Chapter 8 Silas hadn't slept a wink all night . He pushed Vivian out of his arms and stared out the window , watching the sun slowly rise . An unexplainable sense of dread gnawed at him , leaving him hollow , as if something precious had slipped away forever . He frowned , trying to shake off the feeling , when his phone rang . It was one of the housekeepers . " Mr. Erelan , Mrs. Erelan didn't come home last night . Do you think she finally got tired of all this and ran away ? Should we send someone to bring her back ? " The anxiety in the housekeeper's voice made Silas's face darken instantly . " Find her - now ! Lock down the airport and every form of transportation . I don't care what it takes , not even a mosquito leaves this city until Lilian is found ! She'll never escape me , not in this lifetime ! " He hung up , his chest heaving with anger , But the unease inside him only grew , twisting tighter and tighter . Vivian , woken by his voice , reached out and hugged him from behind . " Silas , don't worry . We'll find Lilian sooner or later . Why don't we have breakfast first ? I really want to eat something you made . " She tugged at his shirt , her voice sweet and pleading . Silas was about to push her away when his phone rang again - this time , it was the police . " Hello , is this Mr. Erelan , Lilian's husband ? This morning , we received a report - a woman's body was found by the river in the Northside . After the investigation , we confirmed it's your wife , Lilian . Please come identify the dy as soon as possible . " ud ! as felt as if he'd been struck by lightning . He froze , staring blankly ead as his phone slipped from his hand and crashed to the floor . couldn't believe what he was hearing . ilian … she's dead ? " The words echoed in his mind . e stood there , paralyzed , his eyes burning red . rom the phone on the floor came the frantic voice of the officer . " Mr. elan ? Mr. Erelan ! Are you alright ? Please accept our condolences , but e need you to come to the station as soon as possible . " ilas's face was rigid , his gaze sharp as he picked up the phone , his voice haking . " Who put you up to this ? Did Lilian pay you to trick me ? You're Iretending to be a cop - aren't you afraid of the consequences ? She was fine last night . There's no way she could be dead now . I get it- he hired you to help her fake her death , to escape me once and for all , ght ? Tell her for me - no matter where she runs , even to the ends of the earth , find her . I'll make her pay for the rest of her life ! " here was a stunned silence on the other end , the officer nearly laughing disbelief . Mr. Erelan , believe it or not , just come to the Northside Police epartment and see for yourself . We have security footage from the ridge - Ms . Lorvain's death was a suicide . " hose words rang in Silas's ears , drowning out everything else . tut and over , all he could hear was " Ms. Lorvain's death was a suicide . " w is that possible ? Lilian would never kill herself ! I don't believe it ! " is blinked back tears , his voice breaking into a furious roar . und him , Vivian's lips curled up in a barely hidden smile . she feigned concern . " Silas , maybe you should go check . If Lilian's ght , that's good . But if she's really … gone , you'll need to take care of gs as soon as possible . " ilian were truly dead , she'd be celebrating - no one would ever stand ween her and Silas again . From now on , the title of Mrs. Erelan would ng to her alone . s didn't care what Vivian was thinking . He shoved her aside and ehed straight to the Northside Police Department . ec F de the morgue , the sight that greeted him made his world stop . There , he cold metal table , was Lilian's body - bloated , pale , unmistakably was still wearing the same clothes from the night before , with bruises . wounds still visible on her forehead and knees . s's pupils constricted in shock . There was no more room for denial . dropped to his knees beside Lilian's body , disbelief etched across his as he stroked her cheek , shaking her gently . Lilian's eyes remained closed . She would never look at him again .