A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 385

Amber POV

I stared at the map. Centuries ago, my family had used that route to destroy theirs, and sometime afterward, the Vincents might have quietly reopened it. Maybe they'd spent generations rebuilding access. Maybe Mr. White knew those tunnels because his family had never actually stopped using them.

Suddenly, Alexander's clue made perfect sense. Look closer to your home. He hadn't been talking about a single mine. He'd been talking about history.

"Send everything to Sum's government, Mr. Stait, Marcus, and Mr. Sun. Anything else you find comes directly to me."

"We're already searching our archives."

I stared at the ancient route. The same path the Ember family had once used to take down the Vincents.

History apparently had a sick sense of humor.

Then I remembered Oliver's other warning.

The island.

There were still people there.

I looked toward Jasmine. "I need you to do something."

"No."

I blinked. "I haven't asked yet."

"If you're about to tell me to leave, no."

"Jasmine."

"No."

I stared at her. She stared back. I had recruited this woman. That was clearly one of my poorer strategic decisions.

"Oliver said there are more victims on the island."

Her expression changed. "I remember."

"The investigators haven't found them yet."

"They're searching."

"They don't know that island the way we do. You, Noah and Daniel survived it with me. We know the mountains, the cave, the hidden rooms, the terrain. I want you to help them search."

Jasmine crossed her arms. "No."

"People might be trapped."

"I know."

"Then why are you arguing?"

"Because someone kidnapped your husband. You're hospitalized, your blood pressure is unstable, you're pregnant with twins, and you declared war on an international trafficking network on television."

"I clarified that I meant the network."

"Very responsible."

I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm staying," she said firmly.

"Jasmine."

"Noah and Daniel can go."

I stopped. "You already discussed this."

"Obviously."

Traitors. All three of them.

Jasmine pulled out her phone. "Daniel's a medic. If they find victims in bad condition, he's more useful than I am. Noah knows the island, and I'm staying here to make sure nobody gets anywhere near you."

"So we're just assigning ourselves jobs now?"

"Apparently."

She was already calling Noah.

We were apparently settled.

Noah and Daniel left for the island that afternoon, but Noah did something before boarding the flight that none of us expected. He went public. His celebrity status had always been something I'd almost forgotten about because on the island he'd simply been Noah—the quiet defense specialist who somehow managed to survive Jasmine's insanity and Daniel's complaints. The rest of the world didn't see him that way. They knew his face, and they listened when he spoke.

So Noah used it.

His video spread within hours. He explained that investigators had reason to believe additional trafficking victims might still be hidden in locations connected to the network. Without exposing operational details that could endanger anyone, he asked the public to pay attention to suspicious properties, people being moved unexpectedly, children who appeared frightened or isolated, vehicles repeatedly entering supposedly abandoned buildings—anything that didn't feel right.

But he made one thing very clear: don't intervene. Don't confront anyone. Report it and let trained authorities investigate.

The message was shared millions of times, and tips started arriving. Most would probably lead nowhere. Some would be misunderstandings. But if even one found someone who had been waiting years for help, it was worth it.

For once, celebrity obsession could be useful.

Marcus reached the mine several hours later.

Franklin went with him.

That surprised me. Franklin had been staying with us for his family's protection, and after everything that happened on the island I would have expected him to remain far away from another dangerous operation. Apparently, I'd underestimated how deeply that experience had changed him. His mother had objected loudly.

He went anyway.

The Sum government divided the search teams. Military specialists handled unstable areas and potential breaches. Engineers examined sealed routes. Search teams followed the historical maps provided by the Ember Association.

Marcus wore a camera.

That had been my condition.

If I couldn't be there, I wanted to see everything.

The image on my laptop shook slightly as Marcus moved deeper underground, his flashlight sweeping across stone. The mine looked nothing like the maintained sections I remembered. This was older. Rougher. Some passages were narrow enough that the search teams had to move single file, and water dripped somewhere in the darkness.

"Intersection ahead," someone said.

Marcus's camera turned.

Three tunnels.

The historical map showed only two.

I leaned forward. "Stop."

Marcus heard me through his earpiece. "What?"

"Your map. There's not supposed to be a third route."

"I noticed."

An engineer moved forward. The third opening had been partially concealed behind what looked like a natural rockfall.

Except it wasn't natural.

Someone had moved the stones.

Recently.

My pulse accelerated.

"Amber," Jasmine warned from beside me.

"I'm calm."

"You say that like someone being actively not calm."

"I'm fine."

Marcus entered the passage, and Franklin followed several feet behind him. The tunnel narrowed before widening again. Then the lights moved across the ground.

Marks.

I'd seen it on Jason's wrist thousands of times. I'd watched him check it during meetings. I'd complained when it vibrated in the middle of dinner. I'd seen it on him the morning he left for the DNA test.

My throat closed.

"That's his."

Nobody spoke.

"That's Jason's watch."

Mrs. Sun rushed toward the screen. Grandpa stood. Jasmine moved behind me.

Franklin looked toward Marcus, who crouched beside the watch. There were scratches across the face, and one side of the strap was torn.

It hadn't fallen off naturally.

My eyes moved toward the four tunnels.

Someone had brought Jason through here.

He had been here.

Maybe he'd dropped the watch deliberately. Maybe he'd fought. Maybe he'd known we would come looking.

"Amber," Marcus said through the speaker.

I couldn't answer.

"We have his trail now."

I closed my eyes for one second. Not because I was breaking, but because I needed exactly one second to put myself back together.

Then I opened them.

"Don't touch the watch until forensics clears it."

Marcus nodded. "Already called them."

"Check for blood."

"We will."

"Search every branch."

"We are."

I swallowed. "And Marcus?"

He looked directly into the camera.

"He's close."

My hand moved over my stomach as one of the twins kicked. For the first time since Jason disappeared, we didn't have a theory.

We had proof.

He had been inside those tunnels.

Mr. White could erase camera footage. He could disable trackers. He could hide vehicles. He could use names and properties we'd never heard before.

But he hadn't erased everything.

Jason had left something behind.

And whether he'd dropped that watch intentionally or lost it fighting, it had given us exactly what we needed.

A trail.

I stared into the darkness beyond Marcus's camera.

"Keep going."

Because somewhere beyond that intersection was my husband.