The mansion was too quiet without her.
The kind of silence that didn't soothe it accused.
Sebastian stood in the west wing, staring at the photograph of Eleanor on the wall. The morning light struck the glass frame, splitting her smile into fragments.
He'd thought he'd buried that part of his life long ago. He'd built walls steel, glass, money, power to keep the ghosts contained. But Isabelle had walked straight through them like they weren't there.
Now she was gone too.
He poured himself a drink even though it was barely nine in the morning. The whiskey burned, but not enough to numb the ache in his chest.
He could still hear her voice, trembling and angry:
"You're not protecting me. You're protecting your ghosts."
She was right.
And that was what made it unbearable.
Sebastian walked into his office, where his head of security, Liam, waited. The man looked tense, holding a tablet.
"You asked me to dig deeper into the source of the leak," Liam said. "You're not going to like what I found."
Sebastian's expression hardened. "Tell me."
"The IP address that uploaded Isabelle's photo the one that went viral it was routed through an encrypted account belonging to a shell company."
Sebastian's jaw tightened. "Whose company?"
Liam hesitated. "It traces back to one of Daniel Hart's former subsidiaries."
The air in the room thickened.
"Are you certain?" Sebastian asked quietly.
"Yes, sir. But there's more. That same account made several recent transfers to a private investigator someone stationed here, in the city. He's been shadowing you both for weeks."
Sebastian's grip on his glass tightened until it cracked. "So Daniel's been watching her."
"It looks that way."
He turned toward the window, every muscle in his body rigid. The city sprawled below him, beautiful and indifferent.
"She left the house this morning," Liam said cautiously. "Do you want us to follow her?"
Sebastian hesitated. His instincts screamed yes. But his heart the part still reeling from her words whispered no.
"No," he said finally, his tone rough. "If I send anyone, she'll think I'm controlling her again. Let her breathe."
Liam nodded, but his expression said he disagreed.
When the door closed, Sebastian let the mask fall. He pressed his palms against the desk, head bowed.
He had always believed control was protection.
That by knowing every move, every secret, every threat he could keep the people he loved safe.
But control had killed Eleanor.
And now it had driven Isabelle away.
Hours passed. He worked mechanically, signing contracts he didn't read, attending meetings he didn't hear. Every shadow on the window seemed to wear her face.
By late evening, he couldn't take the silence anymore.
He went to her room his footsteps soft on the marble floor and stood in the doorway. The bed was neatly made, untouched since the morning. A faint trace of her perfume still lingered.
He walked in, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand brushing over the pillow she used to sleep on.
She'd filled this cold mansion with warmth, with color. He hadn't realized how empty his world was until she'd stepped into it.
Now it felt like a tomb again.
He closed his eyes, whispering into the quiet, "Where are you, Isabelle?"
His phone buzzed. A message.
He glanced down and his blood ran cold.
Unknown number: She's beautiful when she runs, isn't she?
Attached was a photo.
Isabelle. Walking down a crowded street. Alone.
Another message followed seconds later:
You took something that wasn't yours. Time to pay for it.
Sebastian's hands clenched into fists.
He dialed Liam instantly. "Track this number. Now."
"Sir?"
"Isabelle's being followed."
Liam's voice sharpened. "We're on it."
Sebastian grabbed his keys and stormed toward the garage. The rational part of his mind said to wait for the team. The rest of him the man who'd already lost too much didn't care.
He wasn't losing her too.
Rain had started again by the time he reached the city. Traffic blurred into streaks of light and shadow. He drove like a man possessed, following the location Liam sent him.
The tracker placed her near the old district the one filled with cafés, bookshops, and narrow cobblestone streets.
He spotted her almost immediately a flash of auburn hair, her figure small beneath a pale umbrella.
Relief hit him so hard his knees almost gave out.
But then he saw the man behind her.
Tall, Dark coat, Camera in hand.
Sebastian parked, heart pounding, and moved through the rain without a sound.
When the man raised the camera again, Sebastian grabbed his wrist and slammed him against the wall.
The camera shattered on impact.
"Who sent you?" Sebastian demanded, voice like ice.
The man winced. "I, I don't know, it was just a job"
Sebastian's grip tightened. "You've been following her for weeks. You know who."
The man's eyes darted nervously. "Daniel Hart. He wanted photos. Proof she's living with you. Said it'd ruin her for good."
Sebastian's stomach twisted with fury.
He threw the man to the ground and growled, "If you or your employer come near her again, I'll end more than your career."
The man scrambled away into the rain.
When Sebastian turned, Isabelle was standing a few steps away, eyes wide.
"Sebastian?" she whispered.
He froze.
"How long have you been following me?" she asked.
His throat tightened. "I wasn't he was. I came to"
"Protect me?" she finished, her voice trembling. "Or control me again?"
He took a slow step closer. "You were in danger."
"I told you I needed space."
"And I told you I can't lose you."
Her eyes softened despite her anger. "You don't get to decide what I need, Sebastian."
"I do when someone's hunting you," he snapped, louder than he meant to.
For a moment, the rain drowned everything the noise, the fear, the truth between them.
Then she said quietly, "You can't save me from everything."
He stepped closer, his voice breaking. "Then let me try."
They stood there in the rain, the storm washing the world around them into gray.
He wanted to touch her, to pull her close and promise he'd do better. But he couldn't promise what wasn't true.
He'd always protect her. Even if it meant losing her again.
When she finally turned to walk away, he didn't stop her.
But as she disappeared into the crowd, he whispered to himself, "I'll keep you safe, even if it kills me."
Later that night, back at the mansion, Sebastian stood in his office, drenched, trembling with fury.
Liam entered quietly. "The man's name is Frank Adler. Private investigator, ex-journalist. Paid directly by a shell account tied to Daniel Hart's company."
Sebastian's voice was low. "Then it's time Daniel and I had a conversation."
"Sir, if you go after him now"
"I'm not waiting," Sebastian growled. "He crossed a line."
Liam hesitated. "And Isabelle?"
Sebastian's gaze darkened. "Protect her. Discreetly. If Daniel even breathes in her direction again, I want him crushed."
He turned toward the window, the city lights reflected in his storm-gray eyes.
In his chest, two wars raged love and vengeance, guilt and rage and he didn't know which one would destroy him first.