Chapter 13: The Man Who Vanished
703 Words
Marcus didn't wait for Lena to respond.
He was already walking toward the elevators.
Lena hurried after him.
"What do you mean Adrian never came home?"
Marcus's face was unusually tense.
"I checked his penthouse this morning. The security team did too."
"And?"
"They found his car."
"But not him."
A chill settled over Lena.
"His phone?"
Marcus looked away.
"Still inside the office."
---
The executive floor had become unusually crowded.
Security officers moved from room to room.
Victoria was speaking rapidly into her phone.
Richard Hayes stood near the window, unusually quiet.
Lena stepped into Adrian's office.
Everything looked...
Normal.
His suit jacket still hung over the back of his chair.
The coffee mug she had used the night before sat beside his own.
The leather journal Grace had given him...
Was gone.
Her heart skipped.
"Marcus."
He entered immediately.
"The journal."
He looked at the desk.
His expression changed.
"It was here last night."
"It's gone."
Neither of them spoke.
Whoever had taken Adrian...
Had taken the journal too.
---
Victoria walked in holding a tablet.
"We've recovered the last security footage before the cameras went offline."
She placed it on the desk.
The room fell silent.
The footage showed Adrian leaving his office alone shortly after midnight.
He wasn't running.
He wasn't being forced.
He looked calm.
Almost...
Expectant.
Lena frowned.
"He knew someone was waiting."
The video continued.
Adrian entered the private elevator.
The doors closed.
The next camera should have shown him reaching the parking garage.
Instead...
The screen turned black.
Exactly thirty-eight seconds of footage had been erased.
Victoria looked at Lena.
"Someone with executive clearance deleted it."
Only five people had that level of access.
Marcus.
Victoria.
Richard.
Adrian.
And...
Grace.
---
Grace stood in the conference room, staring at the paused footage.
"I didn't erase it."
No one answered.
She understood the silence.
"You think it was me."
Lena met her eyes.
"I don't know what to think."
Grace nodded.
"That's fair."
Then she reached into her coat pocket and placed something on the table.
An old silver keycard.
"Wolfe Empire."
"Level Omega."
Marcus's eyes widened.
"I've never seen that clearance level."
"You weren't supposed to."
Grace looked toward the window.
"There are parts of this company your generation doesn't know exist."
---
Lena left the room without saying a word.
Her thoughts were racing.
She found herself standing outside Adrian's office again.
Empty.
Quiet.
She remembered the first day she had walked through those doors, convinced she'd never last a week.
Now...
The room felt wrong without him.
She noticed something on the bookshelf.
A small bonsai tree.
She smiled despite herself.
"You've been watering it."
Marcus's voice came from behind her.
Lena looked confused.
"What?"
Marcus smiled faintly.
"Mr. Wolfe bought that tree five years ago."
"He almost killed it."
"He said plants were 'too demanding.'"
Lena laughed softly.
"So why is it still alive?"
Marcus folded his arms.
"Because after you started working here..."
"...he asked me how often bonsai trees should be watered."
Lena stared at the little tree.
"He never said anything."
"He didn't have to."
Marcus left quietly.
Lena reached out and gently touched one of its tiny green leaves.
For the first time...
She admitted the truth to herself.
She wasn't just worried about her boss.
She was terrified of losing the man who had slowly become the safest place she'd ever known.
---
Miles away...
Adrian opened his eyes.
His wrists weren't tied.
The room wasn't locked.
It looked more like an old library than a prison.
A familiar voice spoke from the shadows.
"I knew you'd come willingly."
Adrian didn't look surprised.
"I didn't come willingly."
"You threatened Lena."
An elderly man stepped into the light.
His silver ring caught the glow from the fireplace.
The White Rose.
"So..." the old man smiled.
"You've finally found someone worth sacrificing everything for."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"If you've touched her..."
"You'll regret it."
The old man chuckled.
"I haven't touched her."
"I need her alive."
He stepped closer.
"But you..."
"...I need broken."
Adrian said nothing.
The old man placed the leather journal on the table between them.
"Let's talk about your father."
END OF CHAPTER 13
- Writer
