When it's five in the morning, Tadeus puts on workout clothes, grabs his carry-on bag, asks one of the bodyguards to take him to the gym where he changes clothes, puts on a blonde wig and a face mask, and doesn't leave the place until his taxi arrives. That's how he gets to the airport.
><><><><
When he arrives at the Singer mansion, he sees the police tape, so he decides to go to Gustaph's house, but there's no answer. He tries not to lose hope when he remembers his old apartment, though this leads nowhere. That's when he decides to pay a visit to the prison.
He passes through security with ease, but the person he wants to speak with is busy with another visitor. As soon as he's notified that it's his turn, he sees his sister walking out the door leading to the visiting area.
— Good heavens, you're okay! — says Tadeus, with tears in his eyes. They leave the place to talk calmly about everything that has happened — If only I hadn't failed…
— We can still set things right if we testify against him for everything he's dragged you into.
— I'd rather we leave.
— We have to fight for our rights to the company and your innocence, Tadeus.
— Money won't save me if Edwin's partners find us, we're in too much danger. If we use our birth names, we can start over.
— No! This is where we can really start over. Have the life my mom robbed us of when she ran to another country to starve with us.
— Are you listening to what you're saying?
— I'm not going anywhere until Edwin is in jail and the company is cut off from all those criminal deals. In the end, if everything's liquidated, we can keep a share. — Yenedith places her hands on her brother's shoulders — Do you really want to give up the chance to live peacefully for the rest of our lives?
— It seems I was wrong thinking you needed me.
— We need each other — she says with a smile.
<><><><> A few days ago <><><><>
— What do you mean you don't know where he is? — Alexander asks.
— I took him to the gym, sir. He never left the place. I even went inside to see if he was there, but he had vanished.
The day goes by, but there's no sign of his fiancé's whereabouts, and he begins to fear the worst. When he contacts the Swiss Consulate to file a missing person report for a citizen abroad, he's informed that the authorities have learned Tadeus recently updated his passport information and may not actually be missing.
— He couldn't have just vanished — Alexander says, pulling a cigar from his desk drawer and lighting it.
— I was only able to get one image from the gym's security cameras. There's nothing else — says Claire.
— What about airports or transportation hubs?
— Nothing.
— He's not answering his phone either. Could someone have taken it from him?
— Who?
— Maybe Jade or the Swiss mafia came for him.
— There's also the possibility that he simply left you — says Claire, to which Alexander shushes her. — Think about it carefully. He changed his identification, and even though we don't know for sure what he changed, it's very likely his name if we can't find anything registered under "Tadeus something" or "Windmill.' If he had been kidnapped, it's impossible that no one would have noticed anything unusual. It all sounds to me like he planned his escape meticulously.
— Escape? But we just… — Remembering that kiss at the restaurant makes him feel a flutter in the stomach.
— He was never the person you thought he was. You already knew about his lies and his ties to other organizations; you can't be that surprised.
— Thanks for your help.
— You'll be fine; everything will go back to the way it was. You never cared about spending more than a couple of months with anyone.
"Do you think we can believe the words we say to each other, that we can make promises?"
— Shut up. Get out now.
— Remember that I'm the only one who's stood by you no matter how complicated you are—"You're too easy" his voice echoes — and all the lovers you've had.
— Enough already. Leave me alone, please — says Alexander with a knot in his throat.
"I feel like I'm more attached to you than I'd like to admit" says that voice in his head.
After a week without any answers, he decides to pack his bags, go back to catch up on the company's progress, and perhaps find out more about Tadeus. It occurs to him that living in Greece might not have been his dream after all; perhaps he panicked because of all the emotions.
He spends the next few days waiting for answers about his whereabouts. Tadeus hasn't returned to his job or his apartment; he isn't working with any TV network; the man has simply dissolved into thin air — Or someone is hiding him from me.
— You've got to accept that he left you.
— Ah… just shut up.
— We don't even know if he's in the Americas. Maybe he's still in some European country or selling his ass in a nightclub.
Alexander covers her mouth with his hand — You're crossing a line, woman.
— You really love him — says Claire. Alexander removes his hand and turns his back on her. — And does he love you?
— Of course he does — he replies, recalling those times they kissed in the little cottage.
Claire receives a text message: "Check the news, you won't believe what's happening right now." She takes control of the remote and turns on the TV in the conference room to watch the news channel, where she reads the headline: "Senator Arrested on Alleged Money Laundering Charges."
— Seriously, how can you be sure? — she says, turning up the volume on the TV.
"According to what we've heard from the police, the senator is accused of allegedly participating in and benefiting from money laundering by the criminal organization supposedly led by millionaire businessman Edwin Singer, who is also under investigation by the prosecutor's office."
— You never trusted him, and that's why you always looked for ways to keep an eye on him. You wanted to lock him up in that little house at your parents' place as if he were a bird. When in reality, it was you who shut yourself away so you wouldn't have to face the reality of how false and fragile his feelings for you are. If he ever even felt anything for you at all.
— I've heard enough from you! — Alexander snatches the remote from her, turns off the TV, and leaves.