Missing

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Jonás Gutiérrez, that morning, left his house walking to work. The doctor recommended that he exercise daily and walk, and that is why he took it as part of his routine. Halfway there he stopped to buy a coffee and a newspaper and then continued on to work. That morning was different, said Lucía, his assistant, she arrived and he was already spending time in his office, otherwise, he was upstairs talking with Mr. Adonis (owner of the company) which was normal and sometimes took hours.

Around 11 in the morning, Mr. Adonis arrives and tells Lucía to tell Jonás to go up to talk to him, Lucía stops him and says: - Mr. Adonis, I thought I was with you. He answers, No, I'm coming back from the doctor, I had an appointment, please tell him to come up, it's urgent. Lucía is surprised and looks for him in her office and throughout the apartment, but she cannot find him, something totally unusual, Mr. Jonás never missed work and was one of those who always arrived first. He calls the reception and asks for him and the receptionist tells him that she has not seen him arrive. Lucía calls him on his phone and rings several times without getting a response. He tries again and again, and nothing. He calls Mr. Adonis and tells him that he cannot reach him, to which he responds that it cannot be, they had spoken earlier and agreed to meet at the office.

Lucía continues trying to communicate, she continues calling him, she calls him at home, she calls her son and no one knows her whereabouts. Suddenly they answer him, but it wasn't him...

My story.

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With her heart trembling violently, Lucia gripped her phone hard.

“Who is this?” the voice from the other side asked.

Hesitantly, Lucia answered the phone, “I am Lucia, Mr. Jonas’s assistant. Who are you? Why do you have this phone?”

The voice replied, “I found this phone on the bench at Central Park. It is near the coffee stand.”

Lucia thought a little. Central Park? That was not too far from Jonas’s usual route to work. She quickly thanked the caller and cut the phone. Next, she immediately called Mr. Adonis.

“Sir, someone found Mr. Jonas’s phone at Central Park. I think something is going wrong”.

Mr. Adonis responded sharply, “Lucia, call the police; I am going to the park right now."

After agreeing, Lucia called the emergency number and provided the officer on the line with all the details. She wore her coat and rushed out of the workplace later. She was curious as to what had occurred.

At the time she reached the park, she noticed that Mr. Adonis was chatting with a policeman near the bench. They held Mr. Jonas's phone, but Jonas was nowhere to be seen. The policeman turned to Lucia as she arrived at them and inquired, "You are the assistant?"

She quickly responded and spoke. “Yes, has anyone seen him?”.

The police officer nodded. "Not yet, but we started a search. Let’s check the CCTV camera around the park to see if they captured anything.”

Lucia felt helpless; Jonas was not only her boss but also a kind man who helped and respected everyone. When the police expanded their search, Lucia remembered something. “Wait, she disturbed the police “This morning he stopped to buy a coffee and a newspaper. There is a café beyond the park, down the street from here. Maybe someone there saw him.”

“That is a good idea; let’s go there,” the police officer replied.

At the café, the owner quickly recognized Jonas from the description.

“Yes, he came here this morning as usual,” the owner confirmed. "Oh! It was only now that I remembered. He didn't even taste the coffee today; instead, it was left on the counter. He left in a rush, which was strange.".

“Did you see where he went?”. Lucia asked.

“No, the owner shook his head and continued, “but he seems to be giving his attention to a phone call or someone outside. I didn’t think much of it”.

Given what had happened to Jonas, Lucia was terrified.

Mr. Adonis, Lucia, and the police rushed to the alley. On the floor was the newspaper that had fallen hastily and Jonas's briefcase. They discovered some marks nearby that appeared to be from a struggle.

Lucia was surprised. “Jonas never dropped his belongings like this,” she said.

The officer nodded grimly “This might be a potential kidnapping. The search will be intensified right away."

When the police surrounded the area, Lucia looked at Mr. Adonis and asked, "Do you think someone wants to harm him?”

Mr. Adonis glanced at Lucia sharply “Jonas never had enemies, to my knowledge. There should be something more than we realize.”

As the search grew more intense, Lucia looked forward excitedly. Jonas had been attempting to tell them something that morning, she recalled. Now, she believed, it was their responsibility to find the truth.

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I thank you for reading my story, and I'll leave you with something to think about moving forward. I invite @rony-hafiz, @collins012, @sur-riti, and @dove11 to take part in this contest.

Thank you for reading my story.