Chapter 1 - The Silent Mansion
The magnificent marble foyer of the Chicago mansion was suffocatingly quiet. Ethan Blackwood, a 42-year-old powerful and feared mafia boss, stood rigidly beside the grand staircase. His thick, wavy dark-brown hair was slightly disheveled, and his sharp masculine features were twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. He wore an expensive, fitted black button-down shirt with the upper buttons open, revealing the dark, intricate tattoos that crawled across his chest and up his neck. Similar ink stained his forearms and hands, flexing as his left fist pressed violently against the already cracked plaster wall.
Claire’s packed belongings were completely gone. The only thing remaining was a single, abandoned black suitcase near the bottom step.
Ethan held his black smartphone tightly against his ear, his silver wristwatch gleaming under the chandelier light.
"FIND CLAIRE! TELL HER TO COME HOME!" Ethan roared furiously through the phone.
He listened impatiently, his breathing heavy and erratic.
"SIR... HER FATHER DIED THREE DAYS AGO," Michael Reed, his loyal personal assistant, said hesitantly over the line.
Ethan completely froze.
His left fist slowly loosened against the damaged plaster wall. He lowered his head slightly, his brain violently struggling to process the news.
"WHAT? WHERE IS MY WIFE?" Ethan asked, his voice entirely shocked and unsteady.
A heavy, agonizing silence followed. Ethan tightened his grip on the phone, his breathing becoming shallow.
"SHE BURIED HIM ALONE. SHE'S FLYING TO SEATTLE," Michael replied quietly.
Ethan's face lost all its anger. He slowly pulled his fist away from the wall and looked around the empty, cavernous mansion. His intense eyes fell on the abandoned space where Claire's belongings used to be. For the first time in his life, the terrifying mafia boss looked genuinely frightened.
Michael hesitated on the other end of the line.
"SIR... SHE ONLY ASKED ME TO REMIND YOUR ATTORNEY THAT THE DIVORCE PAPERS ARE WAITING."
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Ethan became completely motionless. His eyes widened slightly, and his lips parted without a single word. The heavily tattooed hand holding the phone began to tremble.
👉 Ethan stood completely paralyzed by the devastation, but the horrifying truth of why he never received her calls was about to break him.
