Chapter 5:The Hunt Begins

    The next morning, the mansion was unusually quiet. The sun rose, casting golden light across the marble floors, but the usual energy, the chatter, and the laughter of the household was missing. Naomi was gone. She had disappeared overnight.  

Lucas sat in the study, his hands clenched on the edge of the desk. He hadn’t slept much. The image of Naomi sneaking out, , the look in her eyes… it kept replaying in his mind. And then there was the pregnancy test he had found in her room.  

His jaw tightened. Naomi… pregnant? And she had left without saying a word? He felt a surge of anger, fear, and confusion.  

He picked up the phone and called the head of security. “Search for Naomi. Every street. Every hotel. Every corner of the city. Don’t come back until you find her.”  

“Yes, sir,” the guard replied, trying to sound confident. But Lucas could hear the hesitation in their voice.  

Hours passed. The guards returned, one by one, looking frustrated and helpless. None of them had found a trace of Naomi. Every hotel, every safehouse, every friend she might have had… she was gone.  

Lucas’ hands trembled slightly as he stood in the middle of the study, his mind racing. How had she vanished so completely? He had everything, connections, power… and yet she had disappeared from his reach.  

Meanwhile, in the mansion, Valentina was busy unpacking her bags in the master suite. She had arrived late last night, hearing the news that “the devil is gone,” referring to Naomi. She laughed, loud and cruel, like she was enjoying the misery of others.She also heard Naomi was pregnant . 

“That slut,” she said, tossing a scarf over her shoulder, “probably ran away with one of her boyfriends. She’s probably pregnant for one of them too.”  

Evelyn, sipping her morning tea, nodded in agreement. “Oh, Valentina, I’m sure she couldn’t be pregnant by my son Lucas. Not once. He hasn’t even touched her.”  

Charlotte, still bitter from the night before, smirked and added, “Good riddance. That woman never belonged here. If she’s really pregnant… well, it won’t be Lucas’ problem.”  

All three women laughed, cruel and loud, thinking they had won. They had mocked her, humiliated her, and now, they believed, Naomi was gone forever.  

But Lucas sat quietly in the study, his fists clenched, his jaw tight. Not a word. Not a single sound escaped him. He listened to the voices of the women mocking Naomi, laughing at her absence, and for the first time, something shifted inside him.  

Something dangerous. Something controlled. Something terrifying to anyone who had ever underestimated him.  

“keep quiet,” Lucas’ voice finally cut through the laughter, low, steady, and filled with a weight that made the women freeze mid-laugh.  

Valentina turned, startled. Evelyn’s hand shook around her teacup. Charlotte’s mouth opened, then closed, her smirk fading.  

The room went dead silent. Even the servants in the background seemed to stop moving. The sound of the city outside didn’t exist anymore.  

Lucas stood slowly, tall, his presence sharp and commanding. His eyes, dark and serious, scanned the room. “I said—keep. Quiet.”  

Every woman froze, fear creeping into their expressions. They had never heard him speak like this before. Ever. Lucas had always been calm, silent, distant. But this… this was different. This was power. This was warning.  

Valentina swallowed hard, her confidence shaking. “Y-your son… what are you—”  

“I don’t want to hear a single word about Naomi again,” Lucas said, his voice colder than ice. “Not a whisper, not a joke, not a comment. Is that clear?”  

Evelyn’s hands shook. She had never seen Lucas speak this way, with this authority, this edge. She nodded slowly. “Y-yes… Lucas.”  

Charlotte’s smirk was gone. Her bad attitude crumbled under the weight of his gaze. “Yes… sir,” she whispered, fear in her voice.  

Even Valentina, bold and cruel, felt her knees go weak. She had always gotten what she wanted, laughed at people, and mocked anyone weaker than her. But now… she realized she had never faced Lucas like this before.  

He stepped closer to the middle of the room, his eyes still on all of them. “For the first time in my life, I am saying something clearly. And I expect it to be obeyed. You will not talk about Naomi. Not here. Not to anyone. Not a word.”  

The air in the room felt heavy, tense, like something had shifted completely. Nobody dared to breathe.  

Lucas turned away, walking toward the study door, his steps slow but deliberate. The women stayed frozen, knowing they had crossed a line they didn’t understand. He didn’t need to raise his voice. He didn’t need to yell. The calm in his tone, the authority, the cold precision in his words… it demanded respect.  

And for the first time, everyone realized: Lucas Ashford was not a man to be underestimated.  

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Meanwhile, I sat in my small hotel room, hugging my bag, my heart heavy. The city outside moved on, people going about their lives unaware of the storm brewing in the mansion I had left behind. I thought about Lucas, about the pregnancy test he had seen, about how angry he might be.  

But I didn’t care. Not yet. I had to survive. I had to protect my baby. I had to build a life for us, away from the cruelty and the mockery, away from people who had never cared for me.  

I had left everything behind—the mansion, the family, Lucas’ cold love. I had only my bag, my belly, and my determination. But somehow… that felt enough.  

Somewhere, far away, Lucas held the evidence of my secret in his hands. Somewhere, the family trembled at his voice, realizing that the man they thought was distant and indifferent could command fear, respect, and obedience in a single sentence.  

And the world, just for a moment, felt like it had changed forever.  

* Even Valentina, laughing a moment ago, felt the weight of his authority. And for the first time in his life, Lucas’ control over the household was absolute. The question hung in the air: **What will he do next, now that he knows Naomi is pregnant and gone?**

*