Chapter 17 Alicia Is Gone

Louis' scowl deepened. He dialed the bodyguards tasked with protecting Alicia, and barked into the phone, "I told you to keep a close eye on Alicia. Where is she?"

The bodyguard replied respectfully, "Mrs. Martinez said we needed a two-day break from watching her. She said it was on your orders."

Louis's lips twitched in fury as he thought, "Even the obedient Alicia was pulling the wool over my eyes." He asked through gritted teeth, "Where'd she go?"

Sensing Louis' anger, the bodyguard answered cautiously, "Mrs. Martinez didn't say."

Louis hung up and tried calling Doris, but her phone was turned off too. He ordered his assistant, "Check the surveillance footage."

"You got it, Mr. Martinez," the assistant quickly assembled a team and headed to the hospital's surveillance room.

Ten minutes later, the assistant called back, "Mr. Martinez, all the footage that could have shown Mrs. Martinez has been deleted."

Louis' grip on his phone tightened; he was about to crush it. After a moment of thought, he strode to the nephrology department and knocked on the door of Alicia's grandmother's room. Genevieve was tucking in Alicia's grandma, Véronique, with a blanket.

When Genevieve saw Louis, she raised an eyebrow and asked with a hint of apathy, "What do you want?"

Louis spoke calmly, "Alicia's been discharged from the hospital. Do you know where she went?"

Genevieve chuckled, "You're her husband, and you don't even know where she is; why would I?"

Louis explained, "She misunderstood me and ran off. She's injured and it's dangerous for her to be on her own. Please tell me where she went so I can find her."

His tone was polite, but carried an undercurrent of demanding.

Genevieve appeared nonchalant, but she was sharp and could hear the underlying meaning in Louis' words. She settled into a chair, crossed her legs, grabbed a handful of candies, and said coolly, "When you were sick and had a short fuse those two years, my daughter never left your side. She worked herself to the bone day and night, with all her heart and soul. And now she's gone. She must have had a truckload of grievances to leave like this."

Louis' gaze was intense, his lips pressed together in silence.

Genevieve let out a self-deprecating laugh, "It's true, in your eyes, my daughter was just your maid. Now that you're better, you don't need a maid anymore, so naturally you don't want her."

"I never saw her as a maid," Louis replied with a forced smile.

Genevieve rolled her eyes at him. "Don't just talk the talk. If you want her, be true to her. If not, just get a divorce. My daughter is beautiful, kind, smart, and talented. Even if she gets divorced at 23, she'll be able to find a better one soon. Divorce is a dime a dozen these days; it's not a big deal."

Louis forced a smile, but his eyes remained cold and detached. "I'll keep searching for her."

He spun on his heel and left, the door slamming shut behind him.

Genevieve tutted and said to Véronique, who was dozing in her hospital bed, "Just look at his temper. I said a few things to him, and he got mad and slammed the door. When Alicia was with him, God knows how much she had to put up with every day."

Véronique stirred but said nothing.

"When she got married, all those relatives laughed behind my back, saying I sold my daughter to a cripple for money. Now that he's on his feet, I thought Alicia's life would get better, but he's acting up again. Marriages between people from different social classes are always looked down upon. Those people would be able to humiliate us at will soon after," Genevieve said, turning away and wiping away her tears.

Véronique sighed, "It's my fault for burdening her."

"Mom, don't say that. It's all my fault," Genevieve's voice caught in her throat.

Despite searching everywhere Alicia could have gone, Louis and his men came up empty. They searched late into the night, but still found nothing. In the middle of the night, Louis was lying in bed, unable to sleep, when he suddenly remembered a place.

Louis sprang into action, gathered his men, and drove all night to Elbing Village. Elbing Village was at the foot of a mountain, Alicia's grandfather's hometown, where she grew up.

After a long journey, Louis and his men arrived in Elbing Village in the early morning. Louis tried to push open the gate, but it wouldn't budge. Not wanting to wake Alicia, he reclined the seat in his car and tried to get some rest.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he was out like a light. When he woke up, it was daylight. He got out of the car, and his bodyguard approached, saying, "Mr. Martinez, there's someone talking in the yard, and it sounds a lot like Mrs. Martinez's voice." Louis nodded and walked to the front gate. This time the door opened.

Louis took in the yard with a single glance; it was large and overgrown with weeds in the corners. In the far east corner, there was a pear tree covered in beautiful blooms, and beneath it sat a gentle and graceful woman. She was wrapped in a long white knit sweater, highlighting her slender and delicate figure, and her black hair styled elegantly. Her skin was smooth and her features delicate, with a slight smile on her lips.

As the wind blew, white pear blossoms gently fell onto her hair, creating a scene like a painting. A tall man in a light blue shirt stood beside her, gently applying medicine to her hands. They were chatting lightly, unaware of Louis' presence.

The woman was Alicia, the one Louis had been searching for day and night, and the man was Leo.

Louis' eyes changed, filled with coldness. His lips curled up, a hint of self-mockery in his smile. He looked at the two of them coolly for a moment before finally suppressing his anger and asking, "Alicia, why didn't you tell me you were coming to your grandfather's house?"

Alicia spoke in a cool and collected tone, "You're too busy. I didn't wanna bug you."

Leo spun around with a look of shock on his face. He flashed a grin and exclaimed, "Cousin Louis, what's the good word? Get in here quick, man!"

Louis shot him a frosty glare and headed toward Alicia. He stood over her and gave a slight smile, but his eyes were dead serious. "I've been looking for you, do you know that?"

Alicia retorted, "You didn't have to go through all this trouble." She let out a cold, distant chuckle, and her piercing black eyes screamed with defiance.

Louis tried to explain himself, "See, Maddie almost fell while getting up from bed at the time. I lent her a hand, and her lipstick ended up on my shirt without me even noticing it. Didn't see the damn thing until I took my shirt off that night."

Alicia replied with a hint of indifference, "You don't need to explain it to me." The details turned her stomach and made her skin crawl. She resisted them subconsciously. She didn't even say a simple hello to Louis before bouncing this time. She had bottled up too many emotions, and the lipstick stain was just the last straw. In their three-year marriage, they had always been courteous to each other, but she was done with that now. She was fuming, and the only way to ease the tension was to leave.

Louis hesitated for a beat before spilling the beans, "Chuck smashed Maddie's hand with a hammer. She was already down in the dumps, and this injury only made it worse. I was scared she might off herself, so I checked on her a few extra times."

Alicia was silent for a moment before slowly rising to her feet and muttering, "Follow me."

Louis gave a small nod and followed behind her. They left the house and trekked through the village towards the backwoods. The path was a dirt road, and the spring breeze kicked up dust. After about ten minutes of walking, they reached a grove of willows.

The willows were thick and lush, with their long, slim branches dancing in the wind. The area was filled with countless graves, and even in broad daylight, the place felt creepy and grim. The temperature dropped noticeably, and a couple of crows cawed overhead.

Alicia didn't flinch as she walked through the grove, winding her way around until she came to a halt in front of a small, old grave. She stood there, her gaze fixated on the grave with an increasingly heavy heart.

After what seemed like an eternity, she whispered, "Chuck is buried here."