My Husband Beat Me for Exposing His Corporate Fraud, Not His Affair — But He Underestimated an Immigrant's Fight for Justice
The urgency intensified, each passing hour feeling like a lost opportunity. Robert’s public acquisition announcement had galvanized Linh and Sarah, but it also painted a grim picture of their rapidly shrinking window of opportunity. They needed to find Brenda, or the physical ledger, and they needed it now.
Linh, with Kevin’s help, began trying to track Brenda Holloway. They called her office, her known cell number, even her apartment. Each attempt was met with silence, or a pre-recorded message stating the number was no longer in service. A cold dread settled in Linh’s stomach.
“Her office voicemail is full,” Kevin reported, his face grim. “And the main line for Holloway Solutions just rings to a generic corporate answering service. No one is picking up.”
“Try her apartment,” Linh urged, her voice tight with anxiety. “Maybe she’s just avoiding calls.”
Kevin found Brenda’s apartment building address and checked for any recent activity. There was none. No utility shut-offs, but also no recent deliveries, no mail hold. It was as if she had simply ceased to exist.
“This isn’t right,” Linh murmured, pacing Aunt Mai’s small living room. “Brenda wouldn’t just vanish without a trace. She’s opportunistic, yes, but she’s not reckless.”
Linh tried calling Sarah Jenkins again.
“Brenda’s gone,” Linh told her, her voice strained. “Her office is empty, her phone disconnected. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”
Sarah was silent for a moment, absorbing the news.
“I’ve had my contacts in legal try to reach her as well,” Sarah finally said, her voice heavy. “No luck. Her staff seems to be in disarray, telling us she’s ‘on an extended leave’.”
“Robert silenced her, didn’t he?” Linh asked, the horrifying thought forming in her mind. “He got rid of her to protect himself.”
“It’s certainly a possibility,” Sarah conceded, her tone cautious. “Robert doesn’t leave loose ends. Brenda knew too much about the predatory schemes and his personal involvement. She was a liability, both professionally and personally.”
The thought of Brenda, a woman who had, in her own way, been a victim of Robert’s manipulation, now potentially silenced or disappeared, sent a fresh wave of fear through Linh. Robert’s ruthlessness knew no bounds. He was not just ruining lives; he was erasing them.
“Kevin, can you go to her office?” Linh asked, turning to Aunt Mai’s grandson. “See if there’s anything left, anything at all.”
Kevin, though clearly uncomfortable with the idea of a physical investigation, nodded his assent. He returned an hour later, his face pale.
“Her office is cleared out,” Kevin reported, his voice hushed. “Completely. It looks like it was done quickly. Papers everywhere, but nothing substantial. Just junk.”
He pulled a small, ceramic mug from his bag, its surface emblazoned with a faded, childish drawing of a cat.
“This was the only personal item I found,” Kevin said, holding it out. “It was in the waste bin. Everything else, pictures, plants, personal effects, all gone.”
Linh took the mug, her fingers tracing the faded drawing. It was a cheap, sentimental item, clearly a gift from a child. The sight of it, tossed carelessly into a waste bin, was a specific, mundane cruelty. It spoke volumes about Robert’s cold efficiency, his utter disregard for Brenda’s personal life or feelings during the hurried “clean out.” He didn’t just want her gone; he wanted every trace of her existence erased, even her sentimental connections.
“She either fled in fear, knowing Robert was about to throw her under the bus, or Robert facilitated her disappearance,” Sarah speculated over the phone, after Linh relayed Kevin’s findings. “Either way, she’s gone. And with her, a critical piece of our puzzle.”
Linh stood holding the mug, feeling a profound sense of despair. Brenda, the mistress, the complicit partner, was now a ghost, leaving Linh to wonder if she was now completely out of reach. The deadline loomed, Brenda was gone, and the physical ledger remained hidden. It felt like all avenues were closing in on her. The silence from Holloway Solutions’ empty office echoed Robert’s chilling message: he was untouchable.
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