Chapter six

The number was unreachable.

Again.

Adrian lowered his phone slowly, his jaw tightening as the automated voice repeated the same lifeless message.

“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair.

Three weeks.

Three weeks since she disappeared without a trace. No goodbye. No explanation. No closure. Just silence thick, suffocating silence that clung to him no matter where he went.

He tried everything. Calls. Emails. Her apartment. Her friends.

Nothing.

It was like she had erased herself from his world on purpose.

But Adrian vale was not a man who accepted losing.

If Seraphina wouldn’t come to him…

Then he would go through the only people who never failed to show their true nature….

Her family.

The atmosphere in the room was tense, but not uncomfortable.

No… it was worse.

It was eager.

Adrian sat across from Seraphina’s siblings, his expression calm, unreadable while theirs barely concealed their greed. He could see it in their eyes, in the way they leaned forward, in how quickly they had agreed to meet him.

They didn’t ask why he wanted to see them.

They only cared about what they would get.

“I’ll be direct,” Adrian said smoothly, clasping his hands together. “I want to know where Seraphina is.”

Her older brother leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “If we knew where she was, do you think we’d be sitting here like this?”

Adrian didn’t react. “Everyone has a price.”

That did it.

Their expressions shifted subtle, but undeniable.

Hooked.

Her sister exchanged a quick glance with the brother before turning back to Adrian. “And what exactly are you offering?”

Adrian reached into his suit jacket, pulling out a document and placing it gently on the table.

A contract.

“Full settlement of your debts,” he said calmly. “And a monthly allowance… generous enough to make sure you never have to worry about money again.”

The room went quiet.

Not shocked.

Calculating.

“You’re serious?” the brother asked, leaning forward now.

Adrian’s gaze hardened slightly. “I don’t repeat myself.”

Another silence longer this time.

“We don’t know exactly where she is,” the sister admitted slowly. “But… we might know someone who does.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened, a flicker of something dangerous passing through them.

Finally.

Progress.

But just as quickly as hope sparked

“She left because of you, you know,” the brother added with a smirk. “Said she needed space. Said she couldn’t breathe around you anymore.”

Adrian stilled.

For a split second, something cracked beneath his composed exterior.

But it vanished just as fast.

“Find her,” he said coldly, standing up. “And the deal stands.”

As he walked away, one thought echoed relentlessly in his mind

Seraphina… where did you go?

Elara’s POV

“I’m pregnant.”

The words hung in the air like a confession Elara couldn’t take back.

Her roommate blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then…..

“YOU’RE WHAT?!”

Elara winced, quickly reaching over to cover her mouth. “Lower your voice!”

Her roommate yanked her hand away dramatically, eyes wide with shock. “No, no, don’t ‘lower your voice’ me! Since when?! How?! Who?!”

Elara let out a shaky breath, sinking onto the edge of the bed.

“I just found out,” she murmured. “A few days ago.”

“A few days ago?!” Her roommate paced the small room like a storm about to break. “And you’re just telling me now? Elara, this is not ‘I broke a plate’ kind of news this is a whole human being!”

“I know!” Elara snapped, her voice cracking. “I know, okay? I just… I needed time to process it first.”

Then her roommate’s tone softened slightly. “Okay… okay. Start from the beginning.”

Elara hesitated.

Her fingers twisted together in her lap, her mind replaying that night….

“It was… just one night,” she admitted quietly.

Her roommate froze. “A one-night stand?”

Elara nodded.

“Oh my God.”

“I didn’t even plan it,” she continued, her voice trembling now. “It just… happened. And now this…” She placed a hand over her stomach, her expression torn between fear and disbelief.

Her roommate sat down beside her slowly. “Do you at least know who the guy is?”

A pause.

Elara swallowed.

“I…” she hesitated, then shook her head weakly. “Not really.”

“What do you mean ‘not really’?”

“I mean I don’t know him!” Elara said, frustration creeping in. “I don’t know where he lives, what he does… nothing.”

Her roommate stared at her like she had just announced the end of the world.

“You’re carrying a man’s child… and you don’t know anything about him?”

Elara looked away.

“I know his name.”

“Well?” her roommate pressed.

Elara’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.

“Adrian.”

The name lingered in the air.

Strange.

Unfamiliar.

Powerful.

Her roommate frowned slightly. “Adrian what?”

Elara shook her head slowly.

“I don’t know.”

Silence fell again but this time, it felt different.

Heavier.

Because suddenly… this wasn’t just a mistake anymore.

It was a mystery.

And Elara had no idea that somewhere in the same city…

The man named Adrian was already searching for a woman, Just not her.