Missing 1:

How come I didn't change my clothes yesterday?

I had just woken up when I felt that something was wrong only to realize that I had slept with my official clothes on.

After minutes of confusion, the events of the previous day began flooding my mind.

Flashbacks.

I remembered going to Liz's house and staying until late...then Dario's car...then waking up.

Shock.

Did I fall asleep in his car? If yes then who carried me to my room? Did the children see him? What about Thomas? What was their reaction?

Shock...embarrasment...fear.

I began feeling these sequentially. I thought of locking myself in the room but brushed that off my mind. I was not a teenager. I had to face them and give them explanations if any was needed.

I stepped out of the room, after getting ready for the office, only to meet Thomas first.Allover sudden i felt guilty. Why?Not sure. I avoided eye contact with him when i heard, "don't worry he didn't come in." I nodded in embrassment. I wanted to explain everything to him...like really much but decided otherwise. I didn't want to make things worse for me.Thomas seemed to have noticed that i was somehow uncomfortable so he excused himself.

I heaved a sigh of relief when he left.

"There is nothing between me and Dario.There would never be anything between us." I kept reciting these words in my mind as if i would forget them when i stopped. I didn't wish to forget them. It was my resolution. I didn't want to forget Ray. Not yet.

I decided to begin with recruiting new staffs in the filming department in order to get rid of Dario. His presence was already a threat to my resolution. Lately he had been popping up everywhere i was which was not good.

'We'll be recruiting new staffs in the filming department. Invite those interested and qualified for interviews as soon as possible.'

After texting Nora i decided to check on my children. It was long since i last saw them.

Derrick was recovering, the rashes were almost gone.The cream seemed effective.

Next was Leigh. It was really unlike her to stay inside her room by that time. Something was wrong. And I was right.

"What's up baby?"I asked holding taking her little hands in mine.

Silence.

"Are you in pain?"

She shook her head.

"Hungry?"

She shook her head again.

Why was she not saying anything? She was suddenly acting stubborn. Leigh was becoming too much to handle.

"Yesterday she was asking about Aunt Liz." Derrick came to my aid at the last minute before i gave up.

So the moodiness was because someone was missing Liz.

"Let me call your auntie so that you can speak to her before going to school."

She again shook her head.

I was getting fed up.I was getting late for work and was in no mood for her little tantrum.

"Okay then let's prepare you for school if you don't want to speak."

I made things worse.

Tears began slowly forming in her eyes and soon they were falling. Why was she crying? I just hopped someone could help me understand her because I was really getting fired up.

"Let's go visit your aunt." Thomas said. When did he even come here.That didn't matter because his tricks had worked anyway. Leigh was wiping her tears while nodding rapidly.Wait! Did she just wink at Thomas. I was beginning to have a bad feeling about these two.The last time the two planned things together ended up with a messy kitchen. Sometimes i even wonder why Thomas continuously indulged the girl. Whenever he was with Leigh, his EQ seemed to always drop to almost zero.

"What about school?"

The two looked down.

I shook my head slowly.That was already a losing battle. I had to give up. It was also not a good idea to let Leigh go to school alone now that she was still new.

"I'm leaving you in charge then.Take them there. I'll go ahead ."

I instructed Thomas before leaving for work.

~~~

I was already getting used to my duties at the office.

I had two meetings; one in the morning and the other one in the afternoon.

My morning was non-eventful. No unexpected surprises from Dario and work was quite smooth.

I was in a meeting with all my employees when i received a call from Elizabeth.

'In a meeting. I'll call you later.'

I texted her.

'It's urgent. Leigh is missing."

She texted back.

I called her back immediately.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She is missing. We've looked everywhere but we couldn't find her."

"When did she go missing?"

"Since eleven."

She answered reluctantly.

"You mean my child went missing four hours ago and I'm just being informed now."

I was literally fuming.

"Where is Thomas? I need to speak to him."

"I've not informed him yet."

I didn't want to be harsh on her but i was furious. My child went missing like hours ago and I was kept in the dark.The worse part is that they didn't even inform my security team so that they could organize a search mission.

That was crazy. I can still remember the huge number of men who were sent to protect me from the media when Ray died. Why is it that Liz did not think of that.

I wanted to ask her who was that 'we' in her story if at all Thomas was not yet informed but i decided otherwise. That was still not important.

"Send me the location. I'll be there right away."

I said standing up. I didn't care about the damn meeting. I needed to find Leigh.

I was in the parking lot like in a split seconds.

"Get in. I'll take you there." Dario offered. I accepted immediately. I wasn't in a state to drive anyway.

♥✨♥

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