Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Day She Vanished, His Mistress Won: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 7

The wind lashed cold rain against the window. I sat on the living room couch, my fingers turning white from clenching so hard.I heard the sound of a turning key coming from the entryway. Callum Kilbourne strolled through the door, the notes of the perfume Lena Morrison always used lingering just beneath the sharp scent of alcohol on him. My nose prickled at the pungent, assaulting scent.Courtesy of my keen werewolf sense of smell, I'd learned that Callum and Lena's so-called flirting had gone beyond usual work banter the first time she dropped off paperwork at our home.I hadn't cared at first. After all, this marriage had been self-serving for Callum and me from the start. I needed his resources for my mother's medical treatment, and he needed a seemingly decent mate to secure his position.But now, five-year-old Mia Kilbourne had gone missing."Where's Mia?" I stood up, my voice trembling.Callum loosened his tie and growled in annoyance, "What about Mia?""Mia's missing. Yo

My phone suddenly rang, and my heart lurched to a stop when I saw the patrol team's number flashing on the screen. I put the call through without a second thought. "Hello? Have you found Mia?""Ms. Townsend, we've gone through more security footage from the surrounding area and found new leads. We've more or less ascertained the area your daughter last appeared in. Please come by if you have the time." The enforcer werewolf's tone was grave."Yes, of course. I'm on my way!" My head buzzed with joy and relief. I hung up, then grabbed my coat and bolted out of the house.I hesitated before leaving, and in the end, I called Callum over and over. He was Mia's father, after all, and I wanted him to be there when we picked her up.Alas, the only voice that greeted me on the other line was the cold, mechanical one that informed me his phone was turned off.Gritting my teeth, I hailed a cab and headed straight to the patrol team's office. The werewolf that greeted me was the enforcer were

I didn't immediately head to the pack tribunal to apply for a bond dissolution. I knew now was not the time to dissolve my bond with Callum; I had to settle my mother's score and find Mia first.Callum might be stubborn, but he wasn't a fool.He would have gotten suspicious following my mother's death and Mia's disappearance, especially after I'd suggested we dissolve our bond. Now, there was a critical undertone to his gaze whenever he looked at Lena.I knew this was my chance.I began rifling through the things Mia had left behind, hoping to find more leads. It was in her bedroom that I found the sketchbook she usually doodled in. Dried tear-streaks stained the last few pages, on which was Mia's wobbly handwriting."Daddy's at the mining area."Ms. Beta's taking me there."Will Mommy miss me?"The words carved my heart like a knife. Mia must have drawn and written these after Lena said she was taking Mia to see Callum at the mining area.I clutched the sketchbook, my nails n

I didn't hear about Lena after she was exiled from the pack, not that I had to be a genius to know how hard it was for a Rogue to survive without the pack's protection.I felt neither vindication nor relief following Lena's rightful punishment, only an endless hollowness and grief over Mia. My mother's passing and Mia's disappearance were like two wounds that would never heal, permanently etched over my heart.I began to sort out the paperwork for the bond dissolution and handed it in to the pack tribunal. However, Callum poured crazy effort into stopping me, seeking me out again and again to apologize. He told me he'd learned his lesson and asked for a second chance."Ayla, I know I was a prick before. I shouldn't have treated you like dirt and sided with Lena all the time. I should have been a more present father to Mia." Callum got on his knees before me with regret in his eyes. "Please give me another chance."I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll do my best to find Mia. I'l