Lucas Roscente's startled cry shattered the morning silence.
Isabella Evans jolted awake at the sudden noise.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she gazed at him in confusion.
"Lucas, what are you talking about?"
Her voice carried the huskiness of recent sleep.
Seeing her pale face, Lucas felt his chest tighten.
He assumed grief had clouded her mind.
"Where's Sophia?"
His urgent demand came out sharper than intended.
Isabella's expression grew more bewildered.
"Who's Sophia?"
The question sent ice through Lucas's veins.
He bolted toward the door.
Two bodyguards stood dutifully at their posts.
"Where's Sophia Roscente?"
A barely perceptible tremor ran through his voice.
The guards exchanged confused glances.
"We've been here all night. No one came through."
Their identical responses made his stomach drop.
"My wife Sophia—you didn't see her?"
The guards looked genuinely startled.
"But... isn't Miss Isabella your wife?"
The words hit like thunder.
Lucas's world tilted on its axis.
How could someone so real just vanish?
Had everyone's memories been erased?
He stormed into the security room, hands shaking as he operated the console.
The screens flickered to life, displaying yesterday's footage.
Every frame where Sophia should have appeared showed empty spaces instead.
Hallways. Living room. Bedroom.
All traces of her existence had been wiped clean.
"This can't be!"
His fingers flew across the keyboard in desperation.
Suddenly, the video files began glitching.
One by one, the recordings corrupted before his eyes.
Frantically, he pulled out his phone and opened the photo gallery.
A thousand cherished memories were disappearing in real time.
Each image faded to gray before vanishing completely.
The album stood empty—as if those moments never existed.
Isabella slipped into the room unnoticed.
"Lucas, drink some water."
She offered a glass with concern in her eyes.
Her presence inexplicably grated on his nerves.
Then a memory fragment flashed through his mind.
A dimly lit room. Isabella whispering with two associates.
"The child must be dealt with."
Her voice had been glacial.
"We'll frame Sophia for it."
The men had nodded eagerly.
"Sophia's in our way."
"With her gone, we can finally act."
Lucas shook his head violently, trying to dislodge the vision.
But the recollection felt disturbingly real.
He remembered the day Isabella disappeared.
How he'd immediately blamed Sophia without evidence.
Every cruel word he'd spoken now echoed with painful clarity.
Lucas tore through the master bedroom like a madman.
He searched every corner for proof of Sophia's existence.
Finally, his gaze landed on the wall safe.
With trembling fingers, he entered the code.
The metal door swung open.
Buried at the bottom lay a crimson marriage certificate.
Taking a shaky breath, he opened it.
The name "Isabella Evans" glared from the spouse line.
The document slipped from his numb fingers as he collapsed to the floor.
"How... how is this possible?"
His phone vibrated suddenly.
An unknown number had sent a video.
The footage turned his blood to ice.
Clear as day, it showed everything.
Isabella staging her own kidnapping.
Plotting with her accomplices.
Faking a miscarriage to frame Sophia.
Every brutal detail laid bare.
Lucas clutched his head in agony.
Now he understood what he'd missed.
But the realization had come too late.