Chapter 4

The Woman Who Vanished

Lucien’s POV

Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but I had already been awake for nearly an hour.

Sleep had never come easily to me.

Last night had been no different.

I stood in front of the living room window with a cup of black coffee in my hand, staring at the city below. Cars filled the streets, people hurried to work, and life continued as though nothing had happened.

As though one woman’s entire world hadn’t collapsed.

My thoughts drifted to Elena.

After our kiss, neither of us had spoken.

She had looked as shocked as I felt.

I had wanted to tell her it shouldn’t have happened.

Instead, I had simply wished her goodnight.

It had been safer that way.

For both of us.

The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts.

Damien walked into the suite carrying a tablet.

“You’ve been awake all night again.”

“I slept enough.”

He gave me a look that clearly said he didn’t believe me.

“You have a board meeting in an hour.”

“Cancel it.”

His eyebrows rose.

“Again?”

“I said cancel it.”

Without another word, he made a note on the tablet.

“You’ve also received twelve calls from your sister.”

“I don’t care.”

“She sounded angry.”

“When doesn’t she?”

Damien almost smiled.

Before he could reply, I found myself looking toward the hallway that led to the guest bedrooms.

“Has she come out yet?”

He followed my gaze.

“No.”

A strange feeling settled in my chest.

I walked toward the hallway.

The guest room door was closed.

I knocked once.

No answer.

“Elena?”

Silence.

I knocked again, a little louder this time.

Still nothing.

Something felt wrong.

I slowly turned the handle.

The room was empty.

The neatly folded blanket rested at the foot of the bed.

The bathroom door stood open.

There wasn’t a single sign that anyone had spent the night there.

My eyes landed on the bedside table.

My suit jacket.

Perfectly folded.

She had left it behind.

I stared at it for several seconds before picking it up.

A faint floral scent still clung to the fabric.

She was gone.

“When did she leave?” I asked quietly.

Damien immediately called hotel security.

Within minutes, the night manager hurried upstairs.

“I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Blackwood.”

“What time?”

“Mrs… the lady with you left around six this morning.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did anyone stop her?”

“No, sir.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

Of course she had left.

She had spent three years trapped in a marriage where every act of kindness came with a price.

Why would she believe mine was any different?

“Show me the security footage.”

Ten minutes later, Damien and I stood inside the hotel’s security office.

The recording showed Elena walking through the lobby just after dawn.

She had changed back into her own dress, now dry but wrinkled from the night before.

She carried nothing except a small handbag.

She paused outside the hotel doors.

For one brief moment, she looked back toward the elevators.

Toward my suite.

Toward me.

Then she left.

I watched the screen long after it went dark.

“She didn’t even leave a note,” Damien muttered.

“No.”

I slipped my hands into my pockets.

“Find her.”

Damien looked surprised.

“You want surveillance?”

“I want to know she’s safe.”

“Nothing more?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t sure.

Last night had changed something.

I barely knew Elena.

Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about the pain in her eyes.

Or the way she had smiled while eating soup like it was the first peaceful meal she’d had in years.

Or the kiss.

Damn it.

I should never have kissed her back.

She had been vulnerable.

Heartbroken.

She deserved better than becoming another scandal connected to the Blackwood family.

My phone rang.

Margaret.

I declined the call.

It rang again immediately.

Then again.

Finally, I answered.

“What?”

“So it’s true,” Margaret snapped without greeting me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play games with me.”

“I don’t have time for this.”

“You spent the night with Adrian’s ex-wife.”

I remained silent.

She took my silence as confirmation.

“Have you completely lost your mind?”

“Careful.”

“She’ll destroy this family.”

“This family destroyed her.”

Margaret scoffed.

“She was never worthy of becoming a Blackwood.”

“No.”

I looked out the security office window.

“She was too good for us.”

The line went silent.

For once, my sister had nothing to say.

I ended the call.

Damien’s phone buzzed almost immediately.

He glanced at the screen before looking at me.

“You’re going to want to see this.”

He handed me the tablet.

Every major news outlet had the same headline.

BILLIONAIRE HEIR DIVORCES WIFE FOR HER COUSIN.

Photos from the gala covered every page.

Elena signing the divorce papers.

Vanessa holding Adrian’s hand.

Margaret pointing at Elena.

Then another photo.

Me.

Standing beside Elena outside the hotel with my jacket around her shoulders.

The article called me the mysterious man who rescued Adrian’s ex-wife after the public humiliation.

Another headline was even worse.

LUCIEN BLACKWOOD AND HIS NEPHEW’S EX-WIFE LEAVE TOGETHER.

“So it begins,” Damien muttered.

“They’ll talk.”

“They always do.”

I handed the tablet back.

“Keep looking.”

“For Elena?”

“Yes.”

Damien hesitated.

“What if she doesn’t want to be found?”

His question lingered between us.

I knew the answer.

If Elena wanted to disappear, she could.

She had every reason to run from the Blackwood name.

Including me.

Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was walking straight into another storm.

Hours later, as I returned to my penthouse, my housekeeper approached me carrying a small velvet box.

“This was found in the guest room.”

I frowned.

“What is it?”

“I believe it belongs to the young lady.”

I opened the box.

Inside lay a simple silver wedding ring.

No diamonds. No extravagant design.

Just the ring Adrian had placed on Elena’s finger three years ago.

She had taken it off.

She hadn’t forgotten it.

She had left it behind on purpose.

A quiet declaration that her marriage was truly over.

I closed my hand around the ring.

For the first time in years, I felt something dangerously close to hope.

Then my phone vibrated again.

It was my private investigator.

His voice was unusually tense.

“Mr. Blackwood… we’ve located Mrs. Elena Vale.”

I straightened immediately.

“Where is she?”

“She’s at the Blackwood estate.”

My grip tightened around the ring.

“Why?”

“She returned to collect the rest of her belongings.”

I grabbed my car keys without another word.

Because if Adrian or anyone else humiliated her again…

They would answer to me.

And this time, I wouldn’t stand by and watch.