Chapter 162 Knowing the Heart’s Desire
Chloe hurried to the military district.
The drone Daniel had flown five years ago still carried an SD card filled with his work logs. The moment she saw the footage and heard his voice, tears streamed down her cheeks.
She’d waited five whole years to hear that voice again.
“Some of the material is related to Daniel’s missions,” the officer told her. “We’re not permitted to show you that part. I hope you’ll understand.”
“Got it,” Chloe choked out, her eyes teary.
“But from what we’ve recovered, we can confirm that his final mission was indeed linked to the fire at the border five years ago. He got caught in the fire while on duty. The drone went down, and he disappeared.”
Chloe pressed her lips together, her fists clenched tight. So she’d been right all along. Daniel’s disappearance indeed had something to do with that fire. If it weren’t for the fire, perhaps he’d still be around.
“We’ll be checking the names of the injured and the dead from Cloudrion at that time,” the officer added tentatively.
After all, it had been years since Daniel had disappeared. He’d never resurfaced, so it was plausible he’d died in the fire. The flames had been massive, claiming many lives. It wouldn’t be surprising if Daniel had been overlooked in the records.
Chloe bit her lip hard and remained silent, refusing to believe Daniel was gone.
He’d survived gunfire and war zones–he was the toughest person she’d ever known. How could a fire take him? He had to still be alive.
Noting Chloe’s silence, the officer knew she refused to accept that Daniel might’ve died.
“I want to know the last coordinates recorded by the drone,” Chloe suddenly said.
“No problem.”
“And I’d like to watch those clips again,” she said.
After the military’s meticulous screening, these were the only ones she was allowed to view.
“Of course,” the officer said, motioning for his subordinates to replay the videos.
Chloe watched the clips with unwavering focus. The drone had been filming from above before the fire broke out.
Chapter 162 Knowing the Heart’s Desire
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Suddenly, her expression hardened. One of the shots captured the exact spot where the fire had started. It was the same place AeroQuest Airlines‘ former co–pilot, Bernard, had been
blamed for smoking.
If the drone had caught that moment, then maybe…
“Could you replay that section?” she asked.
The staff ran it again.
“Stop!” she quickly said when the ignition point appeared.
The staff pressed pause.
“Zoom in, please,” she added without skipping a beat.
The image was enlarged bit by bit. Eventually, a figure appeared, but it wasn’t clear enough to
be identified.
“It’s been five years, after all,” the staff member explained. “This is as clear as it gets.”
Chloe fell silent, then turned toward the officer in charge of this matter. “Could you give me this clip? I’d like to see if I can improve the resolution myself.”
“We can release this to you,” the officer said. “But not the rest since they’re related to military
missions.”
“I understand.”
She left the base with the flash drive gripped tightly in her hand.
Maybe the truth about the fire–and Daniel’s disappearance–lay in that video. The fire must have caused Daniel’s disappearance! Chloe would never accept that he was gone.
…
When Chloe returned to the apartment, Brian was already there. He was on the couch, reading
a stack of documents. He set them aside and stood up the moment he saw her.
“You’re back.”
She walked toward him. Noticing her reddened eyes, he stopped short and asked, “What happened? Have you been cry-
Before he could finish, she stepped forward and buried her face in his chest.
Surprise crossed Brian’s face. To him, she’d always been resilient. She never cried easily, no matter how hard things got. Yet now, her eyes were swollen, as if she’d just bawled her eyes
out.
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Had someone hurt her? Had she been wronged?
He’d always wanted nothing more than to keep her safe and happy. But now, she’d returned in
tears.
“Who was it? Who made you cry? Tell me!” he demanded, his voice laced with fury for once.
Usually, he was always indifferent to his surroundings. But now, anger surged through his chest the moment he saw her tearful expression.
“It’s not what you think,” she croaked, her face still pressed against his chest.
Chloe had cried at the base because she’d finally heard Daniel’s voice. After seeing the shots captured by his drone, it felt as though no time had passed between them at all.
And when she returned home and saw Brian on the couch, her nose suddenly stung.
Since Daniel’s disappearance and her parents‘ passing, she’d lost her home. She’d once believed Curtis would give her one, but he hadn’t. Even in their three years of marriage, the Greens had never treated her as one of their own.
Yet when she opened the door to this apartment earlier, she’d felt as though she were home for the first time.
“Brian, just let me hold you for a while.”
“Alright,” he whispered, standing still as she clung to him.
After what seemed like ages, she finally let go and looked up at him. Her eyes appeared redder now, brimming with tears that threatened to spill at any second.
“What’s wrong? Don’t cry.” Brian cupped her face, his thumb brushing the corner of her eye. No matter how big the problem is, I’ll handle it for you.”
A wave of emotions washed over Chloe, yet a smile tugged at her lips. “Brian, it’s impossible not to love you when you’re like this.”
“What?” Brian froze, gawking at her. “What did you say? You… love me?”
His cool, detached voice faltered toward the end, even quivering slightly at the final word.
Chloe blinked her tears away and said firmly, “Yes, I love you, Brian. I love you!”
A single tear suddenly slid down his cheek.
Chapter 163 A Show They’ll Never Forget
