Chapter 60: You can’t hide from me baby girl
Ethan wasn’t a man who showed his pain easily. He carried it inside, hidden beneath the surface, where no one could see. But in the quiet moments, when the chaos of the day faded and he was alone with his thoughts, he let himself feel it. The ache of losing her, the emptiness where she used to be.
For now, though, there was no time to dwell on it. The fight wasn’t over. Ethan straightened his shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped back into his work.
Ethan walked into his office, the room cluttered with papers scattered across his desk. His steps were heavy, his mind racing. The first words out of his mouth were the same as they had been for days now: "Any sight of her?"
Steph, standing near the desk, shook his head. "No, boss. The investigators watching the Shepherd mansion haven’t seen her come out or go in. It’s like she’s vanished."
Ethan sighed, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes. The glow from his computer screen had been relentless, leaving his vision blurry and his head throbbing. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a moment, as if the answers might be written there.
"Maybe she’s not with them," he said slowly, more to himself than to Steph. "It might be time we start looking elsewhere. Any updates on the investigation into her real family?"
Steph hesitated, then shook his head again. "Nothing solid. We’ve talked to the Williams family, Jason, and everyone else we could think of. But no one knows anything. The only thing we’re sure of is the day she was found—no one in the city knew who she was or where she came from."
Ethan frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. If the Shepherds could dig into Mara’s past, why couldn’t he? He was convinced she was connected to them, but without hard evidence, it was just a gut feeling. And gut feelings weren’t enough to bring her back.
Steph shifted uncomfortably, holding a file behind his back. He cleared his throat. "You should take a break, boss. This can wait. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard."
Ethan’s eyes flicked to Steph, sharp and questioning. "What are you hiding?"
Steph froze, then reluctantly brought the file forward. "It’s nothing, just... some old leads that didn’t pan out. I didn’t want to waste your time with dead ends."