In the second episode of Vanished, Alice's journey unfolds as she discovers a collection of pottery on the beach. She offers it to Tom, who declines, asking her to keep it as a token of his presence. As the story shifts to the present, Alice ventures to the SOS Global offices in Marseille to meet with Alex. Alex is taken aback by the news of Tom's disappearance, prompting Alice to inquire about the last time Tom made contact. Alex insists that Tom was on vacation and didn't need to check in. He then recounts an incident that occurred nine months ago in Jordan.
Tom had befriended an eight-year-old boy named Malik, who lived in one of the camps. Unfortunately, Malik's mother suffered a difficult delivery, and her health worsened, forcing Malik to drop out of school. Out of concern, Tom promised to take care of Malik's family as long as Malik returned to school. A few weeks later, bandits raided the camp and abducted women and children, including Malik's family. Tom spent weeks searching for them and eventually found their remains a few clicks away from the camp. The incident left Tom deeply affected, and the company tried to provide him with mental health support. They even considered taking him out of the field due to his frequent disappearances for days. Alex promises to contact Alice as soon as Tom surfaces or makes a call, assuring her that his disappearance is just a misunderstanding.
Alice returns to her hotel and delves into Tom's notebook and calendar. She discovers a Post-it note with the name 'Aurelie' and calls Helene for assistance. Helene is immediately intrigued and promises to investigate the name while concealing her prior knowledge of it. She already knows that 'Aurelie' is the name of a boat and has a picture of Tom talking to a woman on board.
The passage now reads with a heightened sense of urgency and emotional depth, painting a vivid picture of the characters' interactions and the unfolding mystery surrounding Tom's disappearance.
Later, she leads Alice to the port, and together they break into the boat. Alice discovers Tom's coats and angrily exits without even saying goodbye to Helene. She assumes that Tom was probably cheating on her with his co-worker. She meets with Alex, who subtly implies that Tom might be having an affair. He also confirms that Tom made a call to Jordan the day he disappeared. He advises Alice to leave for Arles.
Heartbroken, Alice packs her bags and reminisces about the first time she invited Tom to one of their work parties in Jordan. The two of them sneaked into the dig area and were nearly caught. They later slept together for the first time, and the rest, as they say, is history. After packing, Alice makes her way to the train station. There, she spots Maurice and decides to follow him. She goes to the bar where most of the train station staff hang out. She lies that she is pregnant with Maurice’s child and desperately needs his address. The men cheer after learning that Maurice managed to sleep with a 'hot' woman. One of them quickly offers Maurice’s address to her.
She makes her way to the multi-apartment building complex and runs into a few guys who sexually harass her. Thankfully, another woman steps in to save her.
Shaken, Alice makes her way to Maurice's house. Upon arrival, she finds the door open and, upon further investigation, discovers Maurice bleeding on the floor, his throat brutally sliced open. Instinctively walking towards him to help, she quickly realizes that she has just contaminated the scene. She checks the balcony and sees a man climbing down the pipes. A woman arrives and assumes Alice is the person behind Maurice's death. She starts screaming for help, and Alice bolts.
Unfortunately, she runs into the gang that had been harassing her before. They chase after her, but she manages to hide and flee the scene just as the police arrive. She makes her way back to the hotel and calls Alex in a state of shock. He asks for her current location and asks her to wait for him. After the call, he uses his burner phone to call the killer, the man who has been stalking Alice. He instructs the killer to kill Alice because she can identify him.
Meanwhile, Alice calls Helene, and she asks who else she has spoken to. Helene instructs Alice not to speak to anyone and to wait for her. By this time, the killer is on his bike on his way to Alice's hotel. The scene cuts back to the opening scene in episode 1. Luckily, Helene arrives in time to run over the killer just when he is about to stab Alice. Alice quickly gets in Helene's car, and they drive off.
During the ride, Helene asks how many people knew which hotel Alice was staying at. Only two people knew: Alex and Inspector Drax. Helene figures that either of these two men is behind the threat to Alice's life. At the same time, Alice questions how Helene knew where Tom worked. Finally, Helene comes clean and tells Alice that she thinks Tom got off the train because of her. Helene offers to drive her to the train station to pick up her bags before they head to a safe place.
Helene brings Alice to her place. She admits that she is a freelance investigative journalist who has been looking into Tom for the past six months. She believes that Tom runs one of the largest human trafficking operations in the Middle East and that he saw her on the train, panicked, and got off. Alice is flabbergasted by the idea that Tom could ever run a human trafficking ring. Helene points out that Tom was good at keeping secrets, such as the boat. Alice accuses her of withholding the truth from her. She angrily gets ready to leave, but Helene reminds her that she can't leave - someone, possibly Alex, has a hit out on her. She turns on the TV and shows Alice that she is currently wanted for the murder of Maurice. As luck would have it, Inspector Drax is the lead officer in the case.
