Chapter 223: Searching and Waiting

Marcus's POV

The steady hum of the jet engines was driving me insane. Each minute felt like an hour as we cut through the clouds.

Richard wasn't handling it any better than I was. He checked his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Goddamnit, can't this fucking plane go any faster?" he growled, smashing his fist against the armrest.

I didn't answer right away. What could I say? That everything would be fine? That Louis wasn't possibly dead at the bottom of some godforsaken cliff? Instead, I waited, gathering my thoughts before speaking.

"Louis is tough. If there's even the slightest chance to survive, he'll find it."

Richard looked at me with bloodshot eyes. "If he's dead..." His voice cracked slightly. "If he's dead, I swear I'll kill Alan Blackwood with my bare hands. I'll rip his fucking heart out."

I understood his rage. I felt it too, burning deep in my gut.

"We'll find Louis first," I said quietly. "Then we'll deal with Alan. And believe me, he'll wish he was never born."

Isabella reached across the aisle and squeezed my hand. I turned to her, seeing the worry etched on her face.

"Isabella, I need you to go straight to the hospital after your plane lands. Jasmine is there alone right now. Tell her I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Of course," she nodded. "What about Louis? What are they saying?"

I shook my head. "Not much. Search and rescue teams are combing the area, but it's rough terrain. And Alan..."

I didn't finish the sentence. We all knew what it meant if Alan Blackwood had escaped. It meant this was far from over.

The helicopter dropped us at the mountain resort the next morning. The air was thin and brutally cold, and I pulled my coat tighter as Richard and I ducked under the rotors and hurried toward the command tent.

Inside, a tall, weathered man introduced himself as Klaus, the search coordinator. He spread a topographical map on the table, and my heart sank when I saw the vastness of the search area.

"We've covered these sections here," he said, pointing to small areas marked in red. "But the cliff face has multiple cave systems and nearly inaccessible slopes. Plus, there's a storm coming in."

I studied the map, my mind calculating resources, time, odds. None of it looked good.

"Double your teams," I said flatly. "I'll pay whatever it costs."

Klaus raised his eyebrows but nodded. After he left to make the arrangements, I turned to Richard.

"You stay here and coordinate the search. I'm going after Alan."

Richard's eyes narrowed. "How? We don't even know where he is."

"Not yet," I said. "But he can't have gotten far. I've got people watching every road, every airport, every possible escape route."

Richard nodded grimly. "I'll call Daniel and get his team over here. We need more hands we can trust."

I clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll find him, Richard."

The hospital corridor smelled of antiseptic. Isabella met me outside Jasmine's room, her face tight with worry.

"She keeps asking for Louis," she whispered. "I don't know what to tell her."

I nodded and pushed the door open. The sight of my daughter lying there, made my chest tighten painfully. Despite her condition, her eyes lit up when she saw me.

"Dad! Did they find him?"

I moved to her bedside and gently took her hand. "Not yet, sweetheart. But we've got every available person looking. The best teams."

She swallowed hard, and I could see her fighting back tears. Then suddenly, she gripped my hand tighter, her expression changing to something I couldn't quite read.

"Dad... the doctors ran some tests," she said. "I'm pregnant."

The news hit me like a sucker punch. For a moment, I just stared at her, processing what this meant. My daughter pregnant, while her husband might be lying dead in the mountains.

"Well," I said, squeezing her hand, "then I've got even more reason to bring Louis home. My grandkid needs their father."

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Don't tell anyone else yet. Please. It's not... it's not the right time."

"It'll stay between us," I promised. "Jasmine, listen to me. I swear on my life, I'm going to find Louis and bring him back to you. And then I'm going to make Alan Blackwood regret."

By nightfall, I had set up a war room in a hotel conference center. My phone buzzed constantly as I coordinated search teams and intelligence operations. Around midnight, Anthony called.

"Marcus, we might have something. A gas station attendant near the Italian border remembers someone matching Alan's description. Paid cash, seemed nervous."

My pulse quickened. "When?"

"About six hours ago. He was heading south."

"Lock down every road to Italy," I ordered. "Get our people at the border on high alert. I want updates the minute anyone spots him."

After making a series of calls to contacts in local law enforcement and border patrol, I met with the police chief who arrived at my makeshift headquarters shortly after. He was a solid-looking man with a skeptical expression.

"Mr. Russo," he said after I explained the situation, "we'll certainly provide assistance, but I must emphasize that everything needs to be done by the book."

"Of course," I nodded. "This is about finding a missing man and bringing a criminal to justice. Nothing more."

After he left, I turned to my own people. "If any of you find Alan before the police do," I said quietly, "keep him alive. But don't worry too much about how comfortable he is."

The grim nods told me they understood perfectly.

I woke to the sound of wind howling against my hotel window. Outside, a blizzard had transformed the landscape into a white hell. At the command center, I found Richard arguing heatedly with Klaus.

"This is bullshit!" Richard shouted. "Every hour we waste is another hour my son might be freezing to death out there!"

Klaus spread his hands helplessly. "Mr. Mitchell, I understand your frustration, but sending teams into the mountains in this weather would only result in more casualties. We have to wait."

I stepped between them before Richard could take a swing at the man. "How long?" I asked Klaus.

"The forecast says the storm should ease by early afternoon."

Richard turned away, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Fuck!"

When he was out of earshot, I turned back to Klaus. "Have everyone ready to move the second it's safe. And I mean the second."

The drive back to the hospital was treacherous, the roads nearly invisible under the driving snow. When I reached Jasmine's room, she was sitting up in bed, staring out at the white chaos beyond her window.

"The storm's delaying the search," I told her. "But they'll go back out as soon as it's safe."

Her face crumpled as she watched the snow. "He'll freeze to death out there," she whispered. "If... if he's even still alive."

Isabella, who'd barely left Jasmine's side, squeezed her hand. "Don't lose hope, darling. Louis is strong. He's a survivor."

I watched my wife comfort our daughter, feeling both grateful for Isabella's strength and utterly helpless in the face of Jasmine's pain.

By three o'clock, the storm had finally begun to ease. The wind died down and the heavy snowfall lightened to occasional flurries. The command center was buzzing with activity as search teams prepared to head out again.

Richard was strapping on a utility vest, clearly planning to join one of the ground teams.

"You sure about this?" I asked him.

He didn't look up as he checked his equipment. "That's my son out there. I'm not going to sit here twiddling my thumbs while other people look for him."

I nodded, respecting his decision. If it were Jasmine out there, I'd be doing the same thing.