The first thing Nia noticed that morning was the silence.

It wasn’t the peaceful kind.

It was the kind that made the huge Bennett house feel strangely empty, even though there were

people moving around everywhere.

Wedding decorations covered the hallway. White flowers were arranged along the staircase, and the

sound of heels clicking against the marble floor came from downstairs.

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her sister’s life.

Instead, Nia stood outside Ellie’s bedroom, staring at the closed door.

“Ellie?” she called softly.

No answer.

Nia knocked again.

“You’re going to make me come in there myself.”

Still nothing.

She frowned.

Ellie was usually awake before everyone on important days. Especially today.

Nia opened the door.

The room was empty.

Her stomach dropped.

“Ellie?”

She stepped inside.

The bed was perfectly made. The wedding dress was still hanging beside the window, untouched.

Nia looked around the room again.

Her sister’s handbag was on the vanity.

Her phone was gone.

Her shoes were still beside the bed.

That didn’t make sense.

“Ellie?”

Nia checked the bathroom.

Empty.

She opened the closet.

Nothing.

She rushed back into the bedroom and grabbed Ellie’s phone charger from the table.

Her hands began to shake.

Ellie never went anywhere without her charger.

Something was wrong.

Nia ran downstairs.

“Mom!”

Her mother appeared from the dining room, already dressed for the wedding.

“What is it?”

“Where’s Ellie?”

Her mother’s smile disappeared.

“Isn’t she upstairs?”

“Her room is empty.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then her mother hurried upstairs.

Nia followed.

They searched the entire house.

No Ellie.

The guest room.

The kitchen.

The garden.

The garage.

Nothing.

By eight in the morning, the wedding planner was panicking.

By eight-thirty, the makeup artist was crying.

By nine, Nia’s mother had locked herself in her bedroom.

And by nine-thirty, people had started whispering.

“Maybe she changed her mind.”

“Maybe she ran away.”

“Maybe she never wanted to marry him.”

Nia hated every word.

Ellie wouldn’t do that.

She wouldn’t disappear without telling Nia.

They had never kept things from each other.

At least, Nia thought they hadn’t.

She returned to Ellie’s bedroom and noticed something on the floor.

A small piece of paper.

Her heart skipped.

She picked it up.

There was only one sentence written on it.

Don’t let them marry you.

Nia stared at the words.

Her fingers went cold.

“Who are you talking to?”

Nia spun around.

Mason Harrington stood in the doorway.

The man she was supposed to call her brother-in-law by the end of the day.

He looked nothing like a nervous groom.

His black suit was perfectly fitted. His expression was calm, almost unnervingly so.

Nia quickly folded the paper into her palm.

“Where is my sister?”

Mason’s eyes remained on her.

“I was hoping you could tell me.”

“You were supposed to marry her today.”

“I know.”

“And you’re standing here asking me where she is?”

His jaw tightened.

“I’ve been looking for her since six this morning.”

Nia studied his face.

There was something strange about him.

He didn’t look heartbroken.

He looked worried.

Not about the wedding.

About something else.

“Did you two have an argument?”

“No.”

“Did Ellie say anything to you last night?”

Mason didn’t answer immediately.

That silence was enough.

Nia stepped closer.

“What happened?”

Before he could respond, a loud voice came from downstairs.

“Mr. Harrington!”

Mason turned.

One of his security men appeared at the end of the hallway.

He leaned toward Mason and whispered something.

Mason’s expression changed.

“What?” Nia asked.

“Nothing.”

He walked away.

Nia followed him.

“Mason.”

He stopped at the staircase.

“Your sister didn’t run away.”

Nia stared at him.

“Then where is she?”

He looked at her for several seconds.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why do you look like you already know something?”

Mason’s eyes hardened.

“Because I know my family.”

Nia didn’t understand.

“What does that mean?”

He glanced toward the front door.

Then back at her.

“Listen to me carefully. Until we find Ellie, don’t trust anyone who comes into this house.”

Nia’s heart pounded.

“Why?”

Mason lowered his voice.

“Because if Ellie disappeared for the reason I think she did, she’s not the only person in danger.”

Before Nia could ask another question, he walked away.

Nia stood frozen on the stairs.

Then she looked down at the note still hidden in her hand.

Don’t let them marry you.

Her breathing became uneven.

She turned the paper over.

There was something written on the back.

Something she hadn’t noticed before.

Three words.

Ask about Dad.

Nia’s blood ran cold.

Her father had been dead for eight years.

And suddenly, for the first time in years, she wondered if his death had really been an accident.