Chapter 004

"Mr. Alexander, your wife's gone. She ran off with one of her lovers!"

Lucas Nicholas, the CEO of the gigantic Alexander Empire, didn't budge. He didn't even bother to look at Thompson, the head of security, standing on the door of the balcony impatiently tapping his well-polished shoes on the marbled floor, and repeatedly wiping off a white handkerchief across his glistening forehead. 

"What car did she use?" He asked coldly, a paper-blank expression plastered on his face. His hazel-green eyes remained locked at the beautiful hue of swirling amber liquid inside the glass in his hand. He found the brandy far more interesting compared to learning that his unfaithful wife took so long to run off with one of her lovers.

After a moment of hesitation, Thompson replied. "Your most treasured car, Sir."

Finally, that caught his attention. He frowned, praying it wasn't his favorite car or all hell would break loose.

"Your Bugatti," Thompson confirmed. 

Lucas felt as if someone had just punched him hard in the face. "She took the Bugatti!" He thundered. Cursing under his breath, he thought of Alexandria and wished she was in front of him so he could wring her lovely neck for stealing his car.

Exasperated, he poured the contents of brandy into his mouth and emptied the glass. The warm liquid slithering down his throat didn't improve his mood.

"Damn it to hell." He cursed once more, his long slender fingers brushing across his sleek midnight hair. He won't give a damn if she took a dozen cars in the garage. But the Bugatti was a present from his mother. It has a sentimental value. He could buy the same car, but it wouldn't be the same.

In a split second, Lucas was on his feet. A menacing scowl was plastered on his forehead as he strode to the door.

"It's all my fault, Sir. It was all too late when I discovered she was gone." Thompson said, taking all the blame.

"It's not your fault. Everyone knew that one day Alexandria would leave me for another man. No one could have stopped her, not even me." Lucas stated truthfully. The mask of coldness on his face could have surpassed the marbled statue of Ares, the great god of war, standing on the balcony of his room. 

Lucas walked past Thompson. Moving across the master's bedroom, he opened another door, exposing dimly lit arched hallways. He briskly moved to Alexandria's room, aware of the ominous thud in his chest that tells him something was terribly wrong. His gut feeling had never been wrong. 

Thompson quietly trailed behind Lucas like a ghost. 

When Lucas reached his wife's room, he turned the knob and, for the umpteenth time, cursed again as he discovered it was locked. Thompson noisily fumbled with the set of keys in his hand until he found the right key and extended it to him so he could unlock the door. 

"I want you to check on Niall." He ordered as he inserted the key into the lock. He wanted to make sure his son was safe and sound in his room. "Make sure that he would never hear from anyone inside that his mother left him and ran off with another man." He added an edge of steel in his tone and shifted his attention to the door. He turned the key. There was a soft click. 

"Yes Sir." Thompson said, slightly bowing his head before walking away. His retreating step echoed in the hallway until it faded to the distance. 

Lucas pushed the door open and turned the lights on, exposing a spacious room with high ceilings and pink floral walls. 

The first thing that came to his view was the wide-open cabinets with half of the contents missing. He swiftly moved inside the room and went straight to the dresser where a box filled with expensive pieces of jewelry once stood, but now the box, including the items inside, was missing. It confirmed his initial assumption—Alexandria ran away and took a lot of valuables with her. 

The folded paper pressed underneath a set of hairbrushes cut through his thoughts. A deep frown etched on his temples as he slowly picked it up and opened its contents. Alexandria's handwriting came into view. 

He sucked in a deep breath as his eyes skimmed her familiar handwriting.

I never loved you, Lucas. I married you for the luxury and extravagance you could provide. And now I'm tired of life with you. I'm escaping from the prison you call home. I'm never coming back. Don't come after me. It's too late. I brought Niall with me. 

The rage bubbling inside him turned into a volcanic blast. He grabbed the first thing his fingers touched and hurled it across the floor. Broken shards of glass lay scattered on the floor like tiny constellations. 

"Damn you Alexandria! I will never forgive you for this." His voice thundered across the room. Anguish marred his once calm expression. 

"Sir Niall's not in his room—" Thompson emerged from the door. Agitation made his face ten years older than his real age. He froze when his gaze shifted to the clutter on the floor as realization finally sunk in. 

"That cunning witch just brought my son with her so she has something to use against me!" Lucas growled, fist curled into tight balls on his side. He crumpled the piece of paper until it was pressed into an extremely small ball. 

He marched to the door and walked past his loyal staff, who fell into unending silence. 

"Send the guests home." He ordered, recalling that the party inside the mansion was still underway. 

Thompson stared at him in shock. 

"But the guests just arrived." He reasoned, without sounding as if he was objecting.

"There's no wedding anniversary to celebrate. I want to rest now." He bit back with implacable authority.

Thompson opened his mouth as if to argue, but suddenly changed his mind and closed it again. 

 "Order your men to hunt Alexandria. I wanted my son back." Lucas barked. With long, quick strides, he reached the door. 

"Right away, Mr. Alexander." Thompson exclaimed.

Lucas heard the Security Head sigh heavily before he flung the door close, then retreated to the darkness of his room and slammed the door shut.