Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 500

The Meyer Group promptly held a press conference. After a few days of volatility, stock prices began to normalize. All was returning to its usual ebb and flow.

For several days, Ines was bombarded with comforting calls from colleagues and friends. At first, she would engage with them, but eventually, she stopped picking up the calls altogether. She didn’t need this kind of comfort. The more they tried, the more it seemed to exacerbate her pain.

There was still no word from Ethan. Ines was forced to resume her regular life, splitting her time between the Meyer Group and the Galeana Group, always seemingly buried under a mountain of work.

She started to dread going home, only finding solace in watching her two little ones sleep. Sometimes, she would spend the entire night sleepless. She could only numb herself with work, exhausting herself to the point of collapse in order to get a few hours of rest.

A week flew by, and Ines went from hopeful to anxious, comforting herself with the phrase “no news is good news.” Sometimes, she would wake up startled from a nightmare, dreaming of Ethan lying alone and neglected in a field of weeds. His body was bloated and his features were twisted, but she knew, it was him.

It was in these moments that she truly understood how Ethan must have felt when she was unconscious. Such feelings could only truly be understood through personal experience.

Ines rolled over in bed, and tears started to flow. As time passed, Ethan’s scent was fading. She lay in bed for a while, still without any desire to sleep. She got up for another early morning. She kissed the cheeks of her little ones, and then went downstairs.

Jacob was already up, eating his breakfast. With the case investigation wrapped up, he had resumed work. There was a pile of messy affairs waiting for him.

“Izzy, come join me?” Jacob waved at her.

“Jacob.”

Jacob glanced at Ines’ face. “Izzy, you haven’t been resting well, have you? You look awful.”

“I’ve been having some insomnia,” Ines confessed honestly.

“Izzy, you need to take care of yourself. The kids are still young.”

“Don’t worry, Jacob. I know. Do you have something to tell me?” Ines sensed that Jacob wouldn’t call her over without reason. He seemed to be purposely waiting for her today.

Jacob nodded. “Izzy, about that time you were stabbed outside the office, I have evidence now. It was Silvia who instigated it. The perpetrator was her patient, suffering from severe intermittent psychosis. She hypnotically induced him.”

“So it was her.” Ines’ voice was calm, but her eyebrows furrowed.

“We’re planning to arrest her now, but I’m uncertain about her mental state. I don’t want more complications. I want to hear your thoughts.”

“Izzy, the reason I told you this is to remind you to spend more time on your children, no matter what happens in the future. A family is crucial for a child’s growth.” Jacob had his own motives for saying this. Ethan had been missing for ten days, and the future was uncertain.

Ines had been numbing herself with work, relying on her inner hope to keep going. This was not sustainable. If the worst-case scenario happened and something had happened to Ethan, Ines would undoubtedly be the most affected.

Ines was always a smart person. Even if Jacob didn’t explicitly point it out, she understood his underlying meaning. He was worried she might follow Ethan. That was probably why he had wanted to talk to her. Silvia’s case was just an example. A child from a twisted family could easily go to extremes. But what about a child without parents? How pitiful that would be. He was trying to tell her that the two children couldn’t live without her.

Ines felt a lump in her throat, and for a moment she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t imagine life without Ethan, but those two adorable children were also her treasures. How could she bear to leave them? Now, only when she saw them could she manage a genuine smile.

As Ines stayed silent, Jacob continued, “Izzy, what I just said might be a bit harsh, but it is what everyone is most worried about.”

“Jacob, I understand. I have a plan in my mind.” She also believed that Ethan would definitely come back. He would never abandon her and their children.

Ines didn’t have breakfast at home. Instead, she packed some food and ate it in the car. She had barely left when everyone else began to emerge from their rooms. Tears threatened to fall from Ashley’s eyes as she said, “She must’ve deliberately avoided us. She probably can’t bear to be around us. It’ll remind her of Ethan.”

The mood around the room darkened and Lauren, in an effort to lighten it, smoothed down Ashley’s hair, lowering her voice to say, “Ashley, let’s not talk about this anymore.” No one dared to mention Ethan at home, for every mention of his name only served to reopen old wounds.