Chapter 6
The apartment building in the old quarter was a relic of another century — stone facades, wrought-iron balconies, a courtyard with a dried-up fountain. The elevator was ancient, creaking its way up to the sixth floor, where Elias Vance waited outside a reinforced steel door.
"She's inside," Vance said, his voice neutral. "You have fifteen minutes. After that, I'm coming in regardless of what's happening."
Adrian nodded, his jaw tight. The door swung open, revealing a small, sparsely furnished apartment — a couch, a table, a single lamp casting a pool of warm light. Vivienne sat in a chair by the window, her rose-gold gown replaced by a simple gray dress, her platinum-blonde hair pulled back from her face. Her hands were folded in her lap, her eyes red-rimmed and hollow.
"Adrian," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Thank you for coming."
"I'm not here for you," Adrian said, his voice flat. "I'm here for answers. You have ten minutes — Vance was being generous with fifteen."
Vivienne nodded slowly, gesturing toward the couch across from her. Adrian didn't sit. He stood, arms crossed, watching her with the cold, patient intensity of a man who had nothing left to lose.
"Start talking," he said.
Vivienne took a breath. "The man who took Sofia — his name is Dmitri Kovac. He runs a network — people trafficking, illegal transportation, 'disappearances' for wealthy clients. I found him through a contact at a party. He was discreet, efficient, and — I believed — trustworthy."
"Trustworthy," Adrian repeated. "You trusted a man who specialized in making people disappear."
"I thought he would just... remove her. Send her somewhere far away. Make it look like she'd left on her own." Vivienne's voice cracked. "I didn't know he would keep her in the city. I didn't know he would bring her to your hotel. I didn't know any of that."
Adrian's hands clenched at his sides. "You paid him to take my wife. Whatever he did with her after that is on you. You don't get to pretend you're a victim."
"I know," Vivienne said, her voice breaking. "I know what I did. I know I deserve whatever happens to me. But that's not what I need to tell you."
"Then what is?"
Vivienne leaned forward, her eyes intense. "Kovac wasn't working alone. He had a partner — someone inside your company. Someone who gave him the information he needed to find Sofia, to get past your security, to know exactly when you would be away."
Adrian's blood went cold. "Who?"
"I never met him face to face. But I heard Kovac talk about him once — he called him 'the owl.' Said he was someone high up in your organization who had access to everything. Your schedule, your security systems, your blind spots."
"The owl." Adrian's mind raced. "Do you know anything else? Anything specific?"
Vivienne hesitated. "I know he was paid in crypto — but not through Kovac. Directly. Kovac bragged about it once, said the owl was protecting his own money, not leaving a trace." She paused. "There was a name — a codename, maybe. Kovac used it when he thought I wasn't listening. He called him 'Marsh.'"
Marsh. The word triggered something in Adrian's memory — a flicker, a half-formed thought. Marcus Page. His chief of staff. The man he'd called that night to rescind the order to seal the foyer. Marcus — Marsh.
No. It couldn't be. Marcus had been with him for almost a decade, his most trusted aide. He'd been the one to pull Adrian out of the darkness after Sofia vanished, the one who'd arranged the private investigators, the one who'd sat with him through the long nights of grief.
But he was also the one who'd authorized Vivienne's order to seal the foyer. He was the one who had access to everything. He was the one who knew the house's security systems, who'd been present when Adrian had installed them.
"The owl is Marcus," Adrian said, his voice barely a whisper. "Marsh. Marcus Page."
Vivienne's eyes went wide. "You know him?"
"I thought I did." Adrian turned, his mind already ahead of him. He pulled out his phone, dialing the investigator's number.
"Mr. Frost," the investigator answered. "I was just about to call you. I found the false bottom."
"What's inside?"
A pause. "Passport books. Three of them. Canadian, British, and Irish. All in different names. All with your wife's photo."
Adrian's grip on the phone tightened. "My wife has passports?"
"They're not real, Mr. Frost. They're forgeries — high-quality ones, but forgeries. Whoever made them was preparing to move her somewhere. Somewhere she couldn't be found."
"Who made them?"
"I don't know yet. But there's a stamp in the cover — a small bird. An owl, I think."
The word hit Adrian like a physical blow. Owl. The same codename Vivienne had given.
"Find out everything you can about those passports," Adrian said. "Where they were made, when, who ordered them. Call me the moment you have anything."
He ended the call, his heart pounding. Across the room, Vivienne watched him with a strange, almost desperate intensity.
"Did you know?" Adrian asked, his voice cold. "Did you know Kovac had a partner inside my company?"
Vivienne shook her head. "Not until tonight. I didn't even know the passports existed. I only paid Kovac to take her. I didn't know about the rest."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"I don't expect anything," Vivienne said quietly. "I'm just telling you what I know. You can do whatever you want with it."
Adrian stared at her — this woman who had destroyed his life, who had taken his wife and nearly taken his unborn child. He wanted to hate her. He did hate her. But he also saw something in her eyes, something that looked almost like regret.
"The owl is Marcus," Adrian said again, testing the words. "He's been my right hand for almost a decade. And he was helping you take my wife."
"I didn't know—"
"Yes, you did." Adrian's voice was flat. "You knew enough to use his name. You knew enough to call him when you needed to cover your tracks. You knew he was in my inner circle. Don't pretend you were just a pawn — you were a chess player, and you made your move. You just didn't see the second board."
Vivienne's face went pale. "What do you mean?"
"Marcus didn't just help you take Sofia. He was building his own plan. The passports, the safe house, the false-bottomed cart — he was preparing to move her somewhere no one would ever find her. And he didn't tell you about any of it." Adrian paused. "You were his pawn. Not his partner. His pawn."
Vivienne's lips trembled. "That's not—he wouldn't—"
"He did," Adrian said. "And now I'm going to find out why."
He turned and walked out of the apartment, past a startled Vance, and into the ancient elevator. His phone was already in his hand, his finger hovering over Marcus's contact.
But he didn't dial. Not yet. He needed more information first — more proof, more evidence, more certainty.
He needed to find out what Marcus Page had been planning, and why he had decided to build his empire on the ruins of Adrian's family.
Advertisement
You may also like
She Paid for Five Business-Class Seats to Maui. At the Gate, Her Ticket Was Already in Another Woman's Hand.
"Her seat is confirmed. You can head home." That was the sentence Margaret Ellsworth heard at Gate B12 in Chicago O'Hare, six months after…
A Year After the Divorce, He Mocked Her in the Maternity Wing — Then the Elevator Opened
"Best decision I ever made — leaving you," Derek called out across the maternity wing, loud enough for the whole corridor to hear. Mara…
He Threw Coins at Her Shoes in the Showroom She Secretly Owned
"Three million dollars for this car," Derek said, then reached into his blazer and threw crumpled bills and loose change across the marble floor…
On New Year's Eve She Served Dinner to One Person While Fourteen Guests Watched
"My family is starving! Table's not set!" Vanessa screamed across the kitchen, both palms slamming flat on the island — and Ruth kept eating,…
She Told the Soldier to Leave Her Own Lake House — Then the Humvee Rolled Up
"Pack up and leave, today." Carla jabbed her finger at the driveway glass like she was shooing a stray dog off her porch. Dana…
Five Years After the Divorce, He Walked Up to Her at the Wedding — Then a Little Girl Called Her Mom
"Leaving you was the best decision I ever made," Douglas said, and waited for Mara's face to break. Five years of rehearsal, and he…