Chapter 1532:


    Using advanced surveince systems, hebed through cell signal data in an effort to pinpoint Maia’s real-time location. But no matter how many times he recalibrated, the result was the same—Maia had vanished, cleanly andpletely, as if she had dissolved into thin air.


    “Calm down,” he told himself, forcing his body back into the chair. “If I can’t find her directly, I can find the people around her.”


    A name surfaced in his mind—Ethan. Maia and Ethan were close. If he could locate Ethan, it might lead him straight to her. With renewed focus, Cade opened the rtionshipwork files he hadpiled earlier, searching for Mnie’s number as a possible route to Ethan.


    But as the file opened to the relevant page, Cade froze.


    His eyes locked onto the screen. His expression shifted—first confusion, then disbelief, then pure, burning frustration.


    Right there, staring back at him from the very first page, was Maia’s private phone number.


    “I am… unbelievably stupid,” he muttered, pressing his hands together as the realization hit him full force.


    He had been so consumed by worry that his mind had unraveled. He had conducted an exhaustive investigation into Maia in the past—of course he had her contact information. Yet somewhere along the way, panic had overridden logic. He had assumed she must have disabled her phone or changed her number entirely, then dove headfirst intoplex tracing techniques, hitting dead ends at every turn—all while overlooking the most obvious solution. He could have simply called her.


    And yet Cade knew one thing for certain: Maia was safe. She had even saved Dominic earlier, acting as a doctor amid the chaos. That alone suggested her situation was stable. There was no real reason to believe her phone wasn’t still active.


    Rе??о????e???? ??a??????????????.??om ??о y??u?? ??????e??d??


    He exhaled a long, unsteady breath and pulled out his phone. Carefully, deliberately, he entered the number from her profile, pressing each digit as though afraid it might vanish.


    The waiting tone echoed in his ear, stretching his nerves thin.


    Then—it connected.


    A few seconds passed before the call was answered. A cool,posed female voice came through the speaker, calm and unhurried. “Hello? Who is this?”


    Maia’s cool, restrained voice filtered through the line, detached and distant, as though an invisible wall separated her from the world.


    The knot of tension in Cade’s chest loosened slightly. He inhaled slowly, fingers clenched around the phone until his knuckles nched. Despite years of battlefield reconnaissance, his nerves betrayed him, sweat gathering in his palms.


    “This is Cade Riley speaking, a licensed private investigator. I was retained earlier by Miss Mnie Cooper,” he began, choosing each word with care.


    He didn’t get the chance to finish.


    “I’ve heard of you,” Maia interrupted evenly, her tone clipped. “Skip the formalities.”


    Cade stiffened. The authority in her voice felt like standing beneath the gaze of an unyielding magistrate. Everything he had rehearsed evaporated mid-thought.


    Noticing his own hesitation, he drew another breath and forced himself to continue. “Ms. Watson, your biological maternal grandfather has recently arrived in Wront and hopes to see you.”


    Time seemed to stall.


    .


    .


    .<hr>


    Message from Noa: Dear readers we got today two new novels that you requested for, enjoy them. God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best. ( ? ? – ) ?


    .