Lucien didn’t realize immediately.
The house was large enough that absence could hide for a few hours.
He returned home late that evening.
He noticed the quiet first.
Then the missing sound of her voice from somewhere in the house.
He called her name casually at first.
Then again.
By the time he reached the bedroom and saw the half-empty closet, something cold settled in his stomach.
Her clothes were gone.
Her suitcase missing.
Her documents drawer emptied.
But her phone charger was still plugged in.
That detail disturbed him.
He called her.
It rang once before going straight to voicemail.
He called again.
And again.
By midnight, he had contacted Zara.
“Do you know where she is?”
Zara paused on the other end.
“I thought she was with you.”
The realization hit him slowly
