Chapter 7 — Evan's POV

Isabella and I entered the venue and took our seats in the front row — spots the organizers had arranged for me in advance.

Before the bid opening began, Isabella went off to greet some acquaintances. I deliberately scanned the room, but I couldn't find the figure I was looking for.

I pulled out the crumpled piece of paper Isabella had balled up earlier, smoothed it flat between my fingers.

I stared at the four words written on it — Kane Family — reading them over and over again.

One after another, images of Emily surfaced in my mind.

"Evan! Stop staring at it. It's just a piece of trash someone dropped. There's nothing confidential on it. When I see the bid chairman later, I'm going to remind him again — don't let just anyone walk in here. It turns the whole event into a circus, trash flying everywhere."

With that, Isabella reached out to take what she called a piece of trash from my hand. In that instant, something in my subconscious took over — I folded the paper back exactly as it had been and slipped it into my pocket.

Isabella's hand closed on nothing.

A second later, she reached over and pretended to straighten my shirt collar, smoothing over the brief moment of awkwardness.

Not long after, the bid opening ceremony began.

The chairman of the bidding committee and representatives from various competing conglomerates delivered enthusiastic speeches on stage.

But to my ears, it was as if someone had shut a door — I couldn't hear any of the noise filling the hall.

My mind was entirely occupied with Emily. In the two months since she disappeared, my life had fallen apart.

I had people dispatched to the island every single day to search for any trace of her. I also ordered them to comb through every street in Rosenberg — not a single soul was to be overlooked.

But sixty-some days had passed, and there was still not one piece of news about her. Emily had vanished as though she had been erased from the face of the earth.

Whenever I thought of Emily, a faint sense of guilt would stir inside me. There were even moments when I drifted into a daze, half-convinced she had never existed in my world at all.

"Evan! Evan!"

It wasn't until Isabella called my name twice that I snapped back from my memories and thoughts.

The pre-bid meeting had already ended. The competing conglomerates were filing out of the hall one after another.

"Evan, the meeting is over. Are you feeling unwell?"

Isabella looked at me with eyes full of concern.

I smoothed out the furrow between my brows and gave a slight shake of my head.

"I'm fine. Let's go."

Isabella followed me out of the venue. Near the entrance, we ran into a few close acquaintances, and I instantly slipped back into my usual self — making conversation and exchanging pleasantries the way I always did.

Isabella, standing beside me, had a faint flicker of something unreadable in her expression when she first noticed my shift in demeanor, but within seconds she had already woven herself seamlessly into the conversation.

When it came to socializing, Isabella was exceptional. Her smile in particular had a way of drawing people in. Compared to Emily, who used to freeze up in social settings, I'll admit Isabella was impressive.

At the very least, whenever I didn't feel like explaining myself or my patience was running thin, she knew how to smooth things over.

And yet — somehow, when Emily was at my side, I was never this irritable or unsettled.

The thought hit me, and I wrapped up the conversation quickly and got in the car.

Adam started the engine without a word. I rested my hand over the pocket where I'd tucked the piece of paper.

"Adam."

I said his name.

Adam glanced up through the rearview mirror, waiting for my instructions.

"Get me a full list of every conglomerate that participated in today's bidding. I want their backgrounds and credentials investigated as well. As detailed as possible — and I need it fast."

"Yes, Boss."

Adam gave a nod and kept driving.

"Evan! There's quite a bit of administrative work left on the bidding side — a lot of loose ends to tie up. Adam still has to drive you around, so why don't you let me handle that task? I've been in contact with the bid chairman these past few days, so I'd be better positioned to get things done."

I had barely finished giving my instructions when Isabella cut into my conversation with Adam. Her behavior was unusual. Since she'd come back and started staying by my side, this was the first time she had ever talked over me like that.

I didn't say anything. I simply turned my head and looked at her.

Isabella gave an awkward smile, seeming to realize herself that she had been a little rash, and quickly explained.

"Evan, I only want to help take some things off your plate. During the meeting just now, I could see how exhausted you were. I'm worried about your health — Uncle Arthur made a point of asking me to look after you before he left. If you wear yourself out and get sick, I'll have no way to answer for it when he gets back."

Isabella shrugged and reached over, taking hold of my hand.

Her words made me aware of something off about my own body. Over these past two months, the workload hadn't been particularly heavy — and yet I felt physically drained. Not the kind of tired that comes from overwork or illness, but the kind that builds under the weight of mental strain.

That thought led me, inevitably, back to Emily. In all the years she had been at my side, I had never once felt this way.

"Evan! Are you worried I'll tire myself out? If you really don't want me to do it — or if you think I won't do it well — then just forget I said anything."

When I still hadn't spoken after a long pause, Isabella smiled and gracefully let herself off the hook.

I gave a token nod in response and still said nothing.

Isabella turned to look out the car window. I could feel her disappointment, but my mind had already drifted back — to the confrontation between Isabella and that woman at the entrance, and to Isabella's interference, her desperate attempt to destroy that piece of paper.

All of it, taken together, gave me reason to doubt her.

Did she know who had written on that paper? Was she trying to cut off a lead I was following?

For a long time — in both life and work — I had handed everything over to Emily without question. That was trust.

But even the person you trust most can vanish from your life without warning. When trust shatters like that, who is there left to believe in?

From now on, I would only believe what I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears.

A few days later, however, the documents Adam handed me held none of the answers I was looking for. Among all the bidding conglomerates, every single one was a former partner of the Kane Family — except for one: an anonymous bidder registered under the name of a laboratory.

So what was the story behind this anonymous laboratory? A bidder with a background so thoroughly concealed that even the Kane Family couldn't dig it up — that alone was enough to spark my interest and curiosity.