The Empty File
1144 Words
For several long seconds, neither of them moved.
The folder remained open between them, resting on the desk like an accusation neither could explain. Ava's eyes stayed locked on the page, repeatedly tracing the letters of her own name as though they might rearrange themselves into something less impossible.
They never did.
Ava Winters.
Printed neatly beneath an empty frame.
The space where a photograph should have been remained blank, waiting.
Her mouth felt strangely dry.
"When was this added?"
The question came out quieter than she intended.
Ryker didn't answer immediately. His attention remained fixed on the file, and for the first time since she had met him, he looked genuinely shaken. Whatever image she had formed of the Alpha King—a man who always seemed to know exactly what was happening around him—didn't fit the person standing beside her now.
Finally, he reached for the folder.
"I don't know."
Ava laughed once.
The sound carried no humor.
"You keep saying that."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"And I keep meaning it."
The response frustrated her because she believed him.
If Ryker had been lying, she would have known how to react. Anger was simple. Distrust was familiar. This was something far more uncomfortable. Every answer seemed to create another question, and the man standing beside her appeared just as trapped by the mystery as she was.
Ryker carefully turned the page over, examining the paper beneath the light.
"It's newer."
Ava stepped closer.
"What?"
"The paper."
He held the file at an angle.
"The rest of the folder is older. This page isn't."
Ava stared at it.
At first glance, everything looked identical. Then she noticed the difference. The paper beneath her name appeared cleaner, less worn than the surrounding documents.
A chill worked its way through her chest.
"So someone added it recently."
"It appears that way."
The realization settled heavily between them.
Someone had placed her file among the missing Contract Lunas.
Someone had expected her to become part of the pattern.
And whoever had done it possessed access to information they shouldn't have had.
Ava suddenly wished she had never opened the folder.
The feeling lasted less than a second.
Curiosity quickly overpowered fear.
It always did.
"Who has access to these records?"
Ryker closed the file and rested one hand on the desk.
"Very few people."
"How few?"
"The archivist responsible for estate records. My head of security. Myself."
Ava frowned.
"And that's it?"
"As far as I know."
The answer wasn't particularly reassuring.
Anyone investigating a mystery eventually learned the same lesson. The smaller the list of suspects became, the more dangerous the truth usually was.
Rain continued tapping softly against the windows while silence settled over the room.
Ava found herself studying Ryker again.
The sharp lines of his face seemed harder now than they had earlier. Something cold had entered his expression since discovering the file. It wasn't directed at her. If anything, he appeared to have forgotten she was standing there.
His attention had shifted elsewhere.
Toward whoever was responsible.
Toward whatever game was being played around them.
"You think this is connected to Evelyn."
The words left Ava's mouth before she fully considered them.
Ryker's eyes lifted immediately.
For a brief moment, surprise crossed his features.
Then he looked away.
That alone was answer enough.
"You do."
His gaze drifted toward the photograph resting on the nearby cabinet.
The one showing Evelyn smiling beneath the oak tree.
"I don't know."
Ava folded her arms.
"That's not a denial."
"No."
The honesty caught her off guard.
Ryker walked toward the fireplace and stared into the flames. The firelight cast shifting shadows across the room, making him look older than he had a few minutes earlier.
"My aunt wasn't the first disappearance."
Ava felt her heartbeat slow.
"What?"
The words emerged as little more than a whisper.
Ryker remained focused on the fire.
"For years, everyone treated Evelyn's disappearance as an isolated event. It was easier that way. Easier to believe something terrible had happened to one person than to consider a larger pattern."
Ava stared at him.
A cold sensation settled in her stomach.
"The Contract Lunas."
Ryker nodded.
"The oldest case in that folder happened decades before Evelyn disappeared."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The implications were too large.
Too disturbing.
Someone had been targeting women connected to Blackwood Estate for generations.
Ava thought back to the empty frame bearing her name.
The idea suddenly felt less like a coincidence and more like a warning.
"What exactly is a Contract Luna?"
Ryker finally turned away from the fire.
The question seemed to surprise him.
"You really don't know?"
"Should I?"
A faint crease appeared between his brows.
"No. I suppose not."
Ava waited.
"The arrangement existed long before my time," he explained. "Before formal mate bonds became politically important, some Alpha families used contracts to establish alliances. Not every marriage involved destiny or pack traditions. Some were negotiated. Some were strategic."
"Business marriages."
"Essentially."
Ava glanced toward the folder.
"And all of those women disappeared."
"Not all."
The answer stopped her.
"Not all?"
Ryker shook his head.
"Most lived normal lives. Married. Had families. Grew old."
Ava frowned.
"Then why are these women in the file?"
His expression darkened.
"Because they're the exceptions."
The room seemed colder.
Ava suddenly understood what made the folder so disturbing.
It wasn't a collection of every Contract Luna.
It was a collection of the ones who vanished.
The realization made the mystery feel far more deliberate.
Someone hadn't been targeting every woman.
Someone had been selecting specific ones.
And now, somehow, Ava's name had been added to the list.
Before she could ask another question, a sharp knock echoed through the room.
The sound startled both of them.
Ryker looked toward the door.
His expression immediately hardened.
"Come in."
The door opened.
An older man stepped inside.
Silver hair.
Dark suit.
Calm demeanor.
Ava recognized him instantly.
The same man who had delivered the contract.
For the first time since arriving at Blackwood Estate, however, his composure appeared slightly strained.
His gaze moved briefly toward Ava before returning to Ryker.
"Your Majesty."
Something in his tone made Ava straighten.
Ryker noticed it too.
"What happened?"
The older man hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then he spoke.
"We have a problem."
The room fell silent.
"The security office reported unusual activity in the archive wing approximately thirty minutes ago."
Ryker's expression didn't change.
"Explain."
The man swallowed.
"When the archivist conducted a routine inventory tonight, he discovered that someone had accessed the restricted records."
Ava felt her stomach drop.
The older man looked directly at the folder resting on the desk.
Then he delivered the sentence neither of them wanted to hear.
"The file you're holding was removed from the archive three days ago."
- Writer
