Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring
Billionaire Shadow 13

Chapter 13

Alexander sped back to the hospital, his mind whirlwind with frustrations and determination. How had he not noticed her sooner? She had been right there, within reach, and yet he'd allowed her to slip through his fingers. It felt like a failure of the worst kind, and the guilt gnawed at him. If only he had looked around the hall more closely, if only he hadn't allowed himself to be wrapped up in useless conversations. He gritted his teeth as a surge of anger rose within him, while he promised to fix his mistake. Nothing else mattered now, neither die event nor even Mrs. Walker. All that matter was finding Emma Black.

Kevin met him in the hall; his expression was urgent as he handed over a file. "She came in at least three hours before anyone else did. She has been working under the fame Veronica Moore at some flower shop downtown," Kevin told him with a cautious, steady tone. Alexander let out a slow breath as his brain tried hard to work out this revelation. Emma had changed her name, her job, and her entire life just so that she could get away from him. She had hidden so effectively that even the best of his efforts ar tracking her down had failed. But why? flow could things have gone so horribly wrong between them that she needed to erase her existence and disappear?

Kevin handed him a slip of paper with an address scrawled on it. Alexander took it, his fingers closing tightly around the piece of paper as frustration washed anew over him. How could she have gone to such lengths, just because of their divorce. to erase herself completely? The more he thought about it, the more it appeared she'd actually planned it all along, just waiting for an excuse to make her escape. Whatever her reasons, he'd had enough of her games. Her charade was over, and he would bring her back whether she liked it or not

Vent Emma speaking with Mrs. He shot a sideways glance at Kevin. His mind flickered back to what he had seen at the Walker as if they had known each other all their lives, Mrs. Walker's arm affectionately around her, the way Mrs. Walker was looking at her... The warmth there was far too deep. What was going on while he'd been away, working his ass off as his office? What had Emma been up to these last few months?

He slid into his car, motioning to Kevin to join him as determination hardened his features. He sped toward her address, trying to shut the doubts, the swirling questions, that had taken root in his mind. He would get his answers tonight, one way or another. Emma's escape was over.

Alexander sped into the quiet neighborhood, the streetlights casting an eerie glow as he parked in front of the small apartment complex. The address Kevin had given him was supposed to be her new haven, her hideaway and, he'd expected to walk through those doors and finally find her, but upon entering, he found an empty apartment greeted by a cold, hollow

silence.

The room was clean, free of any hint of her presence. She'd managed to slip right through his fingers yet again, poofed into thin air. His fists knotted into balls and his knuckles turned white Emma might think she could outsmart him again but she was in for a rude awakening of who she was really dealing with.

He turned around, his anger barely contained, and stormed back toward his car, Kevin close on his heels. "I want everything you can get me regarding that flower shop she is working at," he said over his shoulder to his assistant, his voice cold and sure. "Every little detail of her life as Veronica Moore," he commanded, the name itself leaving a sour-miste in his mouth as he spoke it. The lengths to which she had gone to hide from hire to carve out this new identity in detail, it was almost impressive. Almost!

The night fell into thick silence and Alexander booked a room in the rundown hotel, just a few blocks from the flower shop. It was shabby, really below his standard, but he didn't care. Tonight, he was ready to pass through hell and back, just so he could get closer to finding her. Annie's repeated calls flashed across his phone, lighting up her name against the darkened screen. Each time he ignored it, each ring grating against already raw nerves. Eventually, he would deal with her, but tonight his thoughts belonged to only one person and one person alone

Sitting in the dimly lit room, staring out the window toward the lower shop that he planned to visit the next morning. His mind replayed that night he had spoken to her regarding the divorce and every word she'd spoken before she left. Why did she feel the urge to disappear, to erase her existence so completely? Part of him felt a burn of betrayal. What if? He shook

12:48 Tue, Dec 17 G.

Chapter 13

his head. There was no fucking way! All he knew was that this time he couldn't let her go, not without understanding why she'd run.

ААА

As Emma quickened her pace down the hallway towards her apiment, she was suddenly stopped cold in her tracks when she saw men removing what looked very much like her belongings out of the door. Shocked and in a state of unter disbely, she watched these men while staying in the shadows.

Her blood ran cold as it dawned on her that Alexander had located her and there would be no more hiding.

Okay normal day, she would have stormed up to the men, demanding they stop, fought for what little she had left. But that fire was no longer hers alone to ignite, two little lives were growing inside her, and she would do absolutely anything in her power to protect them. As much as her spirit screamed for her to confront them, her maternal instinct told her to stay back, to remain unseen, to keep her precious secret hidden from Alex at all costs. She couldn't risk him discovering her pregnancy, he would use it to pull her back into his life, binding her to him just as surely as chains. She wouldn't let her children be caught in his dark web,

So, she waited in the darkness, her heart breaking with every piece of her life being hauled away. To lose it all within a blink of an eye, was a thought too terrible to bear. Tears began silently sliding down her cheeks, and she fought the urge to cry out, to stop them somehow. But deep inside, she knew it was futile because she had lost this battle before it had even begun. By the time the last box was being loaded and the car zoomed off until the darkness, she'd thought it might be over but right then, she saw his car pull up, the headlights piercing through the night. Alexander stepped out, surveying the area with that familiar air of ownership, gaze cold and unyielding. He was hunting her, just as he always had when he wanted something. She forced herself to turn away now, openly crying as she headed in the other direction, her shaking legs carrying her as far

they could. Every step felt heavier than the one before it, yet her mind was clear with one determination, she would protect her children, even if everything else was the cost.

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Emma left, her feet raw but her only conscious thought was to get out of his reach as far as posy. Her life, freedom, and the future of her children depended upon it. SEND GIFT