CHAPTER 4 — The Locked Doors
By 9:14 AM, Adrian was at the penthouse.
The doorman wouldn’t meet his eyes.
That was the first sign.
The second sign was the silence.
No piano music.
No soft cooking smell.
No Mara.
He entered fast.
Stopped immediately.
The apartment looked… unchanged.
Too unchanged.
Then he saw it.
The empty closet.
The missing suitcase.
The wedding ring on the marble table.
His throat tightened.
“No…” he whispered.
He grabbed the ring.
May you like
And for the first time in years—
His hands shook.
