The Devil's Contractual Bride-Chapter 44: Ethan’s Game

Lucian’s POV

The elevator doors slid open on the penthouse floor at 7:38 p.m., and the quiet in the house hit me first.

She was meant to be home by now but I didn’t get a faint sign of her presence.

There was no television murmur or the clink of Aria moving around the kitchen the way she sometimes did when she couldn’t sleep—making chamomile tea or slicing fruit she never actually ate.

"Aria?" I called out,my voice echoing off the high ceilings but there was no answer.

I set my briefcase down by the console table and walked deeper into the apartment. The living room was empty with her favorite pink blanket neatly folded on the sofa which if she was home would have been in the bedroom. The terrace doors were closed, no lights outside,same with the kitchen which was dark and only the under-cabinet LEDs glowing faintly.

My pulse kicked up a notch.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and called her but it went straight to voicemail.

I redialed continuously but got the same response from the automated last robot telling me the user was not available.

"Aria?" I called out again hoping that maybe she’ll magically appear"Love?"

Nothing.

I moved faster now, through the bedroom, guest room, study, laundry room and even the small gym we never used. Every door I opened and light I flicked on amounted to nothing.

My breathing turned shallow and the penthouse felt suddenly too big.

I dialed Marcus next but it went straight to voicemail as well.

I immediately called Clara and she answered on the first ring. "Sir?

"Where’s Aria?" My voice came out sharper than I intended.

"She left the office around 5:50 p.m., sir and I saw her drive off with Marcus.

They should be at your place sir."

My stomach dropped instantly."She’s not here."

"Thats not right. I’m still at the office so I’ll check the building cameras right now sir to see if she came back or something. I’ll call you back in two minutes."

He hung up.

I stood in the middle of the living room, phone still pressed to my ear even though the line was dead.

In less than two weeks Clararc called back.

"Sir." Her voice was tight. "The lobby camera shows her leaving the building around 5 sir and she didn’t come back so she’s not at the office."

I closed my eyes. "Then where the hell is she?"

"I don’t know, sir—."

I hung up the call before she could finish.

I put a call to Lawrence, the gatekeeper and he arrived three minutes later with a security keycard in his hand.

He admitted not seeing Marcus or Aria enter the bullet so we swept the apartment again together but it all ended in finding nothing.

Did she leave me?

But that wouldn’t be the case because Marcus was with her and he would have definitely informed me. Something was wrong somewhere.

I dialed 911.

The operator’s voice was calm, practiced. "911, what is your emergency?"

"My wife is missing," I said. "She was last seen leaving our office premises with my driver at 5:50 pm. She’s not home, her phone is off and it’s the same with my driver."

The operator took down the address, my name, Aria’s description and the last known clothing she was seen wearing.

She told me to stay put while waiting for officers.

I hung up.

Lawrence stood by the terrace doors, his middle aged eyes looking tired and worried. "I’m sorry, sir. We’ll find her soon, she’ll be back."

"Thank you Lawrence," I said automatically. But inside I was screaming

I paced until eventually the police arrived at 7:58 p.m.—two uniformed officers and a detective in plainclothes.

"Mr. Voss. Detective Ramirez,Director for LAPD Missing Persons. Tell me everything from the beginning." said the detective on plain clothes.

I told him every detail starting from the text from me telling her to go home alone with Marcus dropping and how I came home to meet an empty apartment.

Ramirez listened without interrupting, scribbling notes.

When I finished, he asked the obvious questions.

"Does Mrs Voss have any recent enemies? Threats or stalking incidents?"

"Ethan Caldwell," I said without hesitation. "He’s her former husband and business rival. He tried to take over my company but he lost. He’s made threats before,I have some he made while he was fighting for my company which will show that he can do anything for power and money.

Ramirez’s pen paused. "Do you still have those messages?"

I showed him the text.

He photographed it. "We’ll need your phone for evidence,temporarily."

"You can have it."

He nodded to one of the uniforms, who bagged the phone.

"Any chance your wife left on her own?" he asked carefully. " Were you having marriage difficulties?"

"No," I said flatly. "She wouldn’t,things are perfect now and Marcus won’t leave with her and not tell me."

Ramirez studied me for a long second. "We’ll treat this as high-priority. My team will pull traffic cam footage around your office building and check nearby CCTV, ping her phone’s last known location. We’ll also speak with Mr. Caldwell if the need arises."

"Alright, just do whatever it takes," I said.

He handed me his card. "We’ll be in touch. In the meantime,don’t leave the city and if you hear anything, call me directly."

The penthouse felt even emptier after they left.

I stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the spot on the sofa where she always sat every morning to have coffee.

I couldn’t sit nor think so I continued pacing around the room like a throneless king.

Two hours later, Ramirez called and I answered immediately.

"Mr. Voss,we found her purse."

My heart lurched. "Where?"

"Abandoned on the roadside in an alley off Sunset Boulevard.A taxi driver also says he picked up a woman matching her description and her lover around 6:30 p.m. He said she asked to be taken to Cedars-Sinai.."

I closed my eyes. "Is there any sign of her?"

"Nothing yet but we’re pulling CCTV from the intersection. The taxi driver is in custody for questioning. We’re treating this as abduction and all our top officers are on it but there is a problem"

"What is it officer Ramirez?"I asked firmly

"Another witness,an elderly lady claims she saw her being dragged out of the a car by masked men alongside another man across town" he paused to get a response from me but I said nothing so he continued."This testimony contradicts the first one but we’re considering discarding that of the old lady. She’s old and might be mistaken."

It’s possible the old lady was mistaken but that Marcus and Aria were lovers didn’t sit well with me

I thanked him and told him to inform me of any updates before hanging up.

The doorbell dinged,someone was at the door.

I moved fast, heart hammering. Maybe it was Aria and I was just overreacting all these while.

I yanked the door open to meet a delivery guy standing there with a nervous smile.

"Delivery for Lucian Voss?"

I stared at him.

He shifted his weight. "Signature required."

I signed, took the box and closed the door.

The box was plain with no return address or company logo,just my name and the penthouse address in black marker.

I carried it to the kitchen island, set it down.

My hands were steady when I sliced the tape with my keys.

Inside was a single white envelope.

I opened

*If you ever want to see your wife again, you must come to Griffith Observatory parking lot, the upper lot at 9pm tomorrow .Bring ten million dollars in cash..*

*Don’t you dare involve the police or Aria dies.*

I read it twice,then I folded the paper carefully, placed it back in the envelope, and stared at the empty box.

The clock on the wall read 9:58 p.m.

Less than 24hours until 9pm tomorrow.

I walked to the safe in the study where I kept cash reserves and emergency funds. I pulled out the cash in there and began to count.

It was a total of 2 million dollars in hundreds.

That was barely enough.

I picked up my phone again and made a call to my banker officer Daniel.

"Mr. Voss?"he answered with a weak voice like he’d been asleep.

"I need eight million in cash that will be ready for pickup tomorrow morning."

"Sir... that kind of withdrawal—"

"Stop questioning me and do your job Daniel" I snapped.

"Alright sir, I’ll see what I can do."

I ended the call then called Mike.

He answered instantly. "Boss."

"I need you at the Malibu safe house by 6pm tomorrow.Bring ammunition and some of your guys. We might need them."

"On it."

I hung up.

I wasn’t going alone.I know this is Ethan’s work and if he wants war,he’s about to get one.