Reclaimed By My Ex-husband

The next morning…

Nathaniel arrived at the office and immediately called for Roberto. It didn't take long for Roberto to walk in, his expression downcast.

"Did you find the men?" Nathaniel asked with a hint of impatience in his tone.

Roberto's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Not yet, sir. We reviewed all the hotel's surveillance footage, but there is no trace of anyone injured. It's as if they disappeared into thin air."

Nathaniel's brow furrowed in confusion and disbelief. He couldn't reconcile what he knew with what he was hearing. "How is that possible? Zara struck them hard—they were bleeding, and one was even knocked unconscious. How could they just vanish without a trace?"

He paused, his mind working quickly. He tilted his head, his gaze narrowing as he searched Roberto's eyes. "Are you sure you checked every corner of the hotel? Perhaps they're still inside, hiding among the guests."

Roberto let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "I thought the same thing, so I went over it again, and even spoke with the manager. But no guests reported any injuries, and no one requested medical attention."

Nathaniel's frustration grew. He muttered incredulously, "This doesn't make sense. Something is off."

The scene was too precise, too complete—they couldn't simply have slipped away unnoticed.

A spark of an idea ignited within him. "Maybe someone very familiar with the hotel's layout helped them—someone who knew exactly where the cameras were, how to avoid them. It would have to be a member of the hotel staff."

Convinced that such an orchestrated escape, executed with flawless precision, was impossible without insider help, Nathaniel's determination grew to uncover the truth.

He turned to Roberto. "It's a hotel staff member. Without their assistance, there is no way they could have slipped out so easily without raising any suspicion."

As Nathaniel continued his conversation with Roberto, a man stepped out of the presidential suite of the hotel, where the fashion event had taken place last night. Dressed in a long black overcoat and a hat that cast a shadow over his face, he gripped the handles of two large, heavy suitcases and made his way toward the elevator.

A staff member noticed the oversized luggage and approached him. "Sir, are you checking out? Let me assist you with those."

The man held up his hand and stopped the staff member. "No need. I've got it," he said curtly, brushing past and stepping into the elevator.

The staff member stood there, puzzled, watching the elevator doors slide shut. He mumbled, "Weird… what's in those suitcases? They looked heavy—too heavy."

The elevator descended to the basement. Once the doors opened, the man dragged the suitcases out, each one thudding dully against the concrete floor as he made his way to the parking lot.

He reached a black car parked in a shadowy corner, popped open the trunk, and with visible effort, hoisted both suitcases inside. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He wiped the sweat with his sleeve before slipping into the driver's seat.

He removed his hat and set it aside. Then he took out a phone, dialing a number. He pressed the phone to his ear and said in a grave tone, "The consignments have been removed from the hotel. I'm on the way to deliver them. I'll notify you once it's done."

He ended the call and started the engine, the car gliding silently out of the basement.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Zachary lounged in his office chair, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips.

The two men who had gone after Zara were dead—and now, their bodies were being disposed of in a way that would leave no trail.

"This game is becoming more and more interesting," he murmured, eyes gleaming with cruel delight. "My dear nephew must be completely baffled by now. Let's see how he plans to find them."

Back in Nathaniel's office…

Roberto continued with his report.

"There is something else… something unusual," he said carefully. "Mr. Zachary was also at the hotel last night. Apparently, he had a meeting with a client. But that's not all—he was seen leaving the hotel with Miss Riya."

Nathaniel's body went rigid. "What?" he exclaimed with disbelief. "Riya was with Zachary? What the hell was she doing with him?"

Roberto hesitated before pulling out his phone. "We recovered this from the hotel lobby's security footage. It looked like they ran into each other by accident… then they left together. She was spotted getting into his car."

Nathaniel took the phone and stared at the screen as the video played.

It was indeed Riya. And beside her, unmistakably, was Zachary. Nathaniel's jaw clenched as he watched her leave the hotel with Zachary. Moreover, she had boarded his car.

She had her own car. Why didn't she use it? Why go with him?

His mind flooded with questions. Was Zachary trying to manipulate her? Did he threaten her somehow? Or worse… was he plotting something?

Nathaniel's gut twisted with unease.

"I don't trust that man," he muttered, eyes still locked on the video. "With Zachary, nothing is ever a coincidence. He is cunning, always calculating. If he is getting close to Riya, it's for a reason, and I fear it won't end well for her."

Roberto, however, didn't share the same thought. He had long harbored doubts that Riya wasn't as innocent as she appeared. But he dared not voice aloud, at least not until now.

Ever since that night at the bar, something hadn't sat right with him. He had personally interrogated the bartender, who had sworn under oath that he hadn't drugged Nathaniel. The bar's security footage had shown only one person by Nathaniel's side the entire evening, and it was Riya.

Nathaniel, blinded by affection for his adopted sister, had refused to see the obvious. He had brushed it off, unwilling to entertain even the possibility that Riya could have been the one to drug him.

But Roberto saw no other explanation. And now, seeing Riya with Zachary, his suspicions transformed into certainty.

"Don't you find it strange?" he asked, his tone measured but edged with quiet insistence. "She had her own car. Why would she leave with him?"

Nathaniel looked up sharply, unsettled.

Roberto kept his gaze steady, watching Nathaniel's reaction.

"It doesn't make sense. Unless… she had a reason to go with him."

He didn't accuse. He just let Nathaniel read the implications.

Seeing her with Zachary only deepened his suspicion that she was hiding something. Two men had vanished without a trace. A hotel brimming with security and yet no evidence. No blood trail. No calls for help. As if someone powerful had cleaned up everything behind the scenes.

And Roberto believed Zachary was somehow involved in this matter. Still, without solid evidence, he couldn't voice his accusations outright.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, wasn't the least bit suspicious of Riya. If anything, he was concerned about her. "I don't know. Maybe…" he began, but a knock at the door cut him short.

"Come in," he said, leaning back in his chair.

His secretary stepped inside. "Sir," she greeted, placing a file on his desk. "This requires your signature."

Nathaniel pulled the file toward him, quickly scanning it before signing.

"You also have a meeting scheduled at Moore Enterprise this afternoon," she reminded.

He blinked. It had slipped his mind. There was a board meeting scheduled today at Moore Enterprise to appoint the new CEO. He had already planned to take Zara with him and formally introduce her to the board members.

"Yes, I remember," he said, closing the file and handing it back.

"And the project update meeting will begin shortly. The team is assembled and ready."

Nathaniel nodded, then shifted his gaze to Roberto. "Keep digging. If there is any new development, let me know right away." With that, he stood up and exited the office, his secretary following closely behind.