The Heiress's choice

Damien's pov

"She's been gone for two weeks."

I paced around my office while Victoria watched with concern.

"You know she'll come back," Victoria said. "She's probably staying with a friend, trying to make you worry."

"She doesn't have friends."

That came out wrong, but it was true. In our three years of marriage, I'd never met any friends of Elena's. Not one. She was always just... there. At home and alone.

Have I ever asked why? Had I ever wondered where her family was, or what she did before we met?

No. I'd never asked because I never cared to know. I told myself she liked the quiet, that she preferred small circles and soft spaces. But maybe she'd simply learned that I didn't have room for her world in mine.

Victoria gave a little hum. "You sound guilty."

"I'm not," I said too quickly.

"Then stop worrying," she replied. "Where can she go? She'll eventually run out of money and come crawling back."

But something felt wrong. Elena had left with almost nothing. Just one bag, no credit cards taken, no money withdrawn from our joint account, not that there was much there anyway. And yet, she didn't call or text. Didn't even leave a note behind.

It was like she'd vanished into thin air. And it made me uneasy.

"Have you tried her phone?" Victoria asked.

"Disconnected."

"See? She's just being dramatic. Give her another week to cool off."

"Another week," I muttered. "You make it sound like she's on vacation or something."

Victoria smirked. "Well maybe she needed one from you."

Another week. I could do that.

Except at home, my mother just wouldn't shut up about it.

"I told you she was trash," Margaret said over dinner. Jessica nodded in agreement, mouth full of expensive steak. "Running away like a coward. At least now everyone will finally see her for what she really is."

"She asked for a divorce," I reminded them.

"Which proves she was a gold digger all along!" Margaret slammed her hand on the table. "She probably already found some other man with money. You're better off, Damien. Much better off."

Was I though?

The house felt empty without Elena. Even in silence, she used to fill up the space. Her footsteps and soft hums always filled the house. Now, there was no one asking about my day, no quiet presence in the background and no one making sure there was coffee in the morning or that my favorite shirts were cleaned.

I hadn't really realized how much she did until she was gone.

"Focus on work," Victoria advised. "That's what matters. In fact, I have news. Sterling Global is looking for new partners. If we could land a meeting with them..."

"Sterling Global?" I sat up straight. "They're massive. We're nowhere near big enough to even..."

"Let me worry about that," Victoria said with a mysterious smile. "I have connections. But you need to focus, Damien. This could make your career. This could make you a major player in the field."

Sterling Global. One of the biggest corporations in the world. If I could land a partnership with them... Elena would see. She'd see that leaving me was a mistake.

Except Elena was gone, and I had no idea where she was.

"Have you considered hiring a private investigator?" Victoria asked.

"To find my wife?"

"To protect yourself. What if she's planning something, Damien? What if she's gathering evidence for the divorce to take you for everything?"

"Take me for what?" I asked bitterly. "My mother's pearls?"

Victoria smirked. "You'd be surprised at what women go after."

Take me for what? I didn't have anything. All I had was a mid-level executive salary, a decent apartment that was mostly empty now, some savings.

But Victoria had a point. Women did that, didn't they? Disappeared and came back with lawyers.

"Maybe," I said.

"I know someone. He's very discreet and efficient." Victoria pulled out her phone. "Let me make a call."

---

Three weeks after Elena left, the private investigator came to my office.

"Mr. Blackwell, I have to be honest. I can't find her."

"What do you mean you can't find her?"

"I mean she's vanished completely. No credit card usage, no phone activity, no travel records. It's like she completely ceased to exist."

"That's not possible," I said. "She doesn't have the means."

The man's expression didn't change. "Then she's a lot smarter than you thought."

That didn't make sense. People couldn't just disappear not unless they had help and not unless they had resources.

But Elena had nothing. No family, no money, and no connections.

"Keep looking," I demanded.

"Sir, I've been doing this for twenty years. When someone disappears completely, they either had help from someone with serious resources, or..." He trailed off.

"Or what?"

"Or they didn't need help because they had resources of their own."

"That's impossible."

The investigator shrugged. "Then I don't know what to tell you. Your wife is a ghost."

After he left, I sat in my office, staring at my phone. At my empty message thread with Elena. None of this added up.

The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. Elena wasn't the type to pull stunts like this.

Where was she? Was she okay? Was she safe?

Why did I suddenly care so much?

"Damien?" Victoria leaned in. I forgot she was even here. "Good news. I got us a meeting with Sterling Global. Next month."

"Next month?"

"With the new CEO. No one knows who they are yet, just that they go by E. Sterling, very mysterious. But this is our chance."

"Our chance," I repeated. My voice didn't sound like mine. "Right."

Business. Career. The things that actually mattered. So why couldn't I stop thinking about Elena's face when she asked if I loved her?

Why couldn't I stop remembering the way she'd looked at those divorce papers like her heart was breaking?

"This is what you wanted," I muttered to myself.

But was it? Was it really?