Elaine's Sketch (vol 1)
1093 Words
Leon Hart stood in the center of his sixty-eighth-floor office inside the Hart Enterprise, the fallen sketch clutched in his hand like a piece of evidence that could either damn him or save him. Floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded him on three sides, offering a panoramic view of Valemont City spread out below him like a kingdom he'd conquered through sheer will and ruthless ambition.
But for the first time in years, the view couldn't hold his attention as his mind was troubled.
The sketch was small, no bigger than a business card, drawn on cream-colored paper with the kind of attention to detail that spoke of genuine talent. Every line was deliberate, every shadow purposeful. The woman's face gazed back at him with eyes that seemed almost alive, lips curved in the ghost of a smile he remembered from childhood dreams.
She looked exactly like his mother.
"Sir?"
Leon's assistant, Patricia, stood in the doorway with her tablet and the expression of controlled patience she'd perfected over eight years of working for him. She was one of the few people who could interrupt him without prior appointment, mainly because she had an uncanny ability to anticipate his needs before he voiced them.
"Cancel my four o'clock," Leon said without turning around. "And get me everything we have on Samuel Bennett's daughter."
"The gatekeeper's daughter? Sir, is there a security concern" she asked?
"Everything, Patricia. Employment records, educational background, social media presence. I want to know what she had for breakfast this morning." Leon added to show this seriousness and the severity of the information
There was a pause. Leon could practically hear Patricia's mental gears turning, trying to understand why her famously focused boss was suddenly interested in a girl who had no apparent connection to Hart business interests.
"Of course, sir. Anything else?"
Leon moved to his desk, sliding the sketch into the center drawer with the same care he might handle a priceless artifact. "Send Marcus Chen to my office. Quietly."
Marcus Chen was head of Hart security, a former Marine who'd earned Leon's trust through five years of flawless service and absolute discretion. If anyone could investigate Amara Bennett without raising flags, it would be Marcus.
"Right away, sir."
As Patricia's footsteps faded down the hallway, Leon returned to the window. Somewhere in the sprawling city below, Amara Bennett was going about her ordinary life, completely unaware that she'd just turned his carefully ordered world upside down.
Though Leon was now a grown man, part of him still secretly miss his mother
The rational part of his mind the part that had built a billion-dollar empire before his thirty-third birthday insisted there had to be a logical explanation. The sketch was probably copied from a photograph, or perhaps the woman was a model or actress who happened to bear a resemblance to his mother. Coincidences happened all the time.
But the irrational part, the part that still woke up some nights calling for a mother who'd vanished when he was ten years old, whispered something else entirely. Leon always thought his mother abandon him
What if Amara Bennett knew something about Elaine Hart's disappearance?
Twenty minutes across town, Amara was trying very hard to concentrate on the canvas in front of her and failing spectacularly.
Her studio in the Aster Gallery Quarter was small but perfectly suited to her needs. The converted warehouse space had good light, affordable rent, and enough room for her easel, art supplies, and the growing collection of pieces she hoped would someday launch her career. The exposed brick walls were covered with her work city scenes, portraits, and abstract pieces that captured the emotions she couldn't always put into words.
Today, she was supposed to be working on a commission piece for one of the gallery's regular clients. Instead, she'd been staring at the blank canvas for the better part of an hour, her mind replaying those few electric moments when Leon Hart's eyes had met hers.
"You look like someone who's seen a ghost."
Sofia Alvarez's voice cut through Amara's brooding, accompanied by the cheerful jingle of the bell above the studio door. Her best friend since college swept into the room like a force of nature, her wild dark curls barely contained by a colorful headband and her camera bag slung over one shoulder.
"Worse," Amara said, finally dropping her pait brush in relieve. "I think I saw the devil."
"Ooh, interesting. Tell me everything."
Sofia perched on the edge of Amara's worktable, her dark eyes bright with curiosity. At twenty-two, she was a freelance photographer and investigative blogger who thrived on uncovering stories that others preferred to keep buried. She was also the only person who could get away with barging into Amara's studio unannounced.
"It's nothing," Amara said, but she could hear the lie in her own voice.
"Bullshit. You've got that look."
"What look?"
"The same look you had when you figured out that gallery owner was selling forgeries. Like you've stumbled onto something big and dangerous and you're not sure whether to run toward it or away from it."
Amara sighed, sinking into her desk chair. Sofia knew her too well and could easily tell she wasn't saying the truth. "I met Leon Hart today." Amara said.
"THE Leon Hart? Billionaire CEO, most eligible bachelor in the city, owner of basically everything Leon Hart?" Sophia added
"The very same."
"And?"
"And nothing. He looked at me, I looked at him, and now I can't stop thinking about it."
Sofia's eyebrows shot up. "He looked at you? Like, actually looked, or like the way rich people look at the help?"
"NO!! Like he was trying to figure out where he'd seen me before." Amara ran her hands through her hair, frustrated by her inability to articulate and digest what had happened. "It was weird, Sofia. The whole thing was weird."
"Weird how?"
"Weird like..." Amara trailed off, struggling to put the feeling into words. "Like he recognized me. But that's impossible, right? Men like Leon Hart don't pay attention to girls like me."
- Writer
