[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-26032289AC7C-173":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},173,12,"Chapter 12: The Truth Behind The Five Year Charade","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alexandria slipped into the room, silent as a ghost. She hovered in the doorway, watching Callahan’s trembling shoulders and the diary gripped tightly in his hands.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A flash of jealousy flickered in her eyes, but she banked it instantly, replacing it with a fragile, tear-stricken mask.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Callahan… Maya’s just overwhelmed,\" she whispered, her voice trembling. \"She probably went for a drive to clear her head, that’s all. She’ll be back soon.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Clear her head?\" Callahan spun around, eyes bloodshot, voice raw. \"She took the separation papers and the annulment agreement to clear her head?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He stalked toward her, his gaze razor-sharp. For the first time, he looked at the woman he’d once shielded with cold, scrutinizing judgment—and felt something dangerously close to contempt.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I’m asking you about the industrial freezer. The car accident. The injuries you claimed to have.\" He enunciated every word, his tone ice-cold. \"Alexandria, look me in the eye and tell me: have you really not lied to me once?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alexandria went pale, instinctively stepping back as tears streamed down her face.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Callahan… are you questioning me? Even you don’t believe me anymore?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Callahan!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Martha Cole burst into the room, shielding Alexandria behind her, glaring at Callahan with open hostility.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"How could you talk to her like that! Maya chose to leave on her own—what does that have to do with Alexandria? She’s just emotionally unstable and overly dramatic; who else could she possibly blame?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan looked at the \"mother and daughter\" clinging to each other, then at Peter Cole standing in the doorway. Peter looked as though he wanted to intervene, but he ultimately turned his gaze away.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It all felt like a sick, twisted farce.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">For five years, what kind of charade had he been living?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">What had he done to the woman who truly loved him? The woman who waited for him for five years, only for him to drive her into a breakdown with his own hands?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Get out,\" he said, pointing at the door. His voice was devoid of warmth. \"Everyone. Get out.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Martha was startled by the raw intensity in his eyes. She opened her mouth to argue, but Peter pulled her back. With a complicated look at the frantic-looking Callahan, Peter sighed and led the sobbing Alexandria and the disgruntled Martha out of the room.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The door clicked shut.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. He clutched the ultrasound scan and the diary so tightly his knuckles turned white.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Suddenly, a realization struck him. He fumbled for his phone and dialed a number.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"It’s me. I need you to pull the security footage from the Hillcrest villa complex and every traffic camera along the route from the detention center to the Cole residence this afternoon. Yes, now. Immediately!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">His voice was jagged with urgency and panic. He paced the empty room like a trapped beast, his chest tight enough to burst.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He had never felt such sheer terror—not even when the Meyer Group faced its greatest crisis and stood on the brink of bankruptcy.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Every second of waiting was agony.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">At 2:00 AM, the phone finally rang.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Mr. Meyer, we found it. Ms. Cole left the villa alone with her suitcase around 5:00 PM today. She stood at the gate for about three minutes, looked back once, and then climbed into a hired car. The plate number is—\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Where was she headed!\" Callahan demanded.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"—The international airport, for a flight to Canada.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan’s mind went blank.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He grabbed his keys and bolted. The late-night streets were deserted, and he floored the accelerator, racing toward the terminal.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The airport was still bright and bustling. He rushed to the service desk, flashed his ID, and demanded the passenger list for all international departures. The manager on duty was intimidated by his bloodshot eyes and terrifying intensity; he didn’t dare stall, immediately assisting with the search.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Mr. Meyer, tonight… actually, just hours ago, there was only one flight to Canada. It departed at 9:40 PM, a direct flight to Toronto. On the passenger manifest… there is a Maya Cole.\"\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272930372]