Chapter 3 The Disappearance

By morning, he was gone.

Ella stood in the doorway of the guestroom, her heart in her throat. The bed was neatly made. The tray of untouched breakfast she brought at dawn sat cold on the table. The only sign Liam Blackwell had ever been there was the crisp black card he'd left beside the pillow.

No note. No goodbye. Nothing.

She picked it up, fingers trembling. It had a single name printed in white foil: "Blackwell Private Access – 001"

And beneath it, a direct phone number.

He really was who he said he was.

She clutched the card tightly, hiding it beneath a loose floorboard in her room. If Vivian ever found it...

No. It was hers. Her secret.

Her fairytale.

---

Downstairs, the air was full of tension.

Vivian stormed into the dining room, pacing. "Still no word from the Blackwells?"

"Nothing," Ivy replied with a pout. "His company posted something online this morning. Some vague statement about privacy and a postponed engagement."

Vivian's eyes narrowed. "Engagement?"

Clara shrugged. "Rumor is, he was supposed to marry a senator's daughter."

Vivian scoffed. "Political nonsense. If he's not married yet, he's fair game."

Then the housekeeper burst into the room with wide eyes. "Madam! It's in the news!"

She handed over her phone. Vivian, Clara, and Ivy gathered around the screen.

On the front page of Elite Times was a photo of Liam Blackwell-looking every bit the cold billionaire CEO, dressed in black, stepping into a sleek black car.

And the headline?

"Blackwell Escapes Attack-Mystery Woman Saves Billionaire in Shocking Encounter"

Vivian nearly dropped the phone.

"Someone saved him?" Clara gasped.

"Who was she?" Ivy added, eyes burning with jealousy.

Vivian was quiet... too quiet.

---

Upstairs, Ella stared at the news article from her own tiny phone, tucked beneath her blanket.

Her photo wasn't in it-thank God.

But her hands shook.

He kept his word. He didn't reveal me.

And yet, her world was tilting. The man she had helped without knowing who he was... was now the center of a nationwide search.

Everyone wanted to know who the mystery woman was. Everyone wanted to find Cinderella.

Ella curled up on her mattress and whispered to herself, "It wasn't supposed to mean anything."

But her heart...

It ached.

---

💼 Meanwhile... At Blackwell Enterprises

Liam stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, his mind not on the contracts in front of him but on the girl with haunted eyes and trembling hands.

The girl who didn't ask for anything.

The girl who disappeared the moment he began to feel alive again.

He clenched his jaw. "Angel..."

"Sir?" his assistant asked from behind.

"Cancel the gala next weekend. I want to host a private masquerade ball. Invitation-only. Black and silver theme. No press."

The assistant blinked. "A ball, sir?"

"Yes. And get our media team to leak a story."

"What story?"

Liam turned slowly, eyes cold. "That I'm searching for the woman who saved me. And I won't stop until I find her."

---