The CEO’s Masked Secret Wife

Liam's POV

My office transformed into a war room within minutes. The controlled chaos of coordinated investigation filled every corner as Chloe barked orders while organizing the flood of incoming intelligence. Noah, whose hacking skills had proven invaluable, worked alongside Tobias at dual computer stations.

"Liam, we cracked into Hazel's phone successfully," Tobias announced, his fingers still flying across the keyboard. "Plus we obtained security footage from surrounding buildings and now have the license plate number of the vehicle that abducted her."

"Thank God, finally some progress." The crushing weight on my chest lightened slightly.

"Hold on before you celebrate too much. The plate turned out to be stolen, but we do have the make and model. We've already issued a citywide alert for matching vehicles," one of the police officers cautioned, tempering my brief moment of relief.

"What about the phone data?" I demanded, positioning myself between Noah and Tobias to see their screens better.

Noah's phone buzzed with an incoming message. He glanced at it quickly before tossing the device onto the desk with obvious irritation. Owen, standing beside me, caught sight of the screen display.

"Noah, why did someone send you a picture of Bianca?" Owen asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Picture of what now?" Noah looked genuinely puzzled.

"This photo that just came through," Owen pressed, pointing at the device.

"Oh that mess. It's Hazel's former boyfriend with his latest conquest. My mother sent it thinking it might somehow be relevant, though I can't imagine why." Noah retrieved his phone and illuminated the screen, extending it toward Owen for a clearer view.

The image showed Hazel's ex-boyfriend Ethan with Bianca at the same ice cream shop where we had spent that afternoon together. Bianca's hair was blonde in the photo, but her face was unmistakable. The accompanying text read: "Look who Ethan's new girlfriend turned out to be."

"Noah, that woman is Bianca," I said, feeling my heart rate spike dangerously.

"How does Bianca even know Hazel's ex-boyfriend? What are they doing together?" Owen wondered aloud while studying the photograph.

"Bianca? The same Bianca we've been searching for?" Noah asked, finally grasping the significance.

"Damn it, you've never met Bianca in person. Your mother probably knows her from some social function she attended with your father," I explained quickly. "Chloe!"

I showed the photograph to Chloe, who unleashed a string of colorful expletives before launching into command mode again.

"Noah, forward that image to me immediately. Damian, contact your detective friend in Crestwood and put him on speaker. You two officers, I'm sending you the photo now and you need to alert your department. We're adding two more suspects to our search," she declared with military precision.

"Inspector Carlos speaking," came the response after two rings.

"Damon, my friend, how's everything going?" Damian greeted warmly.

"Damian? What an honor, twice in one week," Inspector Carlos responded with good humor.

"The honor's all mine having you as a friend. I need another favor, and this one's urgent."

"Just tell me what you need. I'm at the station right now and can dispatch units immediately," the detective replied, his tone shifting to professional seriousness.

"That's exactly what we need." Within minutes, Damian, Chloe, and the officers had briefed Inspector Carlos on our entire situation.

"I'll need the official request from your department to expand the investigation," the detective specified. "My team is already heading to the patrol cars, and I'll contact you the moment we locate the subjects."

"Inspector, I've already sent the official request to your station's email," one of the officers in my office confirmed.

"Excellent. We're mobilizing now. Call me if you discover anything else," Inspector Carlos concluded before ending the connection.

"Owen, remind me to send Noah's mother flowers when this nightmare ends. And make sure she knows how grateful I am, Noah." This was our first real breakthrough since the ordeal began.

"Don't worry, Liam, my mom's thrilled to help," Noah answered his ringing phone. "Hi, mom?" He listened briefly, sighed heavily, and activated speaker mode. "Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Oh Noah, you're hopeless! Let me speak to Chloe!" Noah's mother sounded exasperated, and despite everything, I almost smiled at their dynamic.

"Mom, you're on speaker," he informed her.

"Hi, mother-in-law, you've been incredibly helpful, thank you so much," Chloe responded warmly.

"Chl, I'm concerned about Hazel. Something's happened that might be nothing, but I felt I should mention it."

"What happened, mother-in-law?" Chloe gave her full attention.

"I was at the hair salon getting my weekly styling, you know the place. The woman next to me arrived as a blonde but dyed her hair black and got it cut into a short bob."

"What's suspicious about that, mom? For crying out loud, we're dealing with a crisis here," Noah interrupted impatiently.

"Don't interrupt me, Noah," his mother scolded him sharply. "Chl, this woman wasn't local, and she had this piercing voice, like fingernails on a chalkboard. She kept going on about dyeing her hair because her boyfriend prefers brunettes."

"Mother-in-law, you're incredible. I know exactly who you're describing, and we believe she's the one holding Leo," Chloe was already gesturing for Damian to contact the detective again.

"But sweetheart, there's more," Noah's mother continued. "I became suspicious of this woman and followed her when she left the salon. You know that old abandoned farm at the town entrance?"

"The one with the well where that child fell years ago?" Chloe asked for clarification.

"That's exactly the one. She went inside, and shortly after Ethan emerged. I'm concealed in my car on a side road maintaining surveillance, and she hasn't come back out. But I'm certain I heard a child crying," Noah's mother's voice carried genuine worry.

"Mother-in-law, you're better than any private investigator. But I need you to leave that location now, we're dispatching police units."

"I'm not abandoning my post, Chloe. If that deranged woman has Leo, I won't let her escape."

"Fine, but stay on this call with us and don't take any risks."

"Understood, I'll keep the line open," Noah's mother agreed.

"Damian, contact the police immediately," Chloe commanded, and it was definitely a command.

Damian called Inspector Carlos and relayed all the new information. The detective confirmed he would personally investigate the farm location. Now we had to wait, and waiting felt like torture.

"My mom has completely lost her mind," Noah muttered, though I felt nothing but gratitude for this fearless woman. "Wait, this is strange," Noah became absorbed in his computer screen. "This is completely confusing."

"What did you discover, Noah?" Tobias inquired.

"I don't believe Hazel is in Crestwood," Noah announced, rotating his screen toward Tobias and capturing my attention.

"They're not together?" I asked urgently.

"Probably not," Noah confirmed.

"Stay calm, Sterling. Noah, what did you uncover?" Chloe positioned herself in front of the computer. "Hey, you two officers, get over here." The two policemen responded like obedient soldiers. "Look at these cell tower pings from the phone that contacted Hazel forty minutes ago. Any idea what location this represents?"

"We can determine that," one of them responded.

"Then get moving! I can't believe I have to manage everything myself!" Chloe's voice rose as they were already contacting headquarters and pulling up their own computers. It was almost amusing to observe.