Chapter 282: Hair Clips

After the butler finished explaining everything, Vincent’s expression turned frighteningly cold. He had just spent the better part of the afternoon defending his younger brother, only to discover that Jack had gone after his own wife.

Vincent had never loved Stephanie. Their marriage had been arranged, and over the years, their relationship had become little more than a formality.

But she was still his wife. They were legally married, and until that changed, Jack had no business setting his sights on her.

"Who else knows?"

His voice was quiet, but the coldness in it made the butler’s back straighten.

The butler quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Other than Madam herself, only the two maids who usually attend to her and myself know what happened."

"Keep it that way."

Vincent’s gaze hardened.

"Tell the maids not to say a word. And find Stephanie before the end of today."

"Yes, sir."

The butler hurriedly bowed before leaving.

There were some things a family could survive.

There were others that could destroy its reputation overnight.

This was one of the latter.

If word got out that the second son of Maison Premier had gone after his own sister-in-law, the scandal wouldn’t stop with Vincent.

The entire family would become a laughingstock.

And Vincent would be dragged into it right alongside them.

’My own brother...’

His jaw tightened.

He shoved the thought aside and stormed out of the office.

...

That night, Luca received a call from Captain Rico of Crescent Security Solutions.

The moment things had fallen apart between him and Vincent, Luca had already instructed Rico to bring a team to Capital City. They had spent several days investigating Maison Premier, but so far, they hadn’t found anything particularly useful.

Today, however, something had finally changed.

"Boss."

Rico’s voice came through the phone.

"Vincent’s wife has disappeared. Maison Premier is turning the entire city upside down looking for her."

Luca raised an eyebrow.

"Can you find out why she disappeared? Or better yet, can you find her?"

Rico was silent for a moment.

"We’ve looked into it, but nobody seems to know what happened. And we’re still working with limited connections here in the capital."

He sighed.

"Finding one person in a city this big without knowing where to start is basically searching for a needle in a haystack."

Luca nodded thoughtfully.

That made sense.

Crescent Security Solutions was based in New Orleans. Although the company had some business in Capital City, its presence here was nowhere near as strong as it was back home.

Even with Luca allowing them to freely use Northstar and Summit Capital’s resources, Maison Premier had been rooted in Capital City for generations.

They weren’t going to suddenly have eyes and ears everywhere just because he gave the order.

"Do what you can," Luca said. "If you can’t find anything, don’t force it."

"Understood."

They chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call.

Luca lowered his phone.

Arabella had been listening the entire time.

She had been lazily tracing circles across his chest with one finger. Now she stopped and slipped an arm around his shoulders.

"I can ask my mother to have someone investigate."

Luca looked down at her.

"You heard everything?"

"I wasn’t exactly trying to listen."

Her expression remained calm.

"You need information, and the Windsor family has people in the capital who can find things your security company can’t."

She had a point.

The Windsor family might have lost some influence over the years, but they were still one of the major families in Capital City.

There were plenty of doors Luca could open with money.

There were others that opened simply because someone carried the Windsor name.

He smiled and tightened his arm around her waist.

"Okay. Ask her."

Arabella nodded.

She immediately called Victoria.

The conversation was brief.

Once it ended, she placed her phone aside and settled back against Luca’s chest, idly playing with his fingers.

A few seconds passed.

Then she looked up.

"By the way, you still haven’t answered my question from earlier."

Luca’s fingers paused.

"What question?"

Arabella gave him a sweet smile.

"Don’t play dumb."

"I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Hmph."

Her eyes shifted toward the bedside table.

A small pink bubble hair clip sat there.

Arabella pointed toward it with her chin.

"Then tell me whose hair clip that is."

Luca followed her gaze.

His expression stiffened.

"Oh."

"Whose?"

"I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"Is there?"

Luca coughed.

"This isn’t yours."

Arabella’s eyes narrowed.

"So you do know where it came from."

"Wait, I didn’t mean..."

Before he could finish, Arabella pinched his side.

Luca sucked in a breath.

"Hey!"

"Who told you not to tell me the truth?"

She looked entirely too pleased with herself.

Luca stared at her for a moment.

The woman who could freeze an entire room with a single glance outside the bedroom had apparently become incredibly jealous in private. And, judging from that smug little smile, she was enjoying every second of it.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Arabella’s voice softened.

Her fingers slid along his shoulder as she leaned closer.

The playful interrogation slowly gave way to something warmer. Their breathing grew heavier. Neither of them said anything for a moment. The quiet television in the background seemed almost forgotten.

Luca eventually sighed. "It was Rachel’s."

Arabella’s eyes narrowed immediately. "I knew it."

"Last night, you weren’t here."

"That doesn’t explain the hair clip."

"Rachel came looking for me while I was asleep. She ended up staying for a while."

He paused.

"As for the clip, I honestly don’t know whether she left it there deliberately or just forgot it."

Arabella stared at him.

She knew Rachel well enough by now. The girl had been gradually becoming bolder around Luca.

It wasn’t exactly subtle.

"Didn’t you promise Sophie you wouldn’t do anything with her?"

Arabella leaned forward and gently bit his shoulder.

"Go on. Explain that one."

Luca blinked.

"How did you know about that?"

"You weren’t exactly hiding it when Sophie video-called you."

She pulled back and gave him an unimpressed look.

"And honestly, who would believe Rachel doesn’t like you? Have you seen the way she looks at you?"

Luca opened his mouth, then closed it again.

There was another detail Arabella wasn’t mentioning.

Sophie had sent her a message before. The meaning had been obvious. She wanted Arabella to keep an eye on Rachel.

"So," Arabella continued, "you didn’t actually sleep with her?"

Luca immediately shook his head.

"Of course not."

"What happened, then?"

"Rachel wanted to sleep beside me, so I let her stay. We kissed. That’s it."

He wasn’t lying. Rachel had wanted more, and Luca knew perfectly well that she wouldn’t have objected if he’d accepted. But there were still certain boundaries he didn’t want to cross.

Rachel was Sophie’s younger sister. And Sophie already felt guilty enough about the situation. Getting involved with Rachel would only make things more complicated.

Arabella seemed satisfied. "That sounds more reasonable."

She hadn’t caught the small ambiguity hidden in Luca’s answer. After all, they had only kissed. The question was where those kisses had landed.

Arabella suddenly shifted closer.

"Anyway..."

"Stop." Luca interrupted her.

She frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you’ve been at this for a while."

He looked at her with a mixture of amusement and concern.

"Aren’t you tired?"

Arabella had been teasing him relentlessly since they’d started talking.

Luca moved his hand down from her waist.

She immediately understood what he was doing.

A faint tremor ran through her body.

Arabella drew in a slow breath.

"It’s... a little sore."

Luca smiled.

"Then let me help you relax."

She hesitated for barely a second.

"Okay..."

Her voice was soft.

Then she gasped.