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


    - "It wasn''t an ident!"


    Since that day, Casey noticed a change in Izabe. 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 ident to heart.


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


    Izabe was with Brett.


    It was the possibility Casey dreaded most. He knew Brett''s ruthless ways all too well and how terrified Izabe was of him. He couldn''t forget that once before, Izabe had nearly met her end at Brett''s hands. Casey clenched his fist tightly, and in a moment of uncontrolled rage, he mmed 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 Izabe''s disappearance and sought out Casey, fresh from the hospital. Her mind, too, went straight to Brett.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Piecing together the timeline of Izabe''s departure, it was clear that the biggest shift had been in the stock performance of the Dempsey Group. Shares that had beennguishing were now on the rise, andpanies that had previously refused partnership were suddenly eager to coborate.


    Brett had engineered the Dempsey Group''s crisis, all for the sake of possessing Izabe. Without his relenting grip, such a swift turnaround for thepany would have been impossible. So, Izabe 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 thepany. 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. Afterposing 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 Izabe. Without any lead on her whereabouts, he hadn''t rested, driven only by his obsessive need to find her.


    Seeing him now, hisplexion 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.


    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 Izabe. Back then, Casey had wanted to take Brett


    down.


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


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


    "I''ll look for Izabe." Bunny said, "You need to rest. Your healthes 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 Izabe 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 herposure.


    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 thepany anymore. I just want to find her. I''ve missed out on so much with her already; I can''t miss out again."