Chapter 5 - The Vanishing Trail
By nightfall, Chicago had transformed into a fortress under siege.
Adrian unleashed every resource at his disposal: port authorities, off-duty detectives, private surveillance contractors, and two hundred street soldiers.
Every hotel within a hundred miles was checked.
Every private clinic, pharmacy, and hospital was put on notice.
Yet Claire had vanished as if she had dissolved into the winter rain.
She had not used her credit cards, she had not checked into a hotel under her maiden name, and she had not contacted her sister in Worthington.
At 2:00 AM, Adrian sat alone in his darkened study, illuminated only by the faint glow of the ultrasound image resting on his desk blotter.
He traced the delicate curve of the two tiny heartbeats with the tip of his finger.
He had spent thirty-eight years believing that absolute control was the only armor against pain.
He had built walls of steel, armed men, and millions of dollars to keep the world from reaching what was his.
And in his blind arrogance, he had torn the beating heart out of his own chest to prove he could not be hurt.
His private phone buzzed on the blotter.
It was Dr. Elias Grant.
Adrian snatched the receiver instantly. “Did she call you?”
“No,” Dr. Grant replied, his tone serious and guarded. “She didn't call me. But her pharmacy in Evanston just processed an emergency refill for prenatal progesterone.”
Adrian sprang to his feet, knocking over a crystal decanter of bourbon.
“Where in Evanston?”
“The prescription was phoned in by an unlisted clinic near Central Street,” Dr. Grant said.
“Adrian... listen to me carefully. Claire’s blood pressure was dangerously low this morning. If she experiences another hypertensive crisis under this stress, she could lose both babies.”
“I’m going alone,” Adrian said, grabbing his keys.
“If you corner her with guns and soldiers, you will finish what your arrogance started,” the doctor warned.
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“I’m not bringing guns, Elias,” Adrian whispered, his throat tight with tears he hadn't shed since his father died.
“I’m bringing whatever is left of my soul.”
