Empire
"Have you found her yet? It's been more than three days now," Alice, with a tired-looking face and dark circles under his eyes, asked the guys standing in front of him.
His once-perfect face, now disheveled, still screams perfection, but with an air of exhaustion.
For the last three days, he hasn't gone to work or slept, as he has tried his best to find Alisha.
Even after using his Mafia connections, he is still unable to find Alisha, driving him crazy bit by bit.
"Sir, we've tried everywhere, but it seems like she vanished into thin air."
"Are you even hearing yourselves, motherfuckers? I'm paying your detective firm thousands of dollars to find her, and you still don't have a single clue. How incompetent can you all be?" He shouted at the guys from the best detective firm.
He hired police, his Mafia connections, and detectives, but nothing.
Where did Alisha vanish? She didn't take any transport, didn't leave any hotel, and didn't take any money, as nothing was missing from his room. She just vanished like thin air.
He's been in his office continuously, not even going home to see his mother, still angry about the stunt she pulled in the hospital, wanting Alisha to get more time to make a perfect escape.
He can't even get angry with his mom; it's a feeling he doesn't want to explore, as it might lead him to hurt his mother and regret it later.
He wanted to burn that damn orphanage, but he refrained, knowing it's a place Alisha might come if she ever decides to show up, which he hopes she will.
He had his eyes there, but Mary didn't offer any information, no matter how many times he called her.
She always denies it, claiming she doesn't know anything about the escape.
Is she expecting him to trust her? He doesn't want to trust her, but even after keeping tabs, there's no sign of Alisha, so he has to control himself.
He wants to kill everyone who can't find her, but he knows he has to start with himself first, as he's unable to find her, driving him insane.
"Sir, we are the best in the whole country, and we've searched everything, but there's nothing, not even a single clue," the other detective started, with a serious face.
Alice jolted back from his thoughts. "I don't want reasons; I want results. You're hired because you're the best, yet the outcome is zero, proving you can't even find a single woman," he snarled.
If he didn't have to find Alisha, he would have everyone's head on this table right now, but he knows that's a waste of time.
And he doesn't have time; his heart, his head—everything is on the brink of insanity.
He can't even sleep; he eats just to keep up his energy, or else he feels like vomiting it all.
The energy he's trying to maintain is on the brink; her face flashes in his head with every breath he takes, making him feel like someone is digging a hole in his heart.
The pain is indescribable; his face, usually void of emotion, now shows millions of them, when usually he looks unfazed by anything.
He knows he's never been good at showing emotions, but right now, even his face betrays him. It's a whirlwind of feelings.
He can't afford to break down; he needs to find Alisha. But the more he searches, the more it feels like grasping at thin air.
"Sir, we'll keep searching. We won't stop until we find her," one of the detectives assures him.
Alice nods, but inside, he's crumbling. He's running out of time, out of patience, and out of hope. But he can't give up. Not yet. Not ever.
"You all can go. I want results. Better give me that or else I don't know what I'm going to do with you," he growled.
"We will do our best," they replied, walking out of his office.
Alice closed his eyes, resting his head on the back of his chair. The sweet voice echoed in his head, her beautiful face—everything seems like an illusion when he knows this is the reality he never wanted to face.
In his disgusting life, he faced a lot of things, maybe more than he could count.
His cheating father, his mother's pain, and his hatred for how people treated him because of his asshole father.
Then, when he started his business, everyone wanted to look down on him. He took so many loans, he suffered it all, he paid it all, and he built his own empire.
Never once in his life did he find happiness. Maybe he satisfied his ego due to how everyone treated him, so he wanted to treat everyone the same.
But did it make him happy? No. For sure, no.
When he saw Alisha in his house that day, he didn't know exactly what happened, but his heart beat a thousand times faster, and for the first time in his life, he found something that he found interesting.
He thought at first it was interesting, just because of how different she was—maybe a bit dumb too.
But little by little, she started choking him with emotions he never wanted to feel. She started filling him up with the things he hated his life for.
She was the only person who could make his heart pump crazily and take his breath away with a single smile.
Still, what did she do? She ran away on the day of the wedding, breaking his heart—the Alice Sharma he had always been proud of.
He wanted to hate her and curse her for what she did to him. But deep down, beneath the anger and betrayal, he knew he couldn't.
She had gotten under his skin in a way no one else ever had. And now, she is gone, leaving him lost and broken.
He couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again, of never hearing her voice or feeling her touch.
But he had to find her.
With a heavy sigh, Alice opened his eyes, steeling himself for the battle ahead. He would find her, no matter what it took. And when he did, he would make her understand just how much she meant to him.
“Alice.”
