Chapter Fourteen—Aldrich’s POV—Kahlan Walsh Is Missing

Kahlan Walsh had officially driven me to the edge of my patience.

After the stunt she pulled at the party, I had barely managed to keep my temper in check. She had humiliated me in front of London's most powerful businessmen, knocking the drink out of my hand like some unhinged lunatic.

She had stood there, wide-eyed and shaking, spewing some nonsense about a mistake before I dragged her outside and fired her.

And yet—despite how much she infuriated me, despite the fact that I had no reason to ever think about her again, she still managed to take up space in my mind.

Why had she done it?

She had looked… terrified.

As if she had genuinely believed she was saving me from something.

The thought irritated me more than it should have.

I pushed her out of my mind and focused on the real reason I was here.

Early the next morning, I was called in for a private meeting with Frederick Cane and Donovan Blake—two of my business partners in Redmont Industries.

I expected them to confirm that everything was on track for the deal. Instead, the moment I stepped into the room, I knew something was wrong.

The atmosphere was tense. Cane and Blake sat stiffly at the polished conference table, their expressions unreadable. A half-empty bottle of whiskey sat between them—a bad sign this early in the morning.

I took a seat across from them, leaning back, watching them carefully. "I assume this isn't a social call."

Blake exhaled sharply, exchanging a glance with Cane before finally speaking. "There's been a development."

I narrowed my eyes. "What kind of development?"

Cane folded his hands together, his voice grave. "Nathaniel Crowe is dead."

A sharp silence filled the room.

I stared at them, waiting for some kind of follow-up explanation—a car crash, a heart attack, something rational.

But nothing came.

"What do you mean 'dead'?" My voice came out harder than I expected.

Blake sighed, rubbing his temples. "Found in his suite early this morning. No details yet. But—" He hesitated. "Given the circumstances, we think it's best to postpone the deal."

I stiffened. "Postpone?"

Cane nodded. "Crowe was heavily involved in this partnership. His sudden death raises too many questions. Investors will hesitate. The optics of this deal are bad right now."

I hated that word. Optics.

Like business was just a performance—something that only mattered if the audience approved.

"Let me get this straight," I said slowly, barely masking my irritation. "One man dies, and you want to throw away months of work?"

"It's not throwing it away," Cane corrected. "It's—waiting for things to settle."

I let out a sharp laugh. "There is no 'settling.' You either control the market, or you let it control you. If you hesitate, someone else will take our place."

Cane's face remained passive. "And if we rush forward, we could be walking into a storm we don't see coming."

The words sat uncomfortably in my chest.

For the first time, I hesitated.

Crowe's warning from the party echoed in my head:

"Just watch your back."

At the time, I had dismissed it as a typical business scare tactic. But now? Now the man was dead and my business partners were suddenly shaken.

I didn't like it.

Not one bit.

For the first time in a long time, I felt something I didn't want to admit to.

Doubt.

I exhaled slowly, tapping my fingers against the table. "Fine. We slow things down. But I won't let this deal fall apart."

Cane and Blake exchanged a glance but nodded. "Understood."

I stood, buttoning my suit jacket. "Keep me updated. And if there's anything else I need to know—" I fixed them both with a hard stare. "Tell me before I have to find out another way."

I walked out before they could respond, a strange tightness in my chest.

For the first time in my career, I wasn't sure if I had miscalculated something. One thing was sure though—I was meant to be on my way back to my wife and kid, safely on my flight. But now, I would have to wait longer here.

When I returned to the hotel, I half-expected to run into Kahlan sulking somewhere.

I hadn't seen her all morning, which wasn't surprising. She was probably still pissed off about last night.

Good. Let her be angry. I didn't owe her anything.

I ignored her absence and went about my day, assuming she was holed up in her room, refusing to show her face.

By evening, I figured she would have gotten over herself.

She didn't.

And by the time morning rolled around again, something felt off.

She still hadn't shown up anywhere.

She was avoiding me—fine. But she was still my employee until the trip ended. And as much as she annoyed me, she wasn't the type to just disappear.

Something about her absence itched at the back of my mind.

I told myself it was nothing.

I waited until noon, expecting her to come storming back, ready to argue.

She didn't.

I went to dinner alone. She never appeared.

I shouldn't have cared.

I shouldn't have noticed.

But I did.

By nightfall, the feeling had grown into something worse.

I stood outside her hotel room door, staring at it for longer than I cared to admit.

I almost knocked.

I almost walked away.

Instead, I turned the handle.

Unlocked.

I frowned. She never left her door unlocked.

Something cold curled in my stomach.

I pushed the door open slowly, stepping inside.

Dark. Silent. Empty.

The bed was untouched. The suitcase she brought with her was still in the corner, but her personal belongings were missing.

I checked the bathroom. Nothing.

I checked the closet. Empty.

I waited.

I told myself she would walk in at any moment, full of attitude, glaring at me for entering her room.

Minutes passed. Then an hour.

Nothing.

The tightness in my chest worsened.

I reached for my phone and called her.

No answer.

I called again.

Still nothing.

I checked with the hotel staff, expecting them to tell me she had checked out.

But she hadn't.

And no one had seen her since last night.

That's when the unease turned into something else.

Panic.

I checked my watch. Almost twenty-four hours have passed since she was last seen.

That was too long.

Too damn long.

Something was wrong.

Kahlan Walsh was missing!