Chapter six.
1249 Words
Declan slowly lifted his eyes, confusion etched across his face.
"What do you mean you only found one body?" he asked, frowning.
The firefighter looked at him for a moment before shrugging.
"This was the only body we found in the house," the man repeated. "But the back door appears to have been left open."
Declan immediately pushed himself to his feet.
Another firefighter stepped forward from behind the first. He was shorter, holding his helmet underneath one arm.
"Maybe your wife escaped through the back door," he suggested in a heavy Hispanic accent.
Declan stared at both men for several seconds. Then, without another word, he began searching for his phone.
His hands were shaking.
He finally found it in his left pocket and hurriedly dialed a number.
The call connected after a few rings, and a sleepy voice immediately came through.
"Boss? Do you need something?" the voice asked.
Declan didn't waste any time.
"I need you to go to the office and retrieve the laptop connected to my house's security system," he said.
It was well past ten at night. His assistant, Bene Lewis, should have been asleep by now, but Declan couldn't bring himself to care.
Even if the cameras inside the house had been destroyed by the fire, they must have captured something before then.
At least, he hoped they had.
"Do you want me to bring it over?" Bene asked.
"Yes." Declan nodded as though the man could see him. "I need it here in thirty minutes."
"On it, sir," Bene replied.
Just before the call disconnected, Declan heard Bene let out a long, suffering sigh.
The kind of sigh that clearly said. ‘I don't get paid enough for this.’
Immediately after Declan ended the call, another one came in.
He glanced at the caller ID.
His father.
Declan answered, but it was his mother's voice that came through.
"Dee, agápi mou," his mother said, using the Greek endearment she'd called him since childhood.
There was panic evident in her voice.
"Mom..." he answered quietly.
A knot tightened in his chest.
He was already dreading the question he knew was coming.
His mother adored Elysia. She had always treated her like the daughter she'd never had.
But the real problem wasn't his mother.
It was his father.
And Elysia's mother.
How was he supposed to explain this?
A woman who had been under his roof, under his protection, a woman he'd seen barely three hours ago, was now missing after a fire everyone else had escaped.
"Are you okay? Is Elysia safe?" his mother asked anxiously.
Declan's grip tightened around the phone.
Before he could answer…
"Declan..."
Victoria's slightly hoarse voice called out from where she lay on the stretcher.
His head turned immediately. He hurried over to Victoria.
"Mom, I'll call you back later," he said before quickly ending the call.
Shit.
He knew his mother had heard Victoria's voice.
His parents still had no idea that Victoria had moved into the house. They didn't know she was living under the same roof as Elysia, and they certainly didn't know she was carrying his child.
They had never liked Victoria.
His mother always said, "That woman has such mischievous eyes. It's never a good sign."
Back when his father had threatened him with disinheritance and forced him to marry Elysia, both of his parents had made one thing very clear…
They would never allow that woman to become part of the Windsor family.
But right now, Victoria was the least of his problems.
Elysia was missing.
On top of that, he still needed answers.
How had a fire suddenly broken out in the house?
"Sir, we'll need to take her back to the hospital for further observation," one of the paramedics said.
Victoria immediately reached for Declan's arm. Her eyes were red and glassy with tears.
"I'm scared, Declan," she whispered. "I'm scared for our baby."
It was understandable.
She had just survived a fire.
She had already been struggling with the pregnancy, and tonight's events couldn't have helped.
"Would you like to accompany her, sir?" the paramedic asked.
Declan hesitated.
He couldn't.
Bene would be arriving soon with the security footage.
The firefighters were still searching through the remains of the house.
And if they found anything—anything at all—he needed to be here.
"No, I can't," he said.
Then he glanced toward Mrs. Whitmore and motioned toward her with his head.
"Mrs. Whitmore will go with you," Declan said to Victoria.
He knew Mrs. Whitmore was much closer to Elysia than she was to Victoria. She had always been warmer with Elysia.
Still, she wasn't the type to show bias. She remained polite and professional with everyone.
"But..." Victoria began, clearly taken aback by his refusal to accompany her.
Declan frowned slightly.
He had never refused her before.
He had always put her first.
Something flashed through her eyes, but it was gone before he could identify it.
Turning away from her, he looked at Mrs. Whitmore.
Victoria immediately reached for him, as if trying to stop him from leaving, but her hand fell short.
"Mrs. Whitmore, please go with Victoria to the hospital," he said to the older woman.
"Yes, Young Master," Mrs. Whitmore replied with a nod.
She turned and followed the paramedics as they wheeled Victoria toward the ambulance.
"And don't leave her alone," Declan added quietly.
Mrs. Whitmore paused for a second.
Then she nodded.
"Of course, Young Master."
A moment later, she climbed into the back of the ambulance beside Victoria.
The ambulance pulled away, its flashing lights disappearing into the darkness.
Declan let out a slow breath.
One problem down. Several more waiting.
Barely three minutes after the sirens faded into the distance, Bene arrived.
His car pulled up along the side of the road a few feet away before he hurried out.
The decision to let Bene take the car home after dropping him off earlier had ended up saving precious time.
Bene took one look at the mansion and stopped in his tracks.
"Holy..."
The rest of the sentence died in his throat.
The Windsor residence was barely recognizable.
The fire had been extinguished some time ago, but thin streams of smoke still curled into the night sky.
Several servants remained gathered outside, wrapped in blankets and coats, staring at the blackened remains of the house in stunned silence.
Declan stood with his arms crossed, his patience hanging by a thread.
"The laptop?" he asked.
"Right. Sorry."
Bene hurried forward and held it out.
"Here it is, Boss."
Declan practically snatched it from his hands.
His mind was already racing.
The cameras had to have captured something.
Someone entering. Someone leaving.
The fire starting. Anything.
Because right now, possibilities were multiplying faster than he could keep up with them.
He opened the laptop and typed in the password.
Which, surprisingly, was Elysia's birthday.
Declan frowned.
He didn't know why he'd made it that.
At the time, it had simply felt like the easiest thing to remember.
Strange.
He couldn't even remember Victoria's birthday without checking his calendar.
The laptop unlocked.
Ignoring the strange twist in his chest, Declan quickly pulled up the Windsor security feed and rewound the footage to 8:35 p.m.
The recording loaded. Bene stepped closer.
"Do you think it caught anything?"
Declan didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the screen.
Then suddenly…
He froze.
"What the hell..."
Beside him, Bene's face drained of color.
- Writer
