A Wrong Surrogate for the CEO-Chapter 124: Where is Lara?

Two weeks.

Fourteen days.

And still no trace of Lara.

Tension was high between everyone, and even though Laura was still helping out with the kids, she wasn’t talking to her brother.

Curtis, on the other hand, was so preoccupied with searching for his wife that he didn’t care about his sister’s silent treatment.

A sharp knock rapped on his door and the sound resounded through his study. He looked up from the document he was going through, and Lazarus walked in.

"Sir," Lazarus said as he saluted crisply.

"What’s the report?" he asked sharply, not giving a damn about pleasantries or respect at the moment.

Lazarus hid a wince at the question. He knew Curtis wasn’t going to like what he was about to say, but he had to say it regardless.

So he made sure his expression remained blank as he spoke.

"There’s no success sir. We have checked all the expensive and high end hotels, and there is no sign of her checking in into any of them. We also checked airports for both local and international flights. Her name didn’t come up. She’s still in the state, sir," he explained.

Curtis slammed his hands into his desk. "If she is still in the state, why is it taking you so long to find her? What is making it so fucking difficult?!" he yelled.

Lazarus’s expression remained blank. He said nothing, already used to his boss’s tirade since his wife went missing.

"We’ll keep looking for her, sir," Lazarus promised instead, saluted once more and walked out of the study.

Curtis slammed his hands into the desk as the door closed behind his bodyguard. To say he was frustrated was an understatement.

His entire mind was in shreds, out of control. He was only hanging on by a very tiny will of self control.

And even though Curtis knew that his bodyguards are the best in the entire state, even though he knew he should not take out his frustration on Lazarus, he could not help himself.

A mixture of rage and panic slushed through his veins, and Curtis knew it was only a matter of time before he lost it completely.

Where was Lara?

She had hidden herself very well, leaving no trace of where she could be. And no matter how many sleepless nights he had, he could not figure out where she was.

Kayla, Laura and his mother were searching too, but nobody knew where she was. Tension was running high between everyone, and Curtis was running in a very irritable mood that affected everyone around him.

But beneath that anger, underneath all of that panic and irritation and frustration he was feeling, there was an underlying emotion.

Fear.

Fear slammed into him with each breath he took, sealing his lungs and making it difficult — almost impossible — for him to breathe.

What if they never find her? What if she never comes back, and he was left all alone?

Worse, what if something had happened to her and he had no idea? What if she desperately needed his help and had no way to contact him?

A lot of what ifs crossed his mind, raising his fear level with each moment that passed.

With growing trepidation, Curtis hoped for the wellbeing of his wife. And her safe arrival back into his arms.

~~

"No news still?" Laura asked her mother. Lisa shook her head, eye bags visible under her eyes. She hadn’t slept in days.

Laura sighed, frustration coursing through her bones.

"I don’t understand. Where the hell could she be? With Curtis bodyguards and the private investigators we hired, Lara should not be hidden right now. But she is. And I can’t, for the life of me, figure out where she could be hiding. It’s so fucking exhausting!"

Lisa said nothing as she listened to her daughter rant. Laura ran a hand through her hair, repeatedly.

She just wanted her brother’s wife to come back. Laura was tired and exhausted and she was so fed up of being in other people’s business.

All she wanted was a quiet day with her own family, spend some time with her daughter and husband.

But here she was, stuck in her brother’s drama. And even though Laura loved Curtis to death, all she wanted at the moment was a damn break.

Away from all the hullabaloo.

She said nothing though, keeping her emotions tightly wound in her chest and preventing them from spilling out.

Lisa must have seen something in her eyes though, because she moved closer and placed her hand on Laura’s shoulders.

"I understand what you are feeling, love. I do. And it’s fine if you don’t want to do this anymore. That is a very valid reaction, sweetie. You don’t have to remain torn over it," she said with a smile.

Laura hated how much her mother was right. She threw her hands in the air, frustrated.

"But I can’t just walk away from this, from everything. I can’t. Curtis needs me. And I know that. I just...I just wish Lara hadn’t left. I am so tired," she groaned.

Lisa moved closer and gently patted Laura on the back, saying nothing at first.

"Very soon, Laura. Very soon. Everything will come to an end, and all the drama will cease," Lisa promised.

She wasn’t sure that it was going to happen, of course. All she wanted to do was comfort her daughter.

But Laura took her mother’s words to heart, desperately wishing for Lara to come back so that she would have more time to spend with her darling, dearest daughter.

~~

It was the middle of the night.

Lisa and Laura had had dinner before Laura eventually left, feeling better than she was earlier.

Left alone, Lisa had freshened up and got into bed. And even though she was so tired that she should have fallen asleep immediately, her heart was too heavy.

So sleep eluded her.

Her thoughts wandered over to Curtis, and her chest clenched at the pain in her heart. So much had happened between them.

Lisa could only hope that he would forgive her one day.

She eventually managed to push the thoughts away and was about to sleep when her phone buzzed with a text message.

The message was from Lara.