"They all left the house this morning, Sir," one of the household staff answered. "Mrs. Violet said they had been away from home for too long. They wanted to check on the house because they were afraid the house would become a spider's nest. That's what Mrs. Emma said, Sir," he continued.
Hurriedly, Altezza returned to his car. He drove his car quickly, regardless of whether he would be fined for speeding or not later. All he knew was that he had to get to Adaline's residence as soon as possible.
Ten minutes later, he arrived in front of a two-story house with low fences. The house was quiet, showing no signs of life. Even the iron gate was still securely locked.
He tried calling his in-laws' names, but there was no answer. One of the neighbors, perhaps feeling disturbed by his approach, spoke up.
"Hey, aren't you Mrs. Scott's son-in-law?" the woman asked, puzzled.
"Did my mother-in-law come here?"
The woman shook her head, her forehead furrowed, looking surprised. "Hasn't Mrs. Scott been staying at her sister's house for the past few days?"
Altezza didn't respond. He just muttered a thank you and left.
Altezza went to his apartment, hoping the three women would be there. Once again, the result was nil. He even visited Antony's residence, but the result was still nil.
His last option was to go to Coskun's office and meet his wife's best friend, Tessa.
Tessa was surprised by Altezza's presence. Actually, not just Tessa. Almost all the employees who hadn't seen him for months were quite surprised by his arrival, especially because of his disheveled appearance but still handsome.
"Do you know where she is?" he asked without preamble. Tessa was taken aback and puzzled by his question. Especially the new employees she was training seemed stunned by Altezza's unkempt but still handsome appearance.
"Who, Sir?" Tessa asked, confused.
"Adaline. Who else?" Altezza replied sharply. Tessa shook her head.
"I don't know, Sir. She's your wife, and she lives with you. Why are you asking me?" Tessa replied sarcastically.
Altezza growled, but he didn't say anything. He ran back to the elevator and pressed the button for Antony's floor.
Antony wasn't in his office, neither was Duncan. He walked into Gian's office, and there he saw Duncan discussing something with his cousin. Both looked surprised by his arrival.
"What's wrong, Brother? You look like a madman. Has that woman's madness infected you?" Gian asked with a mocking smile.
"Shut up! Tell me where you've hidden Adaline?!" he snapped harshly. Duncan and Gian exchanged puzzled looks.
"Are you really going crazy? She's your wife, but you're asking me about her whereabouts as if she's my mistress?" Gian laughed mockingly.
Altezza walked quickly and grabbed his cousin's collar. "Stop playing around because I'm not playing!" he growled angrily. "Tell me where you've hidden her!"
"For God's sake, Al. You're going insane!" Gian pushed Altezza's hand away and shoved him back. "How dare you accuse me of hiding your wife?!" he asked sharply. There was a sense of dislike, and Gian clearly felt insulted by his cousin's accusation.
"I know you like her!" Altezza replied, losing his mind even more.
"I do like her! As a sister-in-law!" Gian replied. "I'm not a villain or a crazy person who would do anything to get her. Are there no other women in this world besides Adaline?!" Gian snorted again.
His voice still didn't soften. Fortunately, the room was soundproof. Otherwise, the employees might be crowding outside his door right now.
Suddenly, the door to Gian's office opened, and Antony appeared with a confused look when he saw Altezza once again grabbing Gian's collar, his fist ready to strike.
"What's going on?!" Antony exclaimed loudly. His eyes glanced between Gian and Duncan before focusing on Altezza. "What are you doing, Al? You come here suddenly and want to hit your own cousin?" Antony snorted and looked at him incredulously.
Gian chuckled, pushing Altezza's arm away again and pushing him back.
"He thinks I've hidden his wife. I guess Jovanka's madness has infected him," Gian continued casually. He didn't care even though he was in a dangerous position. His desire to mock Altezza and his foolishness was too great.
"He thinks I'm so obsessed with his wife that I would do anything to separate them. What a foolish man!" he said again.
Altezza tried not to grab him and chose to step back.
"We can talk it out, Al," Antony said calmly.
He closed Gian's office door tightly. Then he chose to sit on one of the single sofas in the room. The sofa reminded Altezza of Adaline. The sofa Adaline always chose to sit on whenever she entered Altezza's room before.
Gian chose to sit on one of the long chairs. And Altezza chose to sit in front of him. That meant Antony became the mediator between the two of them. While Duncan just remained a silent witness, standing frozen in his original place.
"I came home and found Adaline, her mother, and her aunt were not at home," Altezza began to explain. "Everyone said they went back to their home, but their house was also empty. I searched the apartment, and the apartment was also empty. I even looked for them at your and Claire's place, but they didn't go there. Adaline disappeared."
"Are you sure she's disappeared?" Antony asked.
"She even left her phone and all her clothes at home. She just left after writing a letter to me."
"That means she didn't disappear. She just chose to leave you. Have you talked to your parents?"
"They're not at home. They're out of town. And I can't reach their phones," Altezza replied weakly.
"I don't know the issues in your marriage. And I don't need to know. What I know for sure is that Adaline did all this because she wanted to," Antony assumed.
Altezza looked sharply at his cousin. Instead of providing Altezza with reassurance, Antony seemed to pour oil on the fire. It only made Altezza, who heard it, more emotional.
"If you're sure she's really gone missing, you can report it to the police," Altezza said, still staring at his cousin in disbelief.
Antony rose from his seat, choosing to leave Gian's room.
"I've told you before, warned you not to regret it later. Now I can't say anything more. I can only pray for Adaline's happiness wherever she is," he said without turning his head even slightly towards Altezza.