The line was silent for a few seconds before his usualposure returned. "Youe back up. I''ll go down and look."


    Eleanor turned to the exhausted Joslyn. "Joslyn, why don''t you go home and look after Evelyn? We''ll keep searching."


    Since Princess had disappeared, Joslyn had been pacing back and forth for nearly an hour. She looked anxious, tired, and thirsty, and Eleanor felt for her.


    "Okay, Ma''am. I''ll go up and watch Evelyn," Joslyn said, heading toward theplex entrance.


    Less than five minutester,n appeared at the gate. He strode quickly toward the small park across the street, where Lanny and Eleanor had returned after searching the perimeter.


    n walked up to Eleanor, his eyes scanning her worried face. "Where exactly did she get lost?" he asked in a low voice.


    Eleanor pointed in a direction. "Joslyn said she ran that way."


    "Mr. Goodwin, our men are already driving around the area. They''ll notify us as soon as they have any news," Lanny reported.


    "Get your men over here now. Contact the local animal rescue stations, and request the surveince footage from the nearby stores. Use every means necessary to find Princess."


    Lanny nodded immediately. He knew this dog meant a great deal to his boss; losing her was not an option.


    Eleanor looked at the passing cars and the dimly lit park, her heart pounding with anxiety. Given Princess''s intelligence, even if she had run far, she should have been able to find her way home. But it had been over an hour with no sign of her, which made her worry-


    "Let''s retrace the path where she disappeared,"n said, looking at Eleanor.


    When it came to finding Princess, Eleanor saw him as an ally. Besides, Princess was particrly close to him.


    "Okay," Eleanor agreed, deciding to search a wider area, especially the alleyways and corners where a frightened Princess might be hiding.


    They followed the path where Princess wasst seen, searching carefully Eleanor called out Princess''s name, whilen, setting aside his usual cold demeanor patiently called into the bushes ahead.


    In that moment, they were not a business magnate and a top scientist, but simply a pair of frantic parents whose family member was missing.


    After walking for about ten minutes, they reached an intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Eleanor caught a sh of white on the opposite corner of the street.


    "Princess!" Eleanor cried out instinctively. Without a second thought, she dashed across the street, desperate to confirm if it was her scared dog. She waspletely oblivious to an electric scooter with dim headlights speeding toward her.


    Butn noticed. His expression changed instantly. In a sh, he shot out a long arm


    and violently yanked Eleanor back from the curb she had just stepped off.


    Caught off guard, Eleanor was


    pulled back with immense force, her back colliding with a solid chest. At


    the same instant, the scooter Whizzed past the spot where she had been standing, its young rider ncing back to curse at her.


    "Watch where you''re going!"


    Eleanor was shaken, but she didn''t realize she was inn''s arms. She pushed away from him and said, "I think I saw Princess."


    Eleanor called anxiously into the darkness, "Princess? Princess—"


    "Meow!" Arge white cat leaped out from the shadows, then disappeared into a nearby alley.