The sun had barely risen, but the household was already in chaos.
Alex hadn't slept. His mind kept playing back Lisa's words in the letter. "If it meant anything to you — I don't know..."
He couldn't even remember how to breathe.
⸻
Mia arrived at the mansion quickly, with Eli following close behind. Lisa's mother, red-eyed and broken, hugged Mia tightly.
"She left us... she didn't even say goodbye..." the woman whispered.
"I promise we'll find her," Mia said gently. "She's still out there."
Eli clenched his fists. "She could be anywhere."
"We need to check the orphanage," Mia suddenly said. "That's where her heart always was. She visited there before, didn't she?"
Alex froze.
His jaw tightened. "Get the car. We leave now."
⸻
At the orphanage, the building stood quietly in the morning haze.
Children played in the back yard, their laughter distant. The caretaker, a kind older woman, looked surprised to see the luxurious car parked outside.
Mia and Alex approached her first, Eli trailing behind.
"She was here," the woman said softly after they explained. "She stayed the night. Didn't speak much... just looked at the sky and hugged the little ones. She seemed... so sad."
"Did she say where she was going?" Alex asked urgently.
"No. But she left something behind. A little book."
She handed it to Mia.
It was a tiny journal — pages filled with Lisa's small handwriting. Notes. Memories. Her secret thoughts.
Mia read aloud:
"Maybe love isn't for people like me. Maybe I was meant to come, make people happy, and leave. Maybe my time here was borrowed — and now it's time to let go..."
Mia stopped, her voice cracking. "She planned this... She really thought no one would care."
Alex turned away, hands clenched tightly.
⸻
That night, after returning home, Alex stood alone in Lisa's empty bedroom.
He looked at the desk, the small things she left behind. Her soft hair brush. A photo of the family. A bracelet she never took off.
His fingers touched the edge of her pillow.
"I didn't know..." he whispered.
"I didn't realize what you meant to me until you were gone."
And for the first time in years...
Alexander cried.