My heart sank, and I began to shake, especially when I saw her troubled frown.

"He could have left hours ago!" she exclaimed, holding her head as she paced. “I had no idea.”

"Think back. Did you hear anything?" I inquired with fear in my voice.

"Not really. I went to sleep at some point, and when I woke up, I checked on him like usual, but he wasn’t in bed," she said, sighing in exasperation. "At first, I was worried he’d fainted, so I checked ...