Godmother To His Son Then I Took His Kingdom Chapter 04
The next morning, as Graham sat down in the dining room, he remembered that Mara was still outside.
It had rained all night.
He rubbed his throbbing temples. The first emotion that surfaced was not concern, but irritation.
That slap Mara had delivered had been an ugly scene. Evelyn’s face had swelled, Leo had been frightened into tears, and he hadn’t gotten to sleep until dawn after calming them both down.
As for Mara, the security staff was watching the door. Once she cooled off, she would come back inside.
She’d just been discharged from the hospital. She was weak. Where else could she possibly go?
“Have the kitchen prepare a light breakfast for Mrs. Whitmore.”
The housekeeper didn’t move.
“Sir, the madam isn’t home.”
Graham’s hand paused, his coffee cup halfway to his lips.
“What do you mean?”
“She never came back last night.”
He set down the cup and strode to the foyer.
He threw open the front door, and a rush of damp, cold air swept in.
By the steps lay a camel-colored coat, soaked through with rain, the cuffs smeared with mud. It was one of Mara’s favorites—a birthday gift he’d picked out for her a few years ago.
But Mara herself was gone.
“Who was on duty last night?”
A guard answered in a low voice, “The madam flagged down a taxi, sir. We assumed she was just going out to cool off. You gave no order to stop her.”
Graham’s expression darkened.
“Where did she go?”
“The driver never came inside to register.”
He pulled out his phone and dialed Mara’s number.
It went straight to voicemail.
He called again. Voicemail.
Graham turned and went upstairs, pushing open the door to the master bedroom. The bed was perfectly made, with no sign anyone had slept in it.
The bathroom was empty.
He checked the guest room next.
The sheets hadn’t been touched. The lights had never been turned on.
“She didn’t sleep here last night?” he asked the maid who had followed him up.
“No, sir.”
A flare of anger shot through him.
Mara never did this.
Even when they fought, she always informed the housekeeper which hotel she was staying at. She cared deeply about propriety, terrified of giving anyone a reason to think she was unfit to be Mrs. Whitmore.
And now, after a few harsh words, she had stayed out all night and deliberately turned off her phone.
Graham’s mother emerged from her room in a silk dressing gown. After hearing what had happened, she let out a cold laugh.
“She’s getting more and more out of hand.”
“First she made a scene at the gala, and now she’s injured Evelyn. Last night you shouldn’t have just left her outside—you should have made her apologize to Evelyn personally.”
Graham frowned.
“She just had a miscarriage. She’s unstable.”
“A miscarriage is no excuse for losing control,” his mother said, her tone unwavering. “Evelyn is a Cabot. Does Mara really think marrying into our family means she can lay hands on anyone she pleases?”
“That’s enough.”
He cut her off, his voice sharp with impatience.
But the impatience wasn’t for Mara.
He simply hated it when things slipped out of his control.
She should have knocked on the door in the middle of the night. She should have explained herself. She should have yielded first, the way she always did, so the matter could be smoothed over with dignity.
She should not have vanished.
But it had only been one night.
Graham forced himself to calm down.
There were very few places Mara could go in Boston. She had no parents, and her closest friends all moved in their shared social circles.
She had likely gone to a hotel, or was hiding out with her assistant, waiting for him to make the first move.
With that thought, he didn’t bother calling a third time.
“Let her go.”
Graham adjusted his cufflinks, his usual composure returning.
“She doesn’t have much cash on her. Hotels, transportation, doctors—everything costs money. Once she calms down, she’ll contact me.”
His mother nodded in satisfaction.
“Don’t indulge her. When she comes back, we’ll suspend her position at the foundation. She needs to understand who gave her everything she has.”
Graham didn’t object.
He had a trust committee meeting that morning.
He went into the study to retrieve an asset authorization file from the safe.
He entered the code, and the heavy door swung open.
The corporate documents on the top shelf were still there.
But the second shelf was half empty.
Graham froze.
He pulled open the compartment where they kept personal records. Mara’s passport, birth certificate, and Social Security card had all been there. Now, only a few empty file sleeves remained.
The black folder containing her premarital asset records was also gone.
Inside had been the deed to her apartment, her personal account statements, and the records from the sale of her parents’ laundromat.
Graham quickly checked the other compartments.
All empty.
He called the housekeeper into the study.
“Who has been in this safe?”
“No one, sir. Only you and the madam know the code.”
“When was she in here?”
The housekeeper hesitated. “Yesterday, while you were upstairs with Master Leo, the madam’s assistant came by. She said Madam had instructed her to retrieve some paperwork for the hospital.”
Graham turned sharply.
Only then did he notice that two framed photos were missing from his desk, and the old pocket watch that had belonged to Mara’s father was gone from the drawer.
She hadn’t just stormed out in a fit of anger.
She had been planning to leave all along.
Graham stared at the empty compartments in the safe, and for the first time in his life, a deep, unnerving chill snaked its way up his spine.