My Husband Is An International Idol

The moment Mary said those four words—

"We can’t find Lily."

—the entire world seemed to stop.

Chris reached the photography studio in less than ten minutes.

The police had already arrived. So had the company’s security team. Yellow tape surrounded the courtyard where Liliana had last been seen.

Chris ignored everyone and ran straight to Mary.

"Where?"

His breathing was uneven.

"Where did you last see her?"

Mary’s eyes were already swollen from crying.

"She..." Her voice trembled. "She said she wanted fresh air. I thought she’d only be gone for a few minutes."

Chris immediately searched the courtyard himself.

"Lily!"

His voice echoed between the buildings. But there was no answer. Only silence.

German police officers were already reviewing every security camera surrounding the block.

One officer frowned. "This doesn’t make sense."

Matthew stood beside him.

"What is it?"

The officer replayed the footage.

The main entrance where people are seen entering and leaving. There were delivery trucks and other vehicles. Photographers and models come and go. Then, nothing.

The camera overlooking the courtyard suddenly skipped forward for exactly seven minutes.

Matthew frowned.

"Play it again."

The officer did. But the timestamp jumped.

11:42.

Then...

11:49.

Seven entire minutes had vanished.

"Corrupted?" Matthew asked.

The officer slowly shook his head. "No."

He zoomed into the recording. "This wasn’t a malfunction."

He looked at everyone. "The footage was deliberately removed."

The room fell completely silent. Someone had planned this.

Chris stared at the frozen screen. His fists slowly tightened.

"Lily was there..."

His voice became barely audible.

"And someone erased it."

The police immediately expanded the search.

From nearby streets, train stations, parking garages, hotels and taxi companies. Every possible exit route. Even drones were deployed above the surrounding districts.

But nothing.

There was no sign of Liliana.

Meanwhile, inside the temporary operations room established by St. Claire Entertainment, the atmosphere had become unbearably heavy.

Emily sat silently in one corner. She hadn’t spoken in nearly an hour..She simply stared at Liliana’s phone resting on the table. It had been found near one of the flower beds. The screen was cracked.

Mary quietly sat beside her.

"I’m sorry..." Emily whispered.

Mary slowly looked up.."What?"

"I should’ve gone with her."

Mary’s eyes immediately filled with tears again.

"I was her manager. I should’ve protected her."

Emily shook her head.

"No. I knew she liked getting fresh air between shoots. I should’ve followed."

Silence.

Then, Emily buried her face in her hands.

"She’s not just my cousin..."

Her voice broke.

"...She’s my best friend."

Mary gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Neither woman could stop blaming herself.

Nathan suddenly slammed his fist against the wall.

The loud sound startled everyone.

"I knew him."

His voice shook with anger.

"I knew Harry."

Nicolo looked equally furious.

"He always stared."

Everyone turned toward them.

Matthew frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Nathan took a deep breath.

"When we were kids, there was always this boy. He’d stand outside Grandma Lucia’s house."

Nicolo nodded.

"I remember. He never talked much. He’d just..."

"...watch."

Emily slowly looked up.

"Oh, I remember him too. He wore thick glasses. And always carried books."

Rose quietly whispered,

"He scared me."

Nicole nodded through tears.

"He never did anything, but every time Lily stayed home alone, he was somewhere nearby."

Nathan clenched his jaw.

"I thought..."

"I thought he was just another lonely kid."

Nicolo looked down.

"We all did."

Rose could no longer hold back her tears. She cried openly.

"Lily always waited for us after school. She made our snacks. And helped with homework. When Grandma got sick, she took care of everyone."

Nicole hugged her cousin tightly.

"She never complained. Not once."

Rose buried her face against Nicole’s shoulder.

"She’s more than our cousin."

"She’s..."

"Our big sister."

Nicole’s tears fell silently.

"The one who always protected us and now..."

Her voice disappeared. Aaron quietly looked away..River lowered his head. Even Leo, usually the calmest among them, remained completely silent.

Nobody knew what to say.

Shortly, Robin walked in carrying another report.

"No witnesses. No ransom call. No confirmed sightings."

Matthew closed his eyes.

"This was organized."

Robin nodded.

"Very organized and planned well."

Meanwhile, Chris remained outside. He refused to leave the courtyard. While police officers searched every corner again.

One detective approached him.

"Mr. St. Claire, we need you to answer a few questions."

Chris nodded absentmindedly.

"How are you related to Miss Liliana Sterling?"

Chris hesitated at first, but he knew he had to answer honestly.

"She’s my wife..."

The detective was surprised for a brief moment, but understood immediately.

"Don’t worry. This investigation will remain confidential."

Chris nodded. Then the detective continued.

"When was the last time you spoke with your wife?"

"This morning."

"What did she say?"

Chris smiled sadly.

"She told me..."

"I’ll wait for you after work."

His voice cracked.

"I told her I’d pick her up."

The detective quietly wrote everything down.

"Did she mention meeting anyone?"

"No."

"Receiving strange messages?"

Chris paused. Then remembered Harry.

"He knew her."

The detective looked up.

"Who?"

"Harry Finn."

"He was her classmate."

"He introduced himself."

Chris slowly looked toward the empty courtyard.

"She trusted him."

Hours passed, evening slowly covered the city.

The search teams continued working. Dogs were used to help search nearby parks. Helicopters circled overhead. Emergency alerts spread throughout Germany.

Still...

Nothing.

Far away, Victor and Sarah were already on another flight.

Harry’s diary rested inside Victor’s briefcase. Neither investigator spoke. Every minute felt precious.

Sarah quietly looked out the airplane window.

"I hope we’re not too late."

Victor didn’t answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on one sentence copied from Harry’s diary.

One day... I’ll take her back.

He quietly closed the notebook.

"No."

He finally said.

"We’re going to find her."

Back in Germany, Chris still stood in the same place where Liliana had last been seen.

The flower bed. The bench. The missing seven minutes.

Everything looked painfully ordinary. He slowly knelt and picked up something lying beneath the bench.

A small silver hair clip. It was Liliana’s favorite. The one she had worn that morning.

His hands trembled as he held it. He closed his eyes.

"Lily..."

For the first time since they were children, he didn’t know where to find her.

And for the first time since they had finally stopped hiding their love from each other, the woman he had promised to protect...

Had vanished without a trace.

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