The Royal Contract

Chapter 1201  Vanish without a trace

He could tell that his friends were keeping something from him. But he could not ruin the evening by prying for more details. He could see the excitement in his wife's eyes when they told them about the good news.

He could not destroy her happiness by snooping around for information. He did not want his wife to worry unless he had confirmed his gut feeling about his sister's current situation.

Still, he knew something was not right. However, he had to wait until he saw Alex later to verify his suspicion. Until then, he could only hope that he was wrong.

"Alona." He greeted her on the phone as he called her directly. "Can you squeeze me into Alex's schedule?" He knew that his friend had a full calendar today. But he needed more than five minutes of his time.

He had to talk to his friend about her sister and his late boyfriend. He had to know what was happening with their investigation into his death. Then, he had to find his sister, who he believed might be in trouble.

Although she called to tell him she was ok, he still felt something was amiss. His sister would not suddenly drop everything to go on sabbatical leave indefinitely. It was not like her.

"Marcus, I will check. Give me a minute." Alex's assistant told him, making him wait a few seconds as she shuffled through her calendar or papers before returning to respond to his request.

"Can I see him today?" Under a different circumstance, he would barge into his friend's office if it had been a business-related emergency.

But this had nothing to do with his job but personal. And he could not say if it warranted an emergency classification since Haley insisted that she just needed time to be alone.

"Ok. I think I can fit you in before lunch." Alona said, pointing out that Alex already had a scheduled lunch meeting with a client.

He understood that the company kept growing and expanding under his friend's management. But his friend could not handle it alone. Even his obligations had increased tenfold, requiring him to add more people for the expansion.

Fortunately, Dani had decided to return to work soon. They could use all the help they could find until the company settled and stabilized. Until then, they would be in for a bumpy ride. With one mistake, they could lose millions instead of gaining one.

"Great. Thanks, Alona." He said before hanging up the phone. When he checked his watch, he saw that he still had time to work on some of his cases before marching to his friend's office.

He threw himself to work, distracting himself with the millions of things he had to do. He could deal with the problem later when he had his chance to chat with his friend.

However, halfway through his work, his secretary knocked on his door, informing him that he had a visitor. But he was not in his scheduled appointment.

"I told you. I don't want any interruptions." He told her secretary, who looked apologetic. There was a reason he did not set any appointments with anyone. He had tons of paperwork to review and sort out.

"But Sir, he insisted on seeing you at this instant." His secretary seemed conflicted between him and whoever it was demanding to see him. "He said..."

"Tell him to set an appointment," Marcus ordered, not wanting to meet with anyone. He did not even bother to glance at her as he continued working on his documents.

"Not even your father." Another voice joined the conversation. But this time, he knew this man was not going away. "I am sure you can make an exception for your old man."

The unexpected and unwanted visitor did not even wait for his invitation as he strode inside his office like he owned the damn place. But he already expected this from his father, who did not give a damn about him.

Suddenly, he was alert and alarmed to see the man who gave him life but did not bother to acknowledge his existence unless it suited him, like today.

"You can go." He waved his hand to his secretary, who was shocked, learning that this man was his father. He could not blame her. Very few knew who his father was, while the rest assumed he did not have one.

He never liked talking about his parents. He had long accepted that he was alone. His biological parents were not dead, but to him, more or less, they already were.

He had long pretended his parents left him orphaned at an early age. The only family he had was his sister. Then, his wife, who was carrying his child.

"How are you, Marcus?" The man he hardly knew spoke to him as he took a vacant seat before his table. "I am sorry that you lost your baby. I am..."

But he did not let his father finish his sentence. He did not need his sympathy. He did not need anything from him. He had survived without him. He would continue living without requiring his presence in his life.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Rosley? But mind you. I can only spare you five minutes." He addressed him as just another man who wanted something from him. It was the only probable reason he was here, looking directly into his face.

"Always direct to the point." His father answered, leaning back on the chair and relaxing his body while he stared into his eyes. "Can't a father see his son?"

Suddenly, he could not stop the laughter that rushed out of his mouth. His father was not a comedian, not one bit, but what he said was hilarious. He knew he mocked the man who gave him life. But he did not care.

He did not deserve even one ounce of respect coming from him. He chose to abandon him because of what his mother did to him. His father did not even consider he was only an innocent child caught in his parents' feud.

"State your business because I have no time for your bullshit." He was running out of patience as he glanced at his watch to make his point that his time was also running out.

His father did not look fazed by his reaction. On the contrary, he seemed amused rather than irritated by his blatant disrespect. But they both knew that they had never seen things eye to eye.

The only connection they had was Haley. He would never even have bothered talking to this man if not for his sister. Haley was the only blood relative that he would consider his family.

"You have not changed. And here I thought you might have softened up now that you are married. But I do wish you had invited me to the wedding. I would have loved to meet your wife." He said, not in a hurry at all to end their unscheduled meeting.

"If you have nothing else to say, my door is open. Feel free to show yourself at the door." He pointed at the exit at his father's back.

He had no time for chitchats. And nothing about their conversation was pleasant. Not by a long shot. He would prefer to talk to the lions, snakes, and even the crocodiles in the wild than make idle conversation with this man.

"Ok. I will stop talking about you. But I have another reason for coming here." His father finally admitted.

But this time, he could see the uneasiness in his eyes. A telltale sign that he meant business. But what could his father want from him? Then, something clicked in his mind.

"If you are here to waste my time..." He was about to tell his father to go to hell, but his father stopped him.

"Where is Haley? Where are you keeping her?" His father's accusatory tone denoted his seriousness. Gone were his playful banters.

Suddenly, he was more alarmed by his sister's situation. It would seem that it was worse than he thought. Usually, Haley told their father all her plans.

She idolized him. She worshipped the floor he walked on. It was the reason Haley had become an architect just like him. She wanted to please their father in every possible way.

"What do you mean? Is Haley missing?" He was more confused by the situation. He was not faking it since he had no idea where his sister was. "What made you think that I am hiding her from you?"

Suddenly, he became suspicious that his father might have something to do with Haley's disappearance. Did Haley finally realize what a scam bag their father was? Did she run away? But why did she not tell him about this?

He could not help but worry about his sister's condition. Where did she go? If his father could not find her, someone had made an effort to make her disappear. He doubted that Haley could have done this without any assistance.

Suddenly, he wondered if that was Alex and Dani's secret. Did they help her sister to escape and hide? Should he share his thoughts with his father? No, it was a bad idea.

"Because Haley would surely come to you for help." His father said as his voice rose a bit higher.

He could see that he was trying to stay calm, but his eyes and voice had given him away. He could finally see that his father was desperate. He had finally lost control over his sister.

"But what did you do?" He asked his father, finally convinced that his father might have participated in Haley's decision to vanish without a trace.