CHAPTER 4–Gone without a trace

ALESSANDRO 

The first thing I noticed was the silence.

It was unnatural.

My hand instinctively reached for the space beside me, where she had been last night. Cold sheets. Empty.

My eyes snapped open.

I sat up, scanning the room, then moved swiftly to the bathroom. Empty. The living area? Nothing. I stepped onto the balcony, searching the streets below. Not a single trace of her.

I ran a hand through my hair, my jaw tightening.

She was gone.

I exhaled sharply, irritation curling in my gut. Women didn’t leave me. I dictated how things ended. Yet, the girl from last night had vanished before the sun even rose, slipping through my fingers like a ghost.

Interesting.

I closed my eyes, letting the memories of last night crash into me.

The way she looked at me—those wide, innocent blue eyes studying me like I was something dangerous but irresistible. The way her soft lips had parted under my touch, her moans, her body responding to me with a fire she didn’t even know she possessed.

She was different. Different from the women who usually warmed my bed. And now she was gone, leaving behind nothing but the imprint of her presence, like a phantom in the dark.

She had stepped on a wound, one I didn’t like acknowledging.

A knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts.

“Boss,” a voice called from the other side. “Do you need anything?”

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and stood, my muscles coiled with tension. “Find out who she is.”

A pause. “The woman from last night?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice leaving no room for argument.

I heard footsteps retreating, my command already being carried out.

Women didn’t just walk away from me.

I do the leaving—not the other way around.

A Week Later

She had vanished.

I had my men comb through every nightclub in Milan, every high-end bar, every underground lounge where she might’ve hidden. But there was nothing. Not a whisper of her existence. It was as if she had never been here at all.

My patience wore thin.

I don’t like losing, and now it seemed she was playing a game of hide and seek. A game I had no intention of losing.

I pulled my gun from the nightstand and slid it into my back pocket. Tonight, I had a meeting. And I liked to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

A knock on the door. “The car is ready,” Lorenzo, my right-hand man, announced.

I exhaled through my nose, shoving my frustration down. “Let’s go.”

We stepped outside. One of my men slid into the passenger seat, while I took my place in the back with Lorenzo.

“What does he want?” I asked as we drove.

“He wants you to invest in his business,” Lorenzo said, his tone laced with skepticism. “He’s promising a high return. Says it’ll be worth it.”

I hummed, unimpressed. “His empire is crumbling. Why would I waste money on a sinking ship?”

Lorenzo scratched his jaw, hesitant. “I guess we won’t know until we meet him.”

I said nothing.

“Why did he invite us to his house?” I asked after a moment. “He’s the one who needs favors. He should be coming to us.”

“He insisted,” Lorenzo replied. “Said he wanted to have dinner first. Talk business after.”

I scoffed. Wasting my time.

We pulled up to an estate, the gates parting to reveal a house that still screamed wealth. Maybe they weren’t drowning yet. But they were close.

We parked, stepping out into the cool evening air. A large dining area had been set up outside, servants moving in and out, arranging the table.

“Mr. De Luca,” a man in his fifties greeted us as we approached. He extended his hand.

I gave him a curt nod and took a seat without a word.

Beside him, a woman who I assumed was his wife smiled politely. My men stood behind me, their presence a silent warning, while his men did the same. The tension between them was palpable, but I didn’t care to acknowledge it.

“Let’s get this over with”

The man cleared his throat. “Let’s not rush into business just yet. My daughters will be joining us soon. Let’s eat first.”

Irritation gnawed at me.

“I don’t have the time for—”

My words died on my tongue.

She stepped onto the patio, the golden glow of the setting sun kissing her skin.

Red hair, tumbling down her back in soft waves. Big, familiar blue eyes that locked onto mine, widening with shock. Those lips—the same lips that had wrapped around my cock last week.

A slow smile curved my mouth.

Found you.

She froze. For a split second, she looked like she was about to throw up. Then, like a storm gathering strength, her expression hardened.

Interesting.

I leaned back in my chair, watching her, amusement flickering beneath my cold exterior.

Her father, oblivious to the tension crackling between us, gestured toward her. “This is my eldest daughter, Alexis. And my youngest Elena”

Elena.

I rolled the name over in my mind.

It suited her.

She swallowed hard, regaining her composure, then lowered herself into the chair across from me, avoiding my gaze. But I could see the way her fingers curled slightly against the table, the way her shoulders tensed.

She felt it.

The electricity between us. The unfinished business.

I lifted my glass to my lips, never taking my eyes off her.

This dinner just became a lot more interesting.