Chapter 117: Let’s go confront the lion in its den
He spoke without raising his voice, but every word carried the strain of someone who had been replaying the same nightmare for hours.
"Airport security searched the terminal and couldn’t find him. It’s like he vanished."
His gaze drifted toward the floor.
"I promised Kuro I’d get him out safely."
That was all he said.
He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
The guilt was already written across his face.
I felt some of the anger I’d been holding onto begin to loosen.
Not because grabbing me was acceptable.
It wasn’t.
But because I finally understood what had driven him here.
He wasn’t acting out of suspicion alone.
He was scared.
"What do you need from me?" I asked.
He looked up almost immediately.
"Access to the airport’s CCTV."
Susan folded her arms.
"The police won’t move fast enough, and by the time they do, whoever took Jade will have covered their tracks."
I considered that for a moment before looking back at Ethan.
"You think my grandfather is responsible."
"I think he’s the strongest lead we have."
It wasn’t an accusation.
It was worse.
It sounded like a conclusion he’d reached after exhausting every other possibility.
Susan didn’t soften it.
"If Katsuro wanted someone to disappear, he’s more than capable."
The words settled heavily between us.
Disappear.
I wanted to dismiss the idea outright.
To tell them they were wrong.
That Grandpa had many faults, but this—
The thought refused to finish itself.
Too many times I’d defended him.
Too many times I’d been forced to discover that the version of him I’d believed in no longer existed.
I looked away.
"I honestly don’t know anymore."
The admission hurt more than I expected.
No one spoke.
Outside, headlights swept briefly across the windows before disappearing again, leaving the room in silence.
After a while I said, "If Grandpa wanted someone dead, kidnapping wouldn’t be his first choice."
Susan frowned.
"You think Jade’s still alive?"
"I think..." I searched for the right words. "If this was his doing, something about it feels different."
Ethan watched me carefully.
"You believe that?"
"I don’t know what I believe anymore."
The words came out almost as quietly as the thought itself.
"But sitting here guessing isn’t going to help anyone."
I unlocked my phone.
"I know someone who might be able to access the airport’s surveillance system."
Ethan’s expression shifted for the first time since he’d arrived.
"Who?"
"Zach."
I found his number and pressed call.
It rang twice before someone answered.
"Good evening. This is Judith, Mr. Peddigton’s assistant."
I frowned.
"Is Zach there?"
"I’m afraid not."
"I need to speak to him. It’s urgent."
"I’m sorry, Miss Himari. Mr. Peddigton is unavailable until Tuesday."
"Tuesday?"
"He’s taking three days away from technology."
I stared at the phone in disbelief.
For a moment I wondered whether I’d dialed the wrong number.
Zach voluntarily avoiding technology was like asking the ocean to stop making waves.
"...Right," I said at last. "Please tell him I called."
"I will."
The call ended.
I lowered the phone slowly.
"What happened?" Ethan asked.
I let out a quiet breath that was somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
"Apparently Zach is on a digital detox."
Even Susan blinked.
"The hacker?"
"I had the same reaction."
Anna finally spoke after standing quietly through the entire conversation.
"That doesn’t sound like him."
"No," I agreed. "It doesn’t."
The thought lingered longer than it should have.
Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe it wasn’t.
Either way, Zach wasn’t answering.
That left us with one option.
I looked from Ethan to Susan before my eyes settled on the dark windows overlooking the estate.
"We’re wasting time chasing possibilities."
When I turned back, Ethan was already watching me.
"If we’re going to get answers..."
I slipped my phone into my pocket.
"...we need to ask the one man who might already have them."
A flicker of understanding crossed Ethan’s face.
"My grandfather."
No one argued.
There was nothing left to argue about.
Tomorrow, we would walk into Katsuro’s house together.
Whether Jade was there or not...
I was awake long before my alarm went off.
Sleep had been little more than a series of restless naps, each one ending with the same memories replaying in my mind. Ethan’s anger. The desperation in his eyes. The apology that followed. By the time morning arrived, I’d stopped trying to make sense of any of it.
One thing, however, was clear.
I’d promised to help him find Jade.
Whatever was left between us, I wasn’t going to turn my back on him when he needed me.
When I made my way downstairs, Yuki was already setting the dining table. She looked up as I entered, then quietly placed a cup of coffee in front of my usual seat before returning to what she was doing.
"Good morning, Miss Himari."
"Morning."
She paused just long enough to study my face.
"You didn’t sleep well."
It wasn’t a question.
I managed a faint smile as I wrapped both hands around the warm cup.
"I guess I’m not very good at hiding it."
"You never have been."
That earned a quiet laugh from me.
Yuki rarely offered comfort with words. She preferred small gestures instead, making sure breakfast was ready, remembering exactly how I liked my coffee, pretending not to notice when I picked at my food more than I ate it.
Somehow, those little things always meant more.
I finished breakfast in silence before heading outside.
Malik was already waiting beside the car.
The moment he saw me, he opened the rear door.
I stopped.
Anna looked up from her phone and smiled as though nothing about this was unusual.
"Morning."
I stared at her.
"Were you planning to tell me you were coming?"
"I just did."
I let out a quiet sigh.
"Anna..."
She slipped her phone into her handbag and looked at me with the kind of expression that told me she’d already made up her mind.
"If you’re walking into Katsuro Ishigami’s house after everything that’s happened, I’m coming with you."
"You don’t have to."
"I know."
There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation.
"But I’m still coming."
I held her gaze for a moment before giving up.
Some arguments simply weren’t worth having.
This was one of them.
I slid into the passenger seat just as another car rolled through the front gates.
Even before it stopped, I recognised it.
Ethan.
My heartbeat betrayed me immediately.
Then Susan stepped out after him.
The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Ethan walked over first, looking every bit as exhausted as he had the night before.
"I hope we didn’t keep you waiting."
"No," I replied, forcing my voice to remain steady. "We only got here ourselves."
His eyes met mine for the briefest moment.
He nodded politely.
Nothing more.
Not Raina.
Not Himari.
Not even a smile.
Just the distant courtesy people offered strangers.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, that hurt more than the argument we’d had the night before.
Anna’s gaze drifted between Ethan and Susan.
"So..."
Her tone was light, almost conversational.
"Did you two spend the night together?"
I closed my eyes.
Of course she would ask that.
Susan answered before Ethan had the chance.
"I stayed at his apartment."
Something tightened painfully in my chest.
I hated how quickly my mind filled in the blanks.
Ethan noticed the change in my expression almost immediately.
"In separate rooms," he said. "It was late, and I didn’t want her driving home by herself."
The tension eased before I could stop it.
I looked away, annoyed with myself for feeling relieved.
Susan noticed.
She didn’t say anything, but the brief glance she gave me made it impossible to tell whether she’d been watching for exactly that reaction.
Anna seemed satisfied enough to leave the subject alone.
"Good," she said, clapping her hands together once. "Now that everyone’s here, let’s stop wasting daylight."
She held out her hand toward Malik.
"I’ll drive."
Malik looked to me for confirmation.
I nodded.
Without a word, he placed the keys in her hand.
"Please be careful, Miss Anna."
She smiled as she accepted them.
"I always am."
The doubtful look Malik gave her suggested he wasn’t entirely convinced.
I couldn’t really blame him.
A few moments later, Anna started the engine and pulled away from the house, Ethan’s sedan falling in behind us as the gates slowly closed in our rearview mirror.
None of us said much.
The city drifted past outside the windows while my thoughts remained somewhere between the conversation we’d had the night before and the one waiting for us ahead.
For the first time in my life...
I was on my way to question my grandfather.
And I wasn’t sure which answer frightened me more.
That he knew nothing...
Or that he knew everything.
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