“I shouldn’t have stayed out last night,” he began explaining, even though no one was there to listen. “Work was overwhelming, and I lost track of time. I ended up sleeping at the office.”
He wandered through the house, looking for her, but there was no sign of Nicole anywhere.
Finally, one of the housekeepers came in from the garden. Tristan turned to her anxiously.
“Where’s Nicole? Where did she go?”
“Sir, she left earlier this evening.”
Tristan let out a breath, relieved that she wasn’t home simply because she had gone out.
“Take the roses and put them in a vase.”
“You’re so thoughtful, sir. You bought her favorite flowers. Mrs. Ford will love these when she sees them.”
+15 Bonus
“Yeah,” he muttered absently, sinking into the couch, exhaustion evident in his posture.
But as he glanced around the house, something felt… off.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the space didn’t feel right.
When Nicole still didn’t return, he decided to go out and look for her. As he stood to leave, a news report on the television caught
his attention.
“Earlier this evening, around 5 p.m., a woman leaped off Northern Gate Bridge. By the time the rescue team arrived, she was missing. Only her clothes and phone were found at the scene. Witnesses claim the woman resembled Nicole Snow, the wife of young entrepreneur Tristan Ford—”
“Nicky? No, that’s impossible!” “Nicky? No,
The moment he saw the news, Tristan shook his head, his eyes widening in shock. “It can’t be Nicky! Why would she jump? She has everything anyone could ever want! And there’s no way she’d leave me like that. There’s no way she’d suicide!”
His mind went blank, a whirlwind of disbelief and panic taking over.
In a frenzy, he grabbed his phone and called his assistant.
“Nicole hasn’t come home yet. Send someone to find her. Now!”
There was a pause on the other end before the assistant spoke hesitantly. “Mr. Ford… the police just called. They want come in.”
The assistant’s voice trembled; he already knew Nicole had jumped.
you to
But if Nicole was dead, Tristan would lose it entirely.
“You’re talking nonsense!” Tristan roared, “How can the media and police report something without verifying it? I’ll have my lawyer issue a cease–and–desist right away!”
‘hospi
“No. I’ll go there myself. I’ll confront them in gripping his phone so tightly his hand shook.
After hanging up, Tristan walked out of the villa, his expression hollow and dazed.
Just as he was about to get into his car, Lisa stepped in front of him.
“Tristan!” she cried, throwing herself into his arms. “You’re finally mine–completely mine!”
Her excitement was palpable. She admitted that she’d been terrified watching Nicole jump into the water.
But as soon as she realized Nicole was gone, her fear gave way to uncontainable joy
Nicole was dead.
With her gone, Tristan would only love Lisa. She could finally become Mrs. Ford.
Chapter &
And since the news hadn’t implicated her in any way, she felt bold enough to come to him now.
This was the perfect chance to take what she wanted.
She wasn’t going to let it slip away.
