Aiden glanced up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk as his assistant entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
"I've dropped her off successfully, sir," Assistant An reported, standing at attention.
Aiden leaned back in his chair, tapping a pen against the mahogany surface. "And she didn't create a scene?"
"No, sir. She was... compliant."
Aiden nodded, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. The woman had enough sense to know when to step down. Good. Thankfully, he'd been able to get rid of his wife... for now. She wanted to live well, didn't she? He would let her. And then, when she was bored of living in the empty house, he'd send her packing back to her parents' place, hurrying along the divorce. He just needed time to come up with a suitable excuse for his grandmother.
Satisfied, he turned his attention back to the files on his desk before pausing, his gaze snapping back to the man standing before him. "What about the things I asked you to investigate?"
The assistant shifted slightly, raising alarm bells in Aiden's head. "Something is definitely afoot, sir. The couple has gone missing."
"What?"
The assistant cleared his throat. "The private investigator you hired reported that the couple who claimed to be her parents have disappeared without a trace. No activity on their bank accounts, no phone records, nothing. It's as if they vanished into thin air. They did so immediately after Madam woke up in the hospital..."
Aiden's mind raced. The couple dissappeared so that they wouldn't have to return his money! He recalled Serena's claim that those people were not her parents.
"Keep looking. Track down every possible lead and leave no stone unturned. "
The assistant nodded. "Yes, sir. But where should we investigate next? Since Madam was on her deathbed and the topic was sensitive, we didn't do much investigation. Now, we know nothing of the couple. Just that they came here about a year ago..."
Aiden rubbed his forehead. "Check the hospital records. When was she admitted, the police accident report, etc."
"Understood," the assistant said, turning to leave.
"Wait," Aiden called after him. "What about Sidney Price? Where is he currently?"
The assistant looked puzzled for a moment before answering. "Mr. Price is still in country S and hasn't returned."
Aiden nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Good. Keep me updated on his movements as well."
Once the assistant was gone, Aiden closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. His mind drifted back to the first time he had caught a glimpse of his now wife. To look up Serena's past and her claims that the greedy couple was not her parents, Aiden had a way Sidney Price was the key. Of course, he wouldn't do that, though. After all, Sidney Price was his most cherished enemy. The one man whom he hated with a passion...While Serena Dawn, his newly awakened wife, was the woman Sidney Price loved.
While he had been on the lookout for a wife, Aiden had not chosen Serena out of the blue. Despite slight changes to her appearance after the accident, he still recognized her in a heartbeat. The first time he had seen her was in a photograph. She was full of youth and innocence, blowing a kiss at the camera. The picture had been in Sidney's wallet. Aiden came across it during a tense business negotiation that had almost turned violent. The ba*tard dropped his wallet and everyone was shocked that Sidney actually carried a woman's picture with him.
The sight had been so out of place in the cold, ruthless world of Sidney Price that Aiden was hit with an unexpected pang of curiosity. Who was this woman who managed to capture Sidney's heart?
In that brief moment, as Sidney hastily snatched up the photo, Aiden saw a flicker of vulnerability in his enemy's eyes. A chink in the armor that Sidney always wore.
Aiden's eyes opened then, a small smile playing on his lips. He'd like to see the man's expression when he returned to the country and realized that the woman he loved was married to him!
But Aiden wanted more than just a simple victory. He wanted to savor it, to make it last. He wondered if he could make Serena fall for him before her memory returned.
Imagine the look on Sidney's face when he found Serena with Aiden's ring on her finger. It was the perfect welcome back gift.
The look on Sidney Price's face would be priceless.