Holden glanced through them, not showing much surprise. Since Ariana's incident, he had suspected Zayden's involvement. Given Zayden's power in Conata, where he had been operating his business for years, Holden realized it would take time to uproot all his spies.

But when had Zayden started dealing in arms?

Holden was lost in thought, his brow furrowed.

Conata was a war-torn country with an unstable government, essentially manipulated by factions. The arms trade was a critical yet hazardous sector, not suited for ordinary businessmen.

Holden wasn't sure what Zayden was doing in Conata, but he knew that Zayden hadn't been involved in their military dealings before. How had Zayden suddenly forged these connections?

Reflecting on the last image he had seen of Ariana, Holden had a hunch that this situation might be connected to her disappearance.

Holden sat pondering recent events, his attempts to quit smoking having failed. Lately, he had been chain-smoking, which visibly affected his health.

Devin noticed Holden's distress and urged him to cut back, but quitting made Holden irritable. Just the other day, his temper had almost scared Adele.

The Fredrick family had exhausted all their resources searching Eleymond for Ariana but to no avail.

Holden suspected Zayden was in Conata and utilized his family's influence there. Yet dealing with foreign powers and navigating the local warlords and factions there was hard and complicated. Trying to find Ariana that way was too slow.

After a long while, Holden sighed deeply, put out his cigarette, and instructed, “Devin, double-check where these weapons came from. Identify the group in Conata that supplied them. Do it now."

Devin nodded and replied, "Yes, sir." He then left to handle the task.

Alone in his spacious office, Holden stared at the neon Lights, feeling hollow inside.

He missed Ariana so much.

His eyes reddened as he sat by the window. He covered his face with his hands, his back hunching over.

Conata was a ruthless place. The thought of Ariana in despair there was unbearable. Feeling desperate, he silently pleaded for her to stay strong, survive, and wait for him to rescue her, hoping she wouldn't leave him alone in this world.

In the VIP ward on the seventh floor, Sonia remained unconscious in her hospital bed.

She had spent five days in the ICU without any signs of waking.

Mitchel just said she was no longer in immediate danger, but no one knew when she would wake up.

The door opened, and Sarah stepped inside with Melon.