Chapter 5
Rented SUV tires hissed against the wet asphalt of Highway 101 as Daniel drove relentlessly northward through the endless pine forests of the Pacific Northwest. His designer leather jacket was thrown haphazardly across the passenger seat, and his tie hung loose around his unbuttoned collar. The corporate crisis in Manhattan was burning out of control, but Daniel had completely abandoned the boardroom to chase his runaway wife.
He had tracked her credit card rental car reservation to a small municipal agency outside Portland, giving his investigators a narrow geographical corridor to search. Every small-town diner, coastal motel, and gas station along the scenic route became a potential checkpoint in his desperate, obsessive manhunt. As the afternoon fog rolled in from the ocean, obscuring the rugged cliffs, Daniel felt a terrifying sense of isolation closing in around him.
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He pulled over at a cliffside overlook, stepping out into the biting salt spray to stare out at the churning, boundless horizon of the ocean. How had he allowed his life to degenerate from a triumphant billionaire wedding into a lonely, pathetic crusade across a stormy coast? He remembered the way Amy used to smile when they shared cheap coffee in their first tiny Brooklyn apartment before the millions rolled in.
He had traded that genuine, unconditional warmth for endless board meetings, private jets, and the toxic, calculated ambition of women like Vanessa Cole. If he found Amy now, he knew he couldn't offer her empty promises or corporate excuses; he had to prove he was worthy of her forgiveness. Climbing back behind the wheel, he pressed his foot hard against the gas pedal, racing toward the coastal town where local informants reported a gray sedan had been spotted.
