The frantic voices in the background woke me up from a deep slumber. I forced my eyes to open to have a look at my surroundings, but my heavy-laden eyes refused to move.

Am I dead? The question reverberated through my thoughts, but before I could answer it, something soft and warm touched my hands.

"She's alive." A woman squeaked in relief as she felt for my pulse.

With all the force I have, I tried to move a finger, but failed to do so. 'Please help me,' I tried to move my lips, but no words emerged from them.

"Hurry! Call the ambulance!" I heard the woman speak again. This time, she let go of my hand to press a cloth on my chest to stop the bleeding.

"Hold on, please," the woman's voice was soft and comforting as she whispered against my ears. "Help will arrive soon." She added in a tone filled with assurance.

She was still speaking, but I could no longer hear her voice as a force played tug of war with my consciousness. My body swayed as though a heavenly force lulled me to sleep. Slowly, I found myself falling into a deep abyss, where there was nothing but darkness and uncertainty.

I have to stay awake to make sure I'm going to be alright! I thought to myself as I fought back the urge to drift deeper. But the force was unbelievably strong. No matter how hard I resist, I found myself being sucked inside a dark portal. Before losing contact with reality, I felt my body being lifted from the cold, hard floor and placed into a warm and soft cushion. 

Finally, I stopped resisting. With my arms spread on my side, I allowed the currents to carry me to a destination only God knows where. 

"You're going to be alright." A voice whispered against my ears as I drifted further away.

It was my Mom.

***

ACE'S POV

"My ex-wife just disappeared without a trace?" I repeated. My voice thundered into the four corners of my office, causing the private investigator to flinch. His cheeks burned in embarrassment and he looked down at the papers in his hand, pretending to read them as an excuse to avoid my gaze.

I abruptly rose from my swivel chair, my thick eyebrows scrunched in anger as I looked at the man in front of me with hawk-sharp eyes. "How's even that possible? I mean, it's a small country. She couldn't just disappear into thin air, right?" Unable to hide my unease any further, I paced back and forth across the flush carpet. Hands repeatedly combed my hair in exasperation as I wondered how a woman could magically disappear without a trace, unless of course an extraterrestrial being kidnapped her and that's highly impossible.

It's been three weeks since Phoenix had gone missing. She disappeared on the same day my wedding was held.

Desperate to talk to her that day, I went to her apartment, but her landlady told me she was not at home that hour.

As her landlady advised, I should leave and talk to my ex-wife some other time. Taking her words seriously, I got home. But later that evening, Amelie, the landlady. worriedly called to inform me Phoenix wasn't able to return home that evening. I immediately hired men to search for her, but days passed by and they couldn't even find her, not even her shadow. The private investigator was my last resort, but even he, the best investigator I could hire, was having a hard time finding her.

I was seriously growing worried with each passing day. What if something bad happened to her? I will never forgive myself if that happens.

Clearing his throat, the investigator spoke. "Though there was no sign Miss Phoenix could have left the country," the investigator began, halting me in my tracks. Seeing me listening attentively, he continued. "I still checked airports and seaports to make sure she didn't board them. Unfortunately, there was no Phoenix De Amore on their ticket lists. Assuming she used a different name, I carried her picture with me, but even after showing the employees her pictures, they didn't see any woman resembling her appearance who boarded into a ship or a plane.. Your ex-wife has a pretty remarkable face, Mr. Greyson. It would be easy for anyone to recall if they had seen her. But in this case, no one claimed to have seen her." He added, shifting his attention on the file in his hand to avoid my gaze.

The lengthy explanation only deepened the frown on my forehead. 

"That's all I could report for now, Mr. Greyson. I'll call you right away once something important comes up."

I gave him a dismissive nod. Taking the signal, he fled from my office in a blink of an eye.

When he was gone, I sunk into my swivel chair like a melted candle.

I wasn't in that position for long when the piercing sound of the telephone interrupted my thoughts. Groaning, I abandoned my seat and picked up the telephone.

"Hello."

"It's me, Ace." said the man on the other line. I instantly recognized his voice. It was my best friend, Lucas.

"We found a dead body floating in the lake today." He announced.

There was an ominous thud in my chest. My fingers tightened on the receiver. 

"It's a woman," Lucas said. "The body had been floating in the lake for weeks now and was badly decomposed. She had long black hair, and she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans."

My heartbeat skittered. I found myself gasping for air. That was what Phoenix was wearing when she left her apartment.

"I'll go there to identify the victim." I rushed to grab my coat on the rack, but before I could even reach for it, Lucas cut in.

"No need to do so. Together with the body, we also retrieved her Id."

There was a long, deafening pause before he spoke again. "I'm sorry, Ace. Your ex-wife is dead."

The telephone slipped off my fingers and dropped to the table.

I couldn't explain how I feel at the moment. But it feels as if the world collapsed at my feet.

"I'm sorry, Phoenix." I mumbled to myself as I dropped on my knees.

For the first time in my life, I broke down and cried.