July 30th, 2026
At the Kawasaki mansion - 7:56 PM
The Kawasaki mansion glittered under the warm glow of golden chandeliers, reflecting off the polished silverware and white porcelain plates adorning the long dining table. It was a night of celebration, or at least it appeared to be. The scent of seared wagyu beef, roasted vegetables, and aged red wine wafted through the vast dining hall, a mixture of tradition and luxury. Laughter echoed across the room, carried by the banter of the Kawasaki brothers, Leo and Leon, as they traded playful jabs.
"You should've seen Leon trying to parallel park that Lamborghini," Leo grinned, raising his glass. "Took him ten minutes, and two traffic cops had to help."
Everyone laughed except two people.
"It was the damn sensors!" Leon protested, chuckling. "Too many beeps, felt like I was disarming a bomb."
The family matriarch, Koharu Kawasaki, beamed at her sons, then leaned slightly toward Leon's girlfriend.
"So, dear, when do we get to plan a wedding? You and Leon have been dating quite a while now." Koharu asked.
The young woman blushed and smiled politely, but before she could speak, Leon quickly replied, "We're taking our time, Kawasaki-sama. No rush."
Lionel Kawasaki, the family patriarch, simply chuckled and sipped his wine. "Let them be, Koharu. These days, young people plan more for honeymoons than the marriage itself."
That drew a chorus of laughter from everyone again.
Everyone - except Ruth.
She sat at the far end of the table, her posture impeccable, her plate untouched. Her wine glass barely kissed her lips. Her attention, however, was elsewhere.
Ruth's manicured fingers tapped gently on her phone screen, lighting up the screen over and over. Each time, her eyes glanced down as if expecting something - something urgent. Her appetite was absent, her smile mechanical.
With the phone resting on her lap, hidden from the others' view, she typed another message:
Have you found him?
She hit send. The message went to an encrypted number, unnamed, unidentifiable. She had dispatched professionals - people who did not fail. Or so she thought.
"You know," Koharu suddenly said, her voice laced with concern, "you haven't touched your food, Ruth."
Ruth blinked, suddenly brought back to the moment. She lifted her head and smiled faintly. "Ah, it's just work."
Koharu tilted her head. "But you keep checking your phone. Are you waiting for something important, dear?"
The question was sweetly asked, almost motherly. But it still pierced like a knife.
Leo turned to her as well, his brows furrowed. "Is something wrong? I can head to the HQ now if you need me to—"
"No," Ruth interrupted, shaking her head a little too quickly. She placed her phone face down on the table and leaned forward, faking engagement. "I'm just handling a logistics issue. One of the shipments got delayed at the Nagoya dock. It's under control."
Leo nodded, seemingly accepting her answer, and went back to the conversation with Leon. But Lionel - Lionel was watching. His gaze was cool, steady, not blinking. He hadn't laughed since Ruth last picked up her phone.
He was a man used to reading body language in high-stakes meetings. He could see discomfort when it walked into a room wearing perfume and an expensive dress. He said nothing. But his eyes never left Ruth.
The conversation continued around the table. Topics shifted from weddings to business to summer vacation plans in Switzerland. Koharu teased Leon about his fear of flying. Leo cracked another joke about Ruth working too hard, but this time she didn't even fake a laugh.
Her mind was too loud.
Where the hell are you, Ian?
The thought screamed inside her skull like an echo she couldn't silence. Ruth never expected Ian to disappear completely. Not like this. He had no money. No support system. Just the park they used to frequent in college. That damn park. He should've gone back there. He was supposed to.
A sharp buzz in her lap startled her. She quickly looked down, saw the screen light up again. One message. One word.
"Nothing."
Her heart clenched.
She put the phone down slowly, resisting the urge to throw it across the room.
Across the table, Lionel finally spoke. "You know, Ruth, I always admired your composure. Even now, you look calm. But I've seen enough faces in boardrooms to tell when someone's playing poker."
The room fell into momentary silence.
Koharu raised an eyebrow. "Lionel, dear -"
"I'm not accusing her," Lionel said, still watching Ruth. "Just saying… sometimes the most dangerous people are the ones who smile through fire."
Ruth didn't flinch. She smiled back, ever so slightly, but her hand tightened around her wine glass.
"Maybe I've just had good mentors," she replied smoothly.
"Or maybe you've learned to hide too well," Lionel responded, not missing a beat.
The tension at the table was now undeniable.
Leon's girlfriend cleared her throat and asked Koharu another question to change the subject. The atmosphere lightened slightly again, but only on the surface. Beneath it, the current had changed.
Lionel continued sipping his wine, not saying another word. But the look in his eyes said plenty.
As dinner wrapped up and everyone began rising from the table, Ruth excused herself to the restroom. She stepped into the marble-floored hallway, her heels echoing with each step. She glanced back once, ensuring no one followed her, then pulled her phone out again.
She opened a new message:
"Widen the search. Every corner. Every contact. I don't care what it takes. Find him."
She hit send and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.
Somewhere out there, Ian was slipping further from her control.
And Ruth Kawasaki was not a woman who tolerated that for long.