At the hotel, the hustle and bustle had already begun before dawn. Two of Madam Luna's makeup assistants started working on Mama Citra and Monica.
The mother and daughter had decided it would be better for them to get their makeup done first. Once they were finished, they could take care of Adam.
If Adam were made up first, there was a good chance he would get bored waiting for the ladies, who would undoubtedly take much longer.
After all, doing a man's makeup wouldn't take nearly as much time.
Besides, Mama Citra had seen that Adam was still awake past midnight. She could hear his laughter from the balcony of Noah's room as he chatted with Armand, Monica's husband, and Noah.
That was why Mama Citra had decided to let Adam sleep a little longer. She wanted him to be well-rested and fresh when he finally woke up.
The two women, despite their age difference, finished their makeup at six in the morning.
They left Mama Citra's room and headed toward Adam's room, which was only two doors away.
After knocking for quite some time without receiving any response, Mama Citra instructed Monica to call the front desk and request a master key to open Adam's room.
She was worried that Adam had overslept after staying up late on his wedding night. Perhaps he had been too nervous to sleep and had only managed to fall asleep just before dawn.
Not long after, a bellboy arrived with Adam's key card. After handing it over, he immediately excused himself.
Using the key card, Mama Citra quickly entered Adam's room, followed by Monica. Once the key card was placed in its slot, the lights automatically turned on, illuminating the room that had previously been pitch-black.
Mama Citra was about to call out to Adam when she suddenly froze.
The room was empty.
There was no sign that Adam had slept there at all. The white sheets on the bed were still perfectly neat.
The only thing visible on the bed was the white traditional outfit he was supposed to wear for the wedding ceremony, lying carelessly across the mattress.
Meanwhile, the suit he was supposed to wear for the reception that afternoon hung inside the wardrobe.
Seeing this, Mama Citra suddenly felt that something was terribly wrong.
"Monica, call Dad, Noah, and your husband. Quickly," Mama Citra ordered.
Monica could only stare around the empty room in shock.
"Okay, Mom."
Monica hurried out of the room, lifting the long skirt of her dress that brushed against the floor so it wouldn't slow her down. She had deliberately removed her seven-centimeter stilettos and left them in Adam's room so she could move faster.
A short while later, Monica returned with her father, Noah, and her husband, Armand, who was carrying their daughter, Athena.
They immediately saw Mama Citra sitting on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as she clutched a piece of paper.
Seeing her like that, Papa Mahesa rushed over and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.
"What happened, Mom?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry.
"Adam, Dad..." she whispered as she handed him the paper.
Papa Mahesa immediately took it and read its contents.
"How dare he!" he shouted after reading the short message.
Noah immediately took the paper from his father. Just as he was about to read it, Armand stepped closer and read it over his shoulder.
"Adam..." Noah and Armand both muttered in shock.
"What happened, Dad?" Monica asked, still sitting on the floor while hugging her sobbing mother.
"Adam is gone, honey," Armand explained.
"Oh my God..." Monica tightened her arms around her mother, who broke down even more.
"What are we going to do, Dad? What are we supposed to tell our in-laws? How could Adam do this to us? How could he bring such shame upon our family? How could he leave a girl as wonderful as Natasha at the altar?" Mama Citra cried between sobs.
Papa Mahesa paced back and forth, clutching his throbbing head as he tried to figure out what they should do next.
"Noah, you and Armand go look for Adam around here. Take two separate cars and search in different directions. Your mother, Monica, and I will head to the villa first," Papa Mahesa finally decided.
"The wedding ceremony is at ten. We still have plenty of time to think and come up with a plan," he added, glancing at his watch, which showed half past six in the morning.
"Keep calling him. And make sure no one else finds out about this. Athena stays with me. Your mother and Monica, take Adam's belongings to the villa," Papa Mahesa instructed as he took his granddaughter from his son-in-law's arms.
"Yes, Dad," Armand and Noah replied.
The two men immediately left Adam's room.
Noah quickly called his assistant and secretary, who was also his close friend and had come to the hotel at his invitation. They were both staying on the third floor.
He instructed them to come down to the lobby immediately. With their help, they could expand the search area.
When Armand and Noah reached the lobby, they found Orion, Noah's assistant, and Tara, his secretary, already waiting. Both were dressed casually. Despite their sleepy, just-woken-up faces, they still looked remarkably handsome.
"What happened? Is there a problem?" they asked simultaneously when they saw Noah approaching with a pale, worried expression.
"Adam is missing. He left," Noah explained as he handed them the piece of paper.
Orion and Tara were stunned. They immediately read the short message Noah had given them.
"What do we do, Boss?" Orion asked, instantly switching into serious mode.
"We'll divide the search into three areas. Rion, you stay here and access the CCTV footage from last night. Find out where Adam went and track his route as far as possible," Noah ordered.
They all nodded, following Noah's instructions.
Noah deliberately left Orion behind because he knew how effective his assistant was when working behind a computer.
"Oh, and Rion, start checking from around half past midnight. We parted ways with Adam at around that time last night," Noah explained.
Orion nodded and immediately called Mr. Wahyu, the General Manager of Kalingga Hotel Bogor, to request access to the hotel's security system.
As the CEO's personal assistant, Orion could actually have accessed it without permission. However, since this wasn't the company's main hotel, he still chose to follow proper procedure and request official authorization from Mr. Wahyu as the hotel's GM.
---
After nearly an hour of searching without any results, Noah's phone suddenly rang.
It was Orion.
"Hello..."
"Boss, you can come back now. There's no point continuing the search. Adam might already be on a plane," Orion said.
"What do you mean?" Noah asked, confused.
"Adam left the hotel at two in the morning. He took a large suitcase with him. It looks like he deliberately left his car at the hotel. He booked an online taxi instead. And to make sure we couldn't track him, he left his phone inside the taxi he ordered," Orion explained.
"Did you find the taxi driver?" Noah asked.
"Yes, just now. He said he drove Adam to the airport, and Adam gave him a pretty generous tip. When the driver got home, he found Adam's phone in the car. Since he didn't know where to take it, he brought it back to the hotel."
"Can you track where Adam went, Rion?" Noah asked again.
"I can't confirm it yet, but one thing is certain. Adam purchased three domestic flight tickets for the earliest available flights," Orion replied.
"Where to?"
"Denpasar, Batam, and Padang," Orion answered.
Noah fell silent for a moment, as though deep in thought.
Then, suddenly, a clue seemed to come to him.
"Rion, can you check the ferry schedules from Batam to Singapore? And see if you can get the passenger manifest as well?" Noah asked.
"Give me a second. I'll check," Orion replied. He immediately understood what Noah was thinking.
"All right. Thanks, Rion. Head straight to the villa afterward. I'll meet you there with the others," Noah said.
---
As he considered the idea that had suddenly occurred to him, Noah quickly dialed the number of his neighbor's house.
It was a number he had always kept saved but had never called before.
After waiting for a few moments, someone finally answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, may I speak with Marissa?" Noah asked.
"Miss Rissa isn't home, sir. Her parents told her to return to Singapore two days ago," Marissa's housekeeper replied.
"Oh, I see. Thank you," Noah said with an annoyed smile.
"You're welcome, sir."
The housekeeper ended the call.
Noah clenched the piece of paper lying on the dashboard. Anger surged through him as he tightened his fist until his knuckles turned white.
He stared at the crumpled paper in front of him.
A few short lines had managed to destroy two families.
I'M SORRY. I CAN'T MARRY NATASHA.
I'M SORRY. I HAVE TO LEAVE.
I'M SORRY FOR BRINGING SHAME UPON BOTH OF OUR FAMILIES.
YOU CAN PUNISH ME WHEN I RETURN.
BUT FOR NOW, PLEASE LET ME GO.