The Shattered Calm
The mansion was no longer quiet.
Guards were sent out. Calls were made. Yet by afternoon, no trace of Eleanor had been found. Victoria was pacing the living room, her face pale. "She wouldn't just leave without saying anything!" she cried.
Clara sat silently beside her, her hands trembling in her lap. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Eleanor's smile — gentle, tired, kind.
Ethan stood near the window, phone in hand. "I've contacted Damien," he said suddenly.
Clara blinked. "Damien? Why him?"
"He has access to sources outside the company. If this is connected to Marcus, we can't rely on our own staff."
Clara looked at him, uncertain. The last time she had heard of Damien, he'd nearly caused a scandal between their companies. But the way Ethan spoke now — controlled, but heavy — made her realize this wasn't about rivalry anymore.
"I'll do whatever it takes to bring her back," Ethan murmured.
Victoria turned toward him, anger flickering beneath her fear. "Do you even hear yourself? You and Damien working together — do you know what people will say?"
Ethan's gaze hardened. "Let them talk. I'm not losing family again."
His voice cracked slightly at the end, just enough to silence everyone. Clara looked up at him then — really looked — and for the first time, she saw something raw beneath his coldness. Fear.
But before anyone could speak, a maid hurried in, clutching a small metallic item in her hand. "Sir, we found this outside the gate."
It was a pendant — delicate, old-fashioned — Eleanor's.
Clara gasped softly. Ethan took it carefully, his expression unreadable. On the back, faint scratches formed the start of a word — Isab… before the letters stopped abruptly.
Victoria covered her mouth. "She tried to tell us."
Ethan's hand closed around the pendant, his voice low. "Then we start with Isabella."