Healing hearts

Chapter thirty four

Cassie's pov

When Xander left that night, I fell asleep waiting for him to get back. The next morning, I woke up and he still wasn't home. I was worried and had a terrible feeling about it. I tried calling his phone, but it wasn't going through.

Stella came in later and I asked her if she had heard from him. "No," she said. "I was actually came by to see him,  I need to talk to him."

I was worried sick and kept calling his phone, but it still wasn't going through. I asked Stella to watch my son while I went somewhere . She asked if everything was okay, and I told her I wasn't sure.

I went to my dad's house to ask for his help. He told me Brian had been missing since the night before. I was confused. My dad needed him for something, and he had no idea why he wasn't back yet . The last he heard, Brian had gone to a bar in midtown.

I was so confused about what had happened to Brian, but I was even more worried about my husband. My dad called a friend of his who was a cop and explained that my husband hadn't been home since the night before. The cop asked where he had gone, and I told him the last I knew, he had gone to see his friends, Ryan and Shawn. The cop said he would investigate, but that he couldn't do too much until after 48 hours had passed. If we hadn't heard from my husband by then, I should come in and make a formal complaint. I thanked the cop and he left.

I told my dad I was so scared and he promised that everything would be okay. He kept trying to call Brian, but his phone wasn't going through either. I went home and Stella asked what had happened and where Xander was. I told her he had left to see his friends the night before and hadn't come home since. I told her how worried I was. She called Mia and asked if she knew where those guys were, but Mia said she had no idea.

Stella became worried too and tried Xander's number again, but it still wasn't going through. "Let's go to the police," she said to me. "I have a terrible feeling about this."

"I already did," I said. "They said to make a formal complaint after 48 hours have passed."

"Do you know the club he went to last night?" she asked me. "No, he never told me." I replied

We waited for a long time, and when we still hadn't seen him, I started to panic. I was so worried.

My dad called and said they had found Xander's car. It was in the same club that Brian had gone to. I went there with Stella, dropping my son off with my mom first.

When we arrived, I saw Xander's car, and my worry intensified. We questioned the people who worked there and they confirmed that Xander had indeed come to the club, but they hadn't seen him leave. We searched the club, but there was no trace of him or anything at all.

I asked about Ryan and Shawn, and the man there told us that Xander had been with them, but he didn't know what happened after that. I broke down. "What did those bastards do to my husband?" I cried. This was a serious issue. My dad said he would try to trace Xander's phone and that I should go home and take care of my baby.

That night, I couldn't relax. I was sure that Xander was in trouble, and Brian too - we hadn't heard from him either. The next day, I couldn't bring myself to go to the office. My dad tried to track the phones, but the lines had been cut off. I filed a formal complaint at the police station and they promised to do everything they could. I told them the prime suspects were Ryan and Shawn.

I cried and my mom comforted me. My dad was trying to balance the business and look for his son and my husband, and it wasn't easy. I could see how worried he was about Brian. The next day, there was a knock at the door. I thought it might be Xander, but it was Mia. She came in and apologized for what had happened. She told me she had heard on the news that Xander was missing and that she wanted to help.

She told the police everything she knew about Ryan and Shawn, and they began to investigate. But Ryan and Shawn were nowhere to be found. They seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

As the days went by, my worry grew, and my dad was a mess too. He was so worried about Brian. We were all confused as to whether their disappearances were linked or not.

They also started investigating Brian's disappearance. If Ryan and Shawn had taken Xander, what would they want with Brian? I told the police about how worried Brian had seemed recently, and how worked up he had seemed. They asked if I knew why, but I told them I wasn't sure. I told them about the money he had borrowed, and they asked if I knew who he had borrowed it from. I had no idea. All I knew was that he said it was from a friend. The police promised to investigate that.

Mia had been a real friend through all of this. I apologized to her for that night, and she said she had been wrong, too. She suggested that we do our own investigation, and if Ryan and Shawn were involved, we could find out. I agreed to let her help me.

We asked all the friends of Ryan and Shawn that she knew when they had last heard from them, but most of them said it had been a while. They said that most people had stayed away from them because they were involved in so many shady things.

As the days passed and we didn't learn anything, I would try to act strong during the day, but I would break down at night. I didn't know what to do if anything had happened to Xander. I didn't know how I would move on.

The next day, we had an irritating presence in my home . A woman was angry about why the company chairman wasn't available. She was apparently Xander's stepmother. I hadn't seen her before, but I had heard about her.

We tried to explain to her that Xander wasn't home, but she wouldn't listen. She started insulting Xander, and I couldn't take it. My husband was missing, and this inconsiderate bitch was here, saying terrible things about him. I told her to leave, and she did, but not before making some nasty comments on her way out. I then went to Xander's company to supervise what was happening. I know if my husband comes back home he would want his company to be fine. Yes, I held onto the hope that he would come back soon.

I delegated tasks to some of the senior employees and asked them to make sure the company ran smoothly while I looked for their boss. Unfortunately, some people mismanaged the company and even stole funds in Xander's absence. I was so disappointed and fired all of them. I asked the human resources department to recruit better employees. I went back home to our bedroom and broke down, clutching one of Xander's shirts. "Where are you, Xander?" I cried. "Please come back to me." I sobbed until I was comforted by Kelly and Mia.