Chapter 1 Looking for my husband

Chapter One

Elena's POV

My hands shook on the table, heart hammering so hard I thought my ribs might crack.

Across from me sat PI Vicky. She puts on sunglasses, a black leather jacket, red lipstick, and gloves. She looked like someone carved out of steel, a woman who knew things she shouldn't. A small stack of documents lay neatly before her.

"Please..." My voice quivered as I tried to speak. "Williams isn't dead, right? Tell me he's not dead." Tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.

Vicky's lips curled into the faintest smile. She leaned forward, her tone low, steady, and devastating.

"Williams is alive. He's fine. He lied to you. He was never on that cruise ship." Her hands rested over mine to give me a small squeeze.

I froze. The air seemed to thin, my chest tightening. Slowly, I pulled out my phone, nearly dropping it from my trembling grip.

"No. That's impossible." My voice wavered as I shoved the screen toward her. "Look, his last video. He sent it to me from that boat, before..." my voice broke into a sob.

She didn't even flinch. "With today's technology?" Her brows lifted slightly. "That's AI manipulation. I'm surprised you didn't catch that."

At her words, I wanted to scream at her but the words lodged in my throat.

Then she dropped the most devastating words.

"Melissa Roberto."

My entire body went cold.

Pi Vicky's hand brushed mine, grounding me. "She knows the truth. Your husband was last seen with her. Only Melissa can tell you if he was ever on that ship."

She slid the documents across the table. "Everything you need is inside, Mrs. Howard. Call me if you want more help."

Then she stood, collected her purse, and walked away, her heels creating noise across the restaurant.

I stared at the sealed envelope, my hands trembling as I reached for it. For a moment I thought of tearing it open right there, but my heart thudded too violently. Not here. Not now.

Williams had been missing for three months. I had lost my sleep, my joy, my sanity. Everyone told me to give up on him, but how could I? He was my husband. The man I'd sworn to love, the man I'd sacrificed so much for.

"No," I muttered through clenched teeth, fists balling until my nails dug into my palms. Williams is not dead. And he's not in another woman's arms. Not Melissa's.

But the name echoed like a ghost in my head. Melissa. I thought she had already moved on with another man, built a new life, and even had a child. So why was she back? Why was she suddenly tied to my husband's disappearance?

And why did the police act like they'd already given up on my case?

These questions churned in my heart, so I pulled out some dollars and dropped them on the table before leaving.

~~~

By the time I pulled into my garage, despair weighed on me like chains. I rested my head on the steering wheel, fighting back tears that betrayed me anyway, spilling until the leather soaked beneath my cheek.

I grabbed the parcel, wiped my face, and stepped out. The house loomed ahead, dark and silent. Too silent.

As I approached the main entrance that is when I noticed the broken CCTV on the linoleum.

My heart stuttered. I bent down, picked it up, and checked the slot. The card was still there. Maybe it had just fallen. Maybe.

Unlocking the front door, I frowned. Where's Riley? My dog always greeted me, whenever I came back, bounding with excitement. But tonight? Nothing.

"Riley?" I called softly.

Silence.

I tried to convince myself he was asleep somewhere, but unease crawled up my spine. The dog had been a gift from William's grandfather before he died. At first, Williams hadn't wanted it, but eventually he'd grown attached and would always feed and bathe it.

It made no sense that Riley wouldn't come to me.

Shaking it off, I went upstairs, stripped, and wrapped a towel around myself. The documents could wait. I needed a bath, something to calm the ache gnawing inside me.

But the reflection in the mirror startled me.

The woman staring back wasn't me — not the Elena I remembered. Her face was hollow, lips pale, eyes drowning in sorrow. She looked like a ghost wearing my skin.

With a distressed moan, I turned away and stepped into the shower, letting cool water pound against my head until the sobs softened.

After getting out of the bathroom, I dried the water off my body with my pink towel and sat in front of my dressing mirror.

As I reached for my lotion something caught my eye. Among the neatly arranged skincare bottles, one was missing. I frowned. Which one? I couldn't place it, but the absence nagged at me.

I shrugged it off, applying the lotion on my skin then I stood and headed for my closet.

Pulling open the closet, I froze.

Williams's things. Pieces of him that had been untouched for months. His favorite T-shirt, suit, shoes, and ties, all gone.

My breath hitched. I turned back to the dresser. His deodorant was missing too. His lotion.

Someone had taken them.

Panic surged. Who had been inside my home?

Williams left for that cruise without his keys. When I noticed I had dialed his contact to apprised him and he told me to keep them safe until he returned. Three months later, I still had them. So who else could have gotten in?

My mind reeled with dread. Then it struck me, the safe.

I rushed to it, knees nearly buckling when I saw the lock already undone. My fingers scrambled inside, sifting through papers until relief hit me. My inheritance documents were still here, intact.

A small voice in the back of my mind urged me to confirm it.

When I removed the documents from the parcel, my relief collapsed.

Fake.

The papers here were my... divorced papers. Which was dated back to the previous day before Williams went missing.

He slept with me that day and didn't even show any signs of divorcing me.

Could this be fake or real?

Maybe I'm hallucinating.

A scream tore through me, but no sound left my throat. My one inheritance, the only thing left of my maternal family, the thing investors had begged me to sell for billions was stolen.

"No," I whispered. My chest caved in, vision spinning. "No, no, no!"

Then my thoughts reeled towards Riley, my dog.

"Riley?" My voice shook as I stumbled through the house. "Riley?"

Still nothing. Only silence.

And that silence was worse than any answer.