Twisted Ties of Love

As Casey's search for Izabella continued, his mind couldn't help but reel back to the day at the amusement park when the turbo drop malfunctioned. Izabella had burst out in a moment of raw emotion.

- "It wasn't an accident!"

Since that day, Casey noticed a change in Izabella. She seemed distant, lost in her own world, her spirit seemingly adrift.

He had thought she was merely shaken by the scare, reassuring her gently, without really taking her words about the accident to heart.

But now, with Brett missing, the incident in amusement park and Izabella's sudden departure, it was all too easy to connect the dots.

Izabella was with Brett.

It was the possibility Casey dreaded most. He knew Brett's ruthless ways all too well and how terrified Izabella was of him. He couldn't forget that once before, Izabella had nearly met her end at Brett's hands. Casey clenched his fist tightly, and in a moment of uncontrolled rage, he slammed his fist into the wall. His fingers turned crimson, the pain close to that of a fracture, but his fear overshadowed any physical sensation. His grip remained firm, his joints straining against his skin.

Soon after, Bunny heard of Izabella's disappearance and sought out Casey, fresh from the hospital. Her mind, too, went straight to Brett.

Piecing together the timeline of Izabella's departure, it was clear that the biggest shift had been in the stock performance of the Dempsey Group. Shares that had been languishing were now on the rise, and companies that had previously refused partnership were suddenly eager to collaborate.

Brett had engineered the Dempsey Group's crisis, all for the sake of possessing Izabella. Without his relenting grip, such a swift turnaround for the company would have been impossible. So, Izabella really was with Brett.

She had sacrificed herself, gone to Brett's side, to secure peace for the Dempsey Group.

As realization dawned, Bunny stumbled back, her hand covering her mouth as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

How could she be so foolish?

Hadn't she told her time and again? The Dempsey family craved her presence, not the company. Money was extrinsic; it could be re-earned. But life, there was only one, and this naive girl seemed to have cas it aside so carelessly.

Bunny's tears flowed in the solitude of the restroom. After composing herself, with her eyes still rimmed red, she steeled herself and went to find Casey.

It was from his assistant that Bunny learned Casey had been hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis the day before, and had discharged himself after only three hours' rest to continue his search for Izabella. Without any lead on her whereabouts, he hadn't rested, driven only by his obsessive need to find her.

Seeing him now, his complexion ashen, lips tinged with a worrying shade of blue, Bunny feared he would end up hospitalized like his father.

Casey stood in the biting cold, making phone calls, his features marked by illness.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

When he finally put away his phone, Bunny approached and asked, "Any news of her?"

He shook his head, his eyes, usually

bright, now

dull and shadowed. After

a pause, he spoke with cracked lips, "I've lost her again. If I had realized what was happening sooner, maybe she wouldn't have left. I wasn't strong enough, so she didn't trust me...she chose to leave..

Before he could finish, Bunny wrapped him in an embrace, her voice tender, "Her leaving has nothing to do with you. It's not that you lost her. She left because she cared too much about you."

As she spoke, she gently patted his

е

him

back. But no matter how much Bunny consoled him, Casey couldn't settle down. He had disliked Brett from the very moment he met at the orphanage; didn't like the way Brett treated Izabella. Back then, Casey had wanted to take Brett

down.

If he had acted on his impulse, would all this have been avoided? Izabella wouldn't have died, wouldn't have suffered.

Now, every time Casey closed his eyes, he saw Izabella's face, her eyes red with tears, beckoning him for help.

"I'll look for Izabella." Bunny said, "You need to rest. Your health comes first. Don't end up in the hospital like your father." "Mom, I can't calm down."

"If you can't rest, then at least go to the office and deal with the business. We've had a lot of calls from partners today. There are a lot to attend to."

It was better to be busy there than to be out here in the cold.

"She's gone now."

Pressing her lips, Bunny fell silent.

He continued, "Call me willful or reckless, but I only took over the Dempsey family business because of her. I wanted to keep the Dempsey Group from bankruptcy, just to spare Izabella the guilt of her own thoughts.

I understand everything. I've done

the best to keep her, but she still left, fearing she'd be a burden to the Dempsey family, to me. But all I ever wanted was her. Now she's gone: If I had known this would be the end, I wouldn't have cared if the Dempsey Group had gone under from the start."

His words were casual, but they sent a chill through Bunny. Nevertheless, she quickly regained her composure.

Casey's eyes reddened as he stepped back, distancing himself from Bunny, "I'm sorry, Mom. Now that she's gone, I don't have the will to run the company anymore. I just want to find her. I've missed out on so much with her already; I can't miss out again."