It seemed that even back then, Heather had been planning her escape from him.
Mitchell dropped to his knees, his mind struggling to comprehend how Heather could be so heartless.
He couldn’t understand how she could walk away so easily after so many years together. Had everything between them really meant so little to her?
But then, if he hadn’t given in to Bethany’s temptation, if he hadn’t betrayed Heather, she wouldn’t have left in the first place.
Mitchell slapped himself hard twice, the self–loathing only deepening as he did so.
Just as he was sinking into a haze of guilt, his phone rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was his assistant on the other end.
Chapter 13
“Mr. Bennett, we’ve got some Information from Ms. Rogers regarding Ms. Longstaff.”
Mitchell’s eyes blazed with renewed hope. “Tell me everything.”
“Someone following Ms. Rogers managed to capture a screenshot of her chat with Ms. Longstaff. After cross–referencing the photo’s background, it seems Ms. Longstaff is now in
Luiston.”
Before Mitchell could even respond, a blurry photo appeared on his screen. Despite the poor quality, he could still make out Heather’s features.
He stared at the image, almost mesmerized by it,
“Book me the earliest flight to Luiston. I’m going to find Heather,” he ordered with urgency.
Three hours later, Mitchell boarded a flight to Luiston.
The journey took over five hours, and once the plane landed, Mitchell immediately made his way to the location shown in the photo.
After gathering information, Mitchell tracked Heather’s recent whereabouts to a guesthouse. But when he showed the owner Heather’s photo, he was told that she had left not long ago.
He stood frozen, the buzz in his ears growing louder.
No one knew better than him why Heather had rushed off. She must have found out he was coming and fled in such a hurry.
Standing in the room where Heather had stayed, Mitchell could still smell her presence, lingering in the air.
In the bathroom, he found a hairpin Heather had left behind. He tucked it into his pocket, pressing it close to his chest.
Inside, there was also a photo of Heather, the only thing that seemed to give him any semblance of peace during this endless search. Every day, he would look at that photo, a small comfort amidst the overwhelming sorrow.
During Heather’s absence, Mitchell had dug through his phone, pulling out old pictures he had kept. He printed them, carefully placing them on the wall in the same spots they had once hung. He also bought all the same clothes and items they had shared, one by one.
It was the only way he could convince himself that Heather hadn’t truly left him–just that she had gone on a trip and would be back soon.
Mitchell ordered his assistant to continue the search, this time at the train stations and airports, trying to trace Heather’s steps.
But this wasn’t Kennethville, and his assistant almost got arrested for being mistaken for a threat, getting nothing in return.
