Chapter 4 - The Hunt Begins

Four Weeks After That Night

Sebastian Vale hated unfinished business.

It irritated him more than bad investments, more than reckless board members, more than public scrutiny and the paparazzi that seemed to always stick their nose in his business.He had built his empire on control by knowing exactly where things stood and where they were going.

And Elara Moore had vanished.

He stood in his glass office overlooking Manhattan, his phone resting cold and silent in his hand. It had been two weeks since their last call. Two weeks since he told her to delete his number.

She had done exactly that.

She left no traces.

No calls.

No messages.

No response.

Sebastian’s jaw tightened.

Women didn’t usually disappear after a night with him. They lingered. They hoped. They reached out again, pretending it was accidental.

Elara hadn’t.

That should have satisfied him.

Instead, it unsettled him. It worried him more than he would like to admit. This is definitely new. He has never experienced this before. 

Sebastian wondered why it bothered him so much. He wondered why he even cared. She was just a woman he had one night with. But he couldn't help it.

“Find her,” he said into the phone.

Marco, his head of security, didn't ask questions. “Yes, sir.”

Sebastian ended the call and turned back to the city skyline. 

Somewhere out there, Elara was breathing, moving, living out of his sight.

He didn’t like that.

The memory of her haunted him in ways he didn't understand. The way she had  looked at him in the hotel, terrified but defiant. The way her voice had cracked when she had  said my mother is dead.

The way she had felt in his arms, fragile and fierce all at once.

He had expected the transaction to be simple.

It wasn't.

Nothing about Elara Moore was simple.

His phone buzzed.

Marco.

“What did you find?” Sebastian asked.

“She is not at her registered address. The apartment's been cleared out. No forwarding address filed. No credit card activity, no social media posts, no employment records.”

Sebastian's jaw tightened. “She can't just vanish.”

“She can if she's trying to,” Marco said carefully. “Sir, if I may ask, why the interest? The arrangement is complete.”

“That is not your concern."

“Understood.” Marco paused. “There is one thing. Hospital records show she visited the OBGYN clinic at Metropolitan three days ago.”

Sebastian went very still.

“OBGYN,” he repeated slowly.

“Yes, sir.”

Something cold settled in Sebastian's chest.

“Keep looking,” he said quietly. “I want to know where she is by tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line ended.

Sebastian stood alone in his office, staring at nothing.

OBGYN.

No.

It couldn't be.

One night. They had been careful. Mostly.

He pressed a hand to his face and exhaled slowly.

If Elara was pregnant…

The thought wouldn't finish itself.

His phone rang again.

Cassandra Whitmore.

Sebastian stared at the name for a long moment before answering.

“What do you want, Cassandra?”

“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” Her voice was smooth, amused.

"We're not friends.”

“No," she agreed lightly. “But we were something once. That counts for something, doesn't it?”

Sebastian said nothing.

Cassandra continued, “I heard an interesting rumor, Sebastian. Something about a girl. A nobody. A very brief… transaction.”

His grip tightened on the phone. “Where did you hear that?”

"I have my sources." She paused. “Is it true?”

*It's none of your business.”

Cassandra laughed softly. “Oh, but it is. Because if there's a woman out there who can damage you, Sebastian, that affects me too. Whether you like it or not, our lives are still… connected.”

“Stay out of this,” he warned.

"I can't," Cassandra replied simply. “Not when it affects my interests.”

“What interests?”

“You,” she said. “And the fact that I don't like surprises.”

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. “If you've done anything to her..”

“I haven't,” Cassandra interrupted smoothly. “Not yet. But I will need her name, Sebastian. Just to make sure we're all… protected.”

“No.”

“Then I'll find it myself.” Her tone shifted, colder now. “And you know I will.”

The line went dead.

Sebastian stood alone in his office, a familiar unease settling in his chest.

Cassandra Whitmore never involved herself unless there was something to gain.

Or destroy.

He dialed Marco again.

*Find Elara Moore,” he said. "Now. And I want surveillance on Cassandra Whitmore. Every move she makes, I want to know about it.”

“Understood.”

Sebastian ended the call and walked to the window.

The city glowed below him, endless and indifferent.

Somewhere out there, Elara was hiding.

And Cassandra was hunting.

He needed to find her first.

---

Across the city, Elara sat rigidly on the edge of the motel bed, her suitcase open at her feet.

She had paid in cash. Given a fake name. Kept her phone off.

She was being careful.

The pregnancy test lay wrapped in tissue inside the trash bin, as if hiding it could undo the truth. Or will make the reality go away.

Pregnant.

Four weeks along, according to the doctor.

Four weeks since the night that had destroyed everything.

She pressed a hand to her stomach. There was no movement yet. No sign. Just nausea and exhaustion, and a growing terror she couldn’t shake.

She couldn't let Sebastian find her.

Not now.

Maybe not ever.

Her phone buzzed.

She had turned it on for just a moment long enough to check her bank account, to make sure the money was still there.

Unknown Number.

Her heart stopped.

She stared at the screen, paralyzed.

The phone rang again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, her finger hovered over the answer button.

Then she turned the phone off entirely and threw it into her suitcase.

No.

She wouldn't let him in.

She couldn't.

Elara curled up on the on the motel bed, one hand still resting protectively over her stomach, and whispered into the silence:

“I'll keep you safe. I promise.”

Outside, the city roared on.

And the hunt had only just begun.