CHAPTER 235: THE NEW ASSISTANT

Logan blinked, momentarily surprised by the question. His brows relaxed a fraction as he answered, steady and calm.

"Her name is Amara. Henry is on leave for a few days, so I appointed her temporarily to assist me until he returns," He explained. "That’s all. Why do you ask?"

Jean looked away for a moment, her knuckles tightening around the folder she held. She had not meant to sound so sharp... it wasn’t like her to question him like that. Yet seeing Amara so close to Logan had stirred something raw inside her chest.

Logan, sensing the shift in her expression, stepped closer. "Jean, what’s wrong? You didn’t come here just to ask about her, did you?"

His tone was softer now... concerned and almost protective. Jean met his gaze, swallowing back the hesitation.

"Emma is missing, Logan," She said, her voice dropping to an unsteady whisper. "I need your help to find her. Before anyone else does."

At that, Logan’s entire demeanor shifted. His jaw tensed, and worry creased his brow. "Missing? When? How?" he pressed, voice low and urgent.

Jean exhaled shakily, finally voicing what had weighed on her since morning.

"We don’t know yet. But if we don’t act now, I’m afraid Alex or someone else might get to her first."

The playful, teasing Logan from moments ago vanished. In his place stood the man Jean knew she could rely on. Resolute, protective, and already calculating what steps to take next.

"Then let’s not waste another second," He said, determination flashing in his eyes. "Tell me everything you know."

___________________________

As Jean spoke... hurried words spilling out about Emma, about Morris’s outburst, about her fear of Alex finding Emma first... She noticed something in Logan’s eyes.

It was fleeting, but it caught her off guard.

A quiet relief.

Not the usual controlled calm she’d come to expect from him, nor the cool calculation he wore in meetings or crisis. Instead, it was as if, for just a heartbeat, he was thankful. Thankful that she had come to him... that she trusted him enough to lean on him in her worst moments.

Jean paused, her breath catching in her chest.

Was he really... relieved?

Logan, catching her eyes lingering on him, straightened and masked it quickly behind his usual resolve.

"Thank you for coming to me first," He said, his voice softer now. "We’ll find Emma. Together."

That word... together... made something ache deep inside her.

Jean swallowed, realizing that behind all the walls Logan built, there was still that man who only wanted her to see him not as an enemy, not as a convenient partner, but as someone she could truly rely on.

And maybe... she did. Even more than she dared to admit.

Jean exchanged a glance with Hannah, her voice a little hesitant but firm. "Logan... maybe we should tell Henry, too," She suggested. "He deserves to know Emma is missing. After all, he never stopped visiting her, even when she was in the coma."

Hannah nodded quickly, adding, "Henry truly cares about her. He might know something, or at least help us trace where she could’ve gone."

Logan thought for a beat, his gaze softening just slightly before hardening again with decision.

"You’re right," He agreed. "Henry should know. And if there’s anyone who could help us piece this together, it’s him."

Without wasting another moment, Logan pulled his phone closer and dialed Henry’s number.

The call rang once.

Twice.

Then it cut off.

Logan frowned and tried again, this time waiting longer, fingers drumming restlessly against the desk.

But again... nothing. The call went straight to voicemail.

"His phone’s unreachable," Logan muttered, worry starting to cloud his usually composed expression.

Jean felt a cold ripple of dread run down her spine. "Henry... wouldn’t just vanish like this, would he?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Logan met her gaze, troubled how to piece this information together. "No," he answered. "He wouldn’t. Which means either something happened to him... or..."

He didn’t finish the sentence, but the silence that fell between them spoke volumes.

Hannah swallowed hard, breaking the heavy pause. "Then we need to hurry. Whatever is happening... it’s bigger than we thought."

Logan nodded, jaw tight. "We’ll find them both... Emma and Henry. Before Alex, or anyone else, can."

______________________

Inside Logan’s office, Jean, Hannah, and Logan gathered around as the private investigator they’d hired... a sharp eyed woman named Priya connected her laptop to the screen.

"I’ve pulled the hospital CCTV footage and the parking lot feed from the night Emma disappeared," Priya began, her voice calm but tight with urgency.

Jean’s breath caught as the video played. On screen, they saw Emma’s corridor late at night... lights dim, the nurses’ station empty. Suddenly, a man entered the frame. His face was hidden behind a surgical mask and a scrub cap, his posture calm but hurried.

The investigator pointed, freezing the frame. "He goes straight into Emma Adams’s room," She explained.

The video resumed. Minutes later, the masked man wheeled Emma out in a wheelchair, a blanket covering her, her head lulled gently to the side.

Logan’s brows furrowed. His sharp eyes narrowed on the masked figure’s frame, the subtle familiarity of the way he moved... The careful, protective hold on the wheelchair handles.

"Wait," Logan murmured, leaning closer. "Rewind that. Slow it down."

The footage replayed, slower this time. The man pushed the wheelchair with a distinct gentleness, as if terrified of causing Emma harm.

"It’s the way he walks," Logan muttered under his breath. His gaze hardened, voice dropping. "It looks like Henry."

Jean’s heart dropped at those words.

"Henry? But why would he do this?" She whispered, shaken.

Logan didn’t look away from the screen, his expression torn between worry and suspicion.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "But he wouldn’t hurt Emma. That’s the only thing I’m sure of."

Hannah swallowed hard, voice small but determined.

"If it is Henry... maybe he knew Emma was in danger at the hospital. Maybe he took her to protect her."

The investigator nodded slightly. "That could be possible. He left through the service exit... cameras there were conveniently disabled. But there’s one more thing," She added, clicking to the parking lot footage.