.

Landon examined it closely, his unease growing as he read. Something wasn’t adding up. Normally, the process of handling the deceased’s belongings was routine and didn’t really involve the employees who carried out the procedures. But Debra had explicitly stated that they could only be retrieved with William’s consent or by someone holding his power of attorney. What she did didn’t make sense. Why had Debra done that?

“Could it be that my mother was protecting him?” Amelia asked, her voice trembling with concern. She held her chest tightly with her left hand, unable to hide her fear. A tiara worth 70 million dollars was enough for Walter to kill someone back then. But who would risk their life for an order like that? After all, no amount of money could bring a person back to life.

Amelia’s terror grew as she thought more about this. Her face paled, and she could feel coldness seeping into her heart. If her mother hadn’t written that will, Walter and Melissa would have killed her long ago. It had been a close call, a very close one for Amelia.

Landon thought she was afraid, so he gently took her right hand and comforted her, “Don’t worry. I’m here.”

“Landon…” Amelia’s grief became too much to hold in, and her tears fell onto the back of his hand. “We need to investigate my mom’s death. Mr. Smith must know something. I need to see him again…”

“Okay, I’ll help you.” Landon smiled softly.

She was brilliant. In fact, she was the most beautiful and intelligent woman he’d ever known.

Amelia wiped her tears and left the law firm with a heavy heart. Retrieving Debra’s belongings seemed insignificant compared to uncovering the truth of her death now.

Right now, all Amelia wanted was for William to be alive.

Landon, as usual, was the first to get into the car due to his wheelchair. Amelia stood by the car, waiting for him to settle in before getting in herself. Suddenly, a shrill and angry voice sounded. “You bitch, I’m going to kill you.”

Landon, who had just gotten in, froze when he heard it. His face went pale, and he shouted urgently, “Aaron!”

A few bodyguards quickly appeared and restrained the woman.

“You ruined my husband’s life. You’re just as evil as your mother.” A short, plump woman screamed as tears streamed down her face.

Amelia asked in surprise, “You know my mother?”

“How could I not? If it weren’t for your crazy mother, my husband wouldn’t have disappeared.” The woman glared at Amelia with intense resentment.

“Are you Mr. Smith’s wife?” Amelia finally pieced it together.

“Yes, that’s me. Your mother ruined our lives, and now you’re here to keep hurting my husband. What did he ever do to deserve this?” William’s wife, Rachel, cried with pain and frustration.

Amelia felt a deep sense of guilt and quietly said, “I’m so sorry.”

“What good is your apology? Bring my husband back,” Rachel shouted.

“I’ll do everything I can to find him and give you the answers you deserve,” Amelia said earnestly.

Rachel stopped yelling and just stared at Amelia in silence. Her sudden silence made Aaron and the others tense up, unsure of what she might do next. Amelia looked at the woman, broken by life, and finally understood Lucas' warning. Any wife would break down if her husband had been missing for so long, with no word on his fate. Amelia knew she was the one who brought such pain upon William and Rachel.

“Mrs. Kingsley, I’ll take her away now,” Aaron said.

“Don’t do that.” Amelia quickly stopped him. “Let her go.”

“Mrs. Kingsley?” Aaron hesitated. Rachel was clearly mentally unstable. What if she lashed out again?

“No one can save Mr. Smith if anything bad were to happen to me.” Amelia looked at Rachel.

After Amelia’s unwavering stare, Rachel calmed down and choked out, “Amelia, you have to find my husband. We have no children, and he’s all I have,” she cried in despair. It was clear she had been through a lot since William’s disappearance, living in constant fear day and night.

“I’ll do everything I can. I have a lot of questions for Mr. Smith too. Do you know anything?” Amelia asked, her heart racing. She was both scared of what he might know and what she might not. If they could harm William, they could do the same to Rachel, too.

“I don’t know anything,” Rachel said, shaking her head as she cried. “I only know that Debra’s case was dangerous, but he didn’t listen to me and took it anyway…”

“Maybe it’s better you don’t know anything,” Amelia sighed in relief. She was willing to provide any support to Rachel if needed. “Is there anything I can do for you now?”

“I don’t want anything. I just want my husband to come back,” Rachel said.

“Alright.” Amelia went back to the car, scribbled her number on a piece of paper, and handed it to Rachel. “Here’s my number. Let’s keep in touch.”

The bodyguard let go of Rachel, and she dialed the number. After confirming it was Amelia’s, she left, albeit glancing back every few steps. “You have to find him.”

“Alright.” Amelia made a promise, but no one knew if William was even still alive.

Amelia looked at the sky, then at the street, feeling a deep sense of melancholy. The small, peaceful town that had felt so relaxing just yesterday now seemed clouded in sorrow.

What exactly happened all those years ago?