Chapter 110 Lead Director
Chapter 110 Lead Director
Danika's POV
The neighbor shook her head definitively. "I haven't seen him either. He left a week before she did and never came back. Honestly, I think the man caught wind of the financial ruin and jumped ship early."
I took a deep breath, processing the information. Even if I stayed longer, I wouldn't be able to find her, at least not here, just as this woman said. I pulled a corporate business card from my bag, scribbling my direct personal cell phone number on the back before handing it to the woman.
"Please do me a huge favor and keep an eye out for them," I requested firmly, meeting her eyes with absolute seriousness. "The absolute moment either Victoria or her husband are spotted anywhere near this property, give me a call immediately. There will be an even larger reward for that information."
"You can count on me, dear," the woman promised, her fingers tapping her pocket happily. "I'll keep my eyes glued to the driveway."
I offered her a final nod, turned around, and walked back to my car. The moment I shut the door and started the engine, the sudden vibration of my cell phone in the center console made me jump. I looked down, seeing Lysander’s name flashing across the screen.
My chest tightened as I slid the phone to my ear. "Lysander?"
"Where are you, Danika?" his voice came through the speaker, but unsurprisingly, the coldness from our earlier call had vanished entirely. Instead, his tone was completely smooth, relaxed, and laced with a strange, lazy warmth. Lysander's anger never stayed for long, it was like he was always immune to it whenever I heard him speak.
"Go home, sweetheart. I’m waiting for you at the house."
I blinked, completely caught off guard by his calm demeanor. "Lysander, wait, there's something happening at the company…"
"We'll talk when you get here," he interrupted gently, a faint hint of amusement coloring his words. "Drive safely. Don't make me wait too long."
The line went dead before I could protest. I stared at the phone in sheer disbelief. Did he not hear about the police? With a frustrated groan, I threw the car into reverse, spun the vehicle around, and drove back toward the estate as fast as the legal speed limits would allow. My mind was a chaotic storm of worst-case scenarios, wondering if the federal investigators had already reached him or if his legal team was currently scrambling behind the scenes.
By the time I pulled into our private driveway, I practically threw the car into park and sprinted through the front doors of the mansion.
"Lysander!" I called out, tossing my bag onto the table as I hurried deeper into the house. The heavy, mouth-watering aroma of garlic, rich rosemary, and seared meat wafted through the grand hallway, guiding me directly toward the main kitchen. I rounded the corner and stopped dead in my tracks, my jaw dropping slightly at the sight before me.
Lysander was standing in front of the massive professional stove, completely at ease. He had rolled the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt up to his elbows, exposing his tanned, muscular forearms, and he wore a pink linen apron over his tailored trousers. He was calmly tossing a pan of glazed vegetables, his dark curls slightly messy, looking completely like a domestic husband and absolutely nothing like a billionaire CEO facing a corporate manslaughter scandal.
He looked up as I entered, a brilliant, incredibly relaxed smile breaking across his handsome features. "Welcome home, sweetheart. You're just in time. The steak is resting."
I marched right up to the kitchen island, my arms crossing over my chest as I stared at him in utter bewilderment. "Are you okay?" I demanded, searching his face for any sign of hidden stress or panic.
Lysander tilted his head to the side, his smile widening as he set the pan down. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, his tone perfectly innocent. He looked all smiles, to be completely honest. There wasn't a single line of tension on his forehead.
"Lysander, please stop playing around," I said, my voice rising slightly out of sheer frustration. "Do you actually know about what happened in the company today? Do you know who came to the lobby after you left?"
Lysander turned off the burner, wiped his hands casually on a kitchen towel, and nodded smoothly. "The federal investigators and the local police department. They arrived with a signed warrant regarding a fraudulent supplement manufacturing company registered under my personal name."
I gasped, taking a step forward. "You know? You know everything, and you're just... standing here cooking dinner? Why are you not doing anything about it?! Your legal team should be filing motions, the public relations department needs to issue a statement, and we need to track down Victoria before she flees the country! If she does, you might not be able to prove your name and also get her arrested!"
Lysander chuckled softly, a deep, rumbling sound that completely filled the warm kitchen. He walked around the perimeter of the island, stopping just inches away from me. He leaned his hip against the counter, looking down into my panicked eyes with a gaze full of unyielding confidence and deep pride.
"Why would I waste my time doing any of that," he murmured smoothly, reaching out to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear, "when my brilliant, capable wife is already taking care of it?”
“What?” I blinked.
“I heard about your actions from the receptionist and I was really proud. My mother also called me, telling me that you had called her earlier about Victoria.”
“What does that have to do with all of this?” I asked incredulously, “You have to start investigating, you…!”
“I'm giving this case to you.”
“HUH?!” I stared at him, my mouth slightly agape, completely frozen as the words echoed in the warm, rosemary-scented kitchen. For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard him. I thought the sheer exhaustion of the day was finally causing my brain to short-circuit.
"You're... what?" I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lysander’s smile only widened, a soft, incredibly affectionate glint taking over his dark eyes. He didn't look like a man whose multi-billion-dollar empire was being threatened by a federal manslaughter investigation. He looked like a proud mentor watching his star pupil finally step into the light.
"I'm giving this case to you, Danika," he repeated, his voice smooth and completely unbothered. He leaned in slightly, his proximity sending a familiar warmth through me despite the panic tightening my chest. "From this exact moment, you are the lead director handling the Apex Bio-Tech situation. You have full administrative authority over my legal team, total access to our private investigators. Whatever you need, it's yours.”