Chapter 11 Searching For Her

• Omnipresent POV
• Alessandro is consumed by anger, feeling as if his blood pressure is about to make his head explode. Fuming, he storms back to his office to snatch his car keys and pursue the audacious secretary who dared to escape.
• "Alessandro, are you really going to act like this? I thought you called me to reminisce about old times, not to focus on your useless secretary," she complains.
• "I called you for business. But now I can't attend to you. I have something important to discuss with my secretary," Alessandro says tersely, grabbing his coat, car keys, and phone.
• Immediately, he dials human resources and demands Kim's address while the woman trails behind him, irked by his acrimony.
• "Alessandro, I'm a busy woman. I came here to enjoy my free time. But if you're going to treat me like this, I won't answer your call again, no matter how insistent you are," she threatens.
• "Alright, Miss Jones. Whatever you want to discuss with your company, I'll address it with your vice CEO or your father. Have a nice day," Alessandro retorts, stepping into the elevator, on his way to Kim’s house.
• He swiftly hops into his car and speeds towards her apartment, where he pounds on her door repeatedly.
• "Kim Morgan, you must know that I won't allow you to get away with this! Even if I have to break down the door, I will make you talk to me!" Alessandro shouts angrily.
• "Kim, I'm seriously considering breaking down the door!"
• "Sir, please calm down a bit," comments a lady who lives next door.
• "Do you know if the woman who lives here has arrived?" he asks, attempting to maintain the composure he lacks.
• "The ex-partner of Kim lives here. She moved out days ago after discovering her partner's infidelity. Now, he's the one living there and has turned this hallway into a runway for strange women," says Mrs. Anna, who is well-informed about the building's residents.
• "Do you know where she might be?" Alessandro asks.
• "Kim doesn't have any family. Just a friend. If she's not living alone, she must have gone to her friend's apartment."
• "Do you know her friend's name?"
• "Her last name is Parker. She works as a gynecologist at Sloan Fertility Hospital. I know this because of the uniform she used to wear when she came to visit. Not because I'm snooping into the lives of those who come here," Mrs. Anna clarifies.
• "Alright, thank you," Alessandro says, departing.
• "You're welcome, CEO Delacroix," the woman says, causing Alessandro to pause.
• "I don't have a uniform, ma'am..."
• "Anna. You don't need a uniform. Your face has been in the news several times. Have a good night, CEO Delacroix," the woman bids farewell, and Alessandro departs while calling the hospital to obtain contact information for the only gynecologist named Parker.
• The hospital immediately provides him with Lu's contact information, but she has already left for her home. Alessandro starts his car and drives at full speed towards the given address. When he arrives, he must register with the security guard to enter.
• "I'm here to visit Kim Morgan. She lives in Lucia Parker's apartment. Can I come in?" he asks.
• "I'm sorry, but I haven't been informed of any visit, and she's not on the list of people I can allow access to," the security guard comments.
• "I really need to see her. It's something important."
• "Call her, and if she agrees to let you up, I'll allow your entry," the security guard says, increasing Alessandro's anger. He grabs him by the collar, ready to throw him aside to enter.
• "Look, sir, if you don't stop obstructing, I'll have to resort to violence," Alessandro says angrily, as quick footsteps are heard.
• "Mr. William, Miss Lucia's apartment is on fire. Do you have a fire extinguisher and something to open the door with?" Brian, the second security guard of the building, asks with evident concern.
• "What are you talking about? Miss Kim is inside. If there's a fire..." the security guard stops his sentence, and Alessandro lets him go, running towards the building's interior, followed by him to grab a fire extinguisher.
• While they run, Kim has tried to dampen a shirt with perfume and place it near her nose, so as not to inhale the smoke. Since she can't enter the bathroom or leave the room without getting burned, she looks for towels to place over the fire, thus avoiding immediate burns, although this only helps to spread the fire.
• In one of her survival shows, she had learned that dampening clothes and covering herself with them could help avoid many burns from the fire. In a situation like hers, it could mean the difference between life and death.
• Taking a sheet and dampening it with perfume and a glass of water that was always kept in the room, she covers her belly and legs, fearing for the safety of her baby.
• Summoning all the courage she can muster, she ventures out of the room, feeling the fire singe the few hairs on her legs as she moves towards the door, now charred black and stripped of its wallpaper.
• Clearly, it was a bad decorating idea by Lucia, one that has now been completely consumed by the fire.
• The fire that has devoured the furniture and caused the temperature to reach hellish levels due to everything it has taken to grow bigger. The heat completely overwhelms her, and the chances of reaching the door and escaping are almost nonexistent.
• Desperate, she looks around for any sign of help, but the fire consumes everything in its path. With fear gripping her heart, she pleads to the heavens for assistance, begging for forgiveness for her past misdeeds and pleading for a second chance.
• Once again, she tries to move towards her only way out, but the fire burns the sheet she was protecting herself with and manages to burn her hand. Pain overwhelms her, and all hope disappears when the heatstroke weakens her legs, causing her to fall to her knees.
• "Kim!" Alessandro shouts as he arrives at the apartment, immediately recognizing it by the smoke coming out of the closed door.
• Kim, who was about to lose consciousness, managed to hear her boss's voice, and with a trembling voice while her body sweated profusely, she whispered, "Save me, save our baby, please," before the shock of the situation and the heatstroke took her into unconsciousness.
• Alessandro didn't manage to hear her plea due to the noise of the concerned neighbors, but he didn't need to hear it when he knew he had to save her.
• "If you're near the door, move away because I'm going to break it down!" Alessandro shouts.
• The door was hot, but that didn't matter to him, and with a precise blow, he hit the door with the side of his arm, making the wood crack.
• The blow slightly burned his arm, but he didn't care and continued hitting with his arm and feet until he finally knocked down the door, allowing the heat from the apartment and the flames to be revealed.
• The flames burned fiercely, and the heat was unbearable to the point that Alessandro lightly covered his face to be able to see inside the apartment. It was there that he saw her and, taking the fire extinguisher, removed its safety and began to discharge its contents, but nothing came out.
• The security guard took it and tried to make it work, but it didn't function, it was defeated and without anything that could come out to extinguish the fire. So, no matter how hard they tried, there was no way it would work.
• "I'm sorry, we didn't buy another one because we thought it was working," the security guard apologizes while Alessandro mentally notes who he will blame if anything happens to his secretary and child.
• It was clear that this accident was going to cause several heads to roll. That was more than certain.
• Kim, on the verge of losing consciousness, managed to hear her boss' voice through the haze of smoke and heat. With a trembling voice and sweat pouring down her body, she whispered, "Save me, save our baby, please," before succumbing to unconsciousness.
• Alessandro didn't manage to hear her plea due to the noise of the concerned neighbors, but he didn't need to hear it when he knew he had to save her.
• "If you're near the door, move away because I'm going to break it down!" Alessandro shouts.
• The door was hot, but that didn't matter to him, and with a precise blow, he hit the door with the side of his arm, making the wood crack.
• The blow slightly burned his arm, but he didn't care and continued hitting with his arm and feet until he finally knocked down the door, allowing the heat from the apartment and the flames to be revealed.
• The flames burned fiercely, and the heat was unbearable to the point that Alessandro lightly covered his face to be able to see inside the apartment. It was there that he saw her and, taking the fire extinguisher, removed its safety and began to discharge its contents, but nothing came out.
• The security guard took it and tried to make it work, but it didn't function, it was defeated and without anything that could come out to extinguish the fire. So, no matter how hard they tried, there was no way it would work.
• "I'm sorry, we thought it was functional," the security guard apologizes while Alessandro mentally notes who he will blame if anything happens to his secretary and child.
• It was clear that this accident was going to cause several heads to roll. That was more than certain.