Chapter 9
“Madam, your identity information has been canceled in your country. All accounts and phone cards linked to your identity will no longer be usable.”
I nodded in understanding and boarded the plane without a second thought.
From now on, the sky is vast, and the sea is endless–no one will find me.
When Killian returned home, Anastacia was still trailing behind him like a shadow. He seemed a bit frustrated.
“I’ve spent three days with you, what more do you want? Go back already!”
Anastacia pouted, gently touching her belly. “It’s not that I can’t leave you; it’s the baby that can’t be apart from you…”
“Alright. You wait in the car for a bit, and I’ll join you for lunch later, okay?”
Her face lit up with a smile. “Okay! I’ll wait
75% 12:01
Chapter 9
for you.”
Killian smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes and sprayed some men’s perfume to mask the scent of Anastacia on him. After ensuring no traces were left behind, he opened the door to his house with a
smile.
“Honey, I’m back!”
But the silence that greeted him was deafening.
No response.
Killian’s heart dropped. “Honey? Where are you, Penelope?”
He quickened his steps, calling out frantically as he searched the house.
“Penelope? Penelope?”
The only sound in the empty house was his own voice echoing back at him.
A servant, returning from shopping, was grabbed by Killian.
75% 12:01
2/5
12:01
74+
Chapter 9
His eyes were red, and he shook the servant’s shoulder, demanding, “Where is my wife? Where did she go?”
The servant was confused. “The wife…
didn’t she go on a long trip? Sir, don’t you know?”
“Going on a long trip?”
Killian felt a brief flicker of calm. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Penelope’s number, but all he got was the busy tone.
His heart twisted painfully.
“Oh, sir, the wife said before she left that you should remember to open the gift,” the servant added, inadvertently sending a shiver down his spine.
“Gift? What gift?”
In an instant, Killian’s mind raced back to the envelope he had received two weeks ago. His legs moved before he could fully comprehend what was happening.
75% 12:01
3/5
Chapter 9
He ran up to the study on the second floor, stumbling and nearly falling, but he didn’t feel the pain. There was no time to waste.
When he opened the envelope, his hands trembled violently, making it hard for him to hold the thin papers. As he unfolded them, the words of the divorce agreement hit him like bullets.
“Divorce? Penelope wants to divorce me?”
He gasped, unable to catch his breath. Hist eyes darted around the study. That’s when he noticed several thick photo albums were missing from the bookshelf–albums filled with memories of the past ten years with Penelope, which had always been placed in the most prominent spot.
But now, there was nothing.
“Ms. Amelia! Ms. Amelia, where are my photo albums?” he shouted, his voice laced with panic.
Ms. Amelia arrived, looking confused. “Sir, I don‘ t enter your study, but a few days
75% 12.01
4/5
Chapter 9
ago, I did see the wife carrying the photo albums to the back garden.”
Killian’s heart sank. Without another word,
he rushed to their bedroom.
The sight was even worse. Penelope‘ s pillows, her quilts, even the small table. lamp by her bedside were gone.
In the cloakroom, only his suits–black, white, and gray–hung alone. The colorful. clothes that belonged to Penelope were no longer there.
Killian felt as though his chest had been struck with a heavy blow. He collapsed against the wall, clutching his chest, breath coming in ragged gasps.
He reached for his phone, intending to call Penelope’s friends, but as he opened his contact list, a chilling realization hit him. He didn’t know who her friends were.
