Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Never Loses

Cassandra Whitmore didn't believe in coincidence.

A woman didn't vanish after one night with Sebastian Vale unless she had a reason. And if she had a reason, it meant she had leverage or she was carrying something that could become leverage.

Either way, Cassandra refused to be the last person to know.

She sat in the back seat of her car as Manhattan lights streaked past the tinted windows. Her expression was calm, her posture elegant, but her mind was already three steps ahead.

Her phone buzzed.

Derek, Private Intelligence.

“Yes,” she answered smoothly.

“We pulled what you asked for,” Derek said. ‘Basic info checks out. Elara Moore. Twenty-two. No criminal record. No real social presence. Mostly invisible.”

Cassandra's mouth curved faintly. “Invisible people are the most interesting.”

“There's more,” Derek continued. “Her mother was hospitalized at Metropolitan. Terminal cancer. Financial strain. The mother died two weeks ago.”

Cassandra's fingers tightened slightly on her clutch. “And the girl?”

“She's not at her registered address. No credit activity, no social media, no job records. Either she's hiding, or she's left the city.”

Cassandra looked out at the skyline. “Find her.”

“We're trying,” Derek said carefully. “But she's off the grid.”

“Then she's smarter than she looks,” Cassandra murmured. She paused. “What about the hospital?”

“Metropolitan has privacy restrictions, but…”

“Find a way around them,” Cassandra interrupted. “I want to know everywhere she went in that hospital. Every department. Every doctor.”

“Understood.”

The line ended.

Cassandra smiled, cold and pleased.

A desperate girl. A dying mother. A billionaire who offered money.

A night.

A disappearance.

And now silence.

The pieces were arranging themselves beautifully.

Her phone rang again.

Sebastian Vale.

Cassandra's smile widened.

She let it ring three times before answering.

“Sebastian,” she said warmly. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Stay away from her,” he said without preamble.

Cassandra laughed softly. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Elara Moore,” Sebastian said, his voice hard. “Stay away from her, Cassandra. I'm warning you.”

“Warning me?” She tilted her head, amused. “That's new. You're usually so much more… diplomatic.”

“I'm serious.”

“So am I,” Cassandra replied. "If there's a woman out there who can damage you, Sebastian, I need to know about her. It's just good business.”

“She can't damage me.”

“Then why are you so desperate to find her?” Cassandra asked sweetly.

Silence.

Cassandra's smile turned sharp. “That's what I thought.”

“Cassandra…”

“Tell me something,” she interrupted. “Why did she run? If she got what she wanted, the money for her mother why disappear?”

Sebastian didn't answer.

“Unless,” Cassandra continued thoughtfully, “she didn't get what she wanted. Or she got something… unexpected.” 

More silence.

Cassandra leaned back in her seat, satisfied. “You don't know where she is, do you?”

“That's none of your concern.”

“Oh, but it is.” Her voice dropped, intimate and dangerous. “Because if she's pregnant, Sebastian, that child becomes a weapon. Against you. Against your company. Against everything you've built.”

She heard his sharp inhale.

“Goodbye, Cassandra,” he said coldly.

“One more thing,” she added quickly. “I always win, Sebastian. You know that. So whatever game you're playing with this girl… I suggest you end it. Before I have to.”

The line went dead.

Cassandra set her phone down and gazed out at the glittering city.

Sebastian was protecting the girl.

Which meant the girl mattered.

Which meant Cassandra needed to find her first.

Her phone buzzed.

Derek.

“We found something,” he said. “Pharmacy records. Elara Moore purchased a pregnancy test four days ago. Paid cash, but the security footage caught her face.”

Cassandra's eyes glittered. “Send me the footage.”

“Already done.”

She opened the file and watched the grainy security video.

There, a young woman in an oversized hoodie, head down, hands shaking as she paid for the test.

Elara Moore.

Cassandra paused the video on Elara's face.

She looked terrified.

“Keep looking,” Cassandra said. “I want to know where she's staying. What she's planning. Everything.”

“Yes, Ms. Whitmore.”

Cassandra ended the call and stared at the frozen image of Elara Moore.

“Let's see how long you can hide,” she whispered.

In a cheap motel across the city, Elara woke from a restless sleep, hand pressed to her stomach.

Her phone was still off.

She didn't know Sebastian had mobilized his entire security team.

She didn't know Cassandra Whitmore had spoken her name.

She only knew one thing:

The world was closing in.

And she had nowhere left to run.