The Empty Mansion

Gideon pulled into the driveway of the mansion, stepped out of his car, and walked straight into the living room.

Normally, he would find Cordelia waiting quietly on the sofa or working on a painting in her study. Today, an unfamiliar silence hung over the entire house.

"Cordelia?" he called out, his voice echoing through the foyer without an answer.

He climbed the stairs to the second floor and checked both the bathroom and the master bedroom, finding neither occupied.

"Cordelia?" Gideon tried again, louder this time.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he dialed her number, only for the call to ring through until it disconnected.

He yanked at the knot of his tie, irritation rising. He had never been the type of man willing to waste time and patience coaxing a woman.

Throughout the past four years, Cordelia had always been remarkably compliant and reasonable, so much so that she had never demanded a fraction of his energy.

Even though Gideon knew he was in the wrong today, this sudden defiance still rubbed him the wrong way and sparked his temper.

Massaging his temples in frustration, he dialed his assistant to give an order. "Track down where Cordelia went."

"Mrs. Drexel is really crossing the line here. Making a scene over a simple breakfast makes no sense at all. Shouldn't she be more considerate? Your schedule has been packed for days, and now she's just making things harder for you," the assistant remarked over the line.

"Watch your mouth," Gideon cut in, his voice dropping to a low warning.

Startled, the assistant stammered a quick apology and disconnected the call at once.

Across town, traffic had ground to a standstill on the highway leading to the airport. Staring out the taxi window, Cordelia felt hot tears sting her eyes as her gaze landed on a bridal car in the neighboring lane.

In the back of the open-top convertible sat a bride in a white gown, cradling a fresh bouquet and beaming with pure joy.

"So that's what marrying for love looks like," Cordelia murmured under her breath.

The tragedy of her own life was that she had tied the knot long before ever encountering real love.

"Sorry about the long motorcade holding everyone up!" A bridesmaid had stepped out of one of the cars and was walking down the stalled lanes, handing out small gift boxes to the surrounding drivers and passengers to apologize for the delay.

When one was passed through her window, Cordelia took the favor automatically, her lips curving into a bitter smile.

Four years into their marriage, Gideon had given her the roof over her head she had longed for, yet he had withheld a wedding ceremony and any real sense that she was truly his wife.

Her thoughts drifted back to the day he had proposed. He had sat across from her with the calm, detached demeanor of an executive finalizing a contract. "I'm Gideon Drexel, and my background fits what you need. We should go get our marriage license."

"My name is Cordelia Vance. I don't own a home or a car, I have no family backing me, and I'm still paying off student loans. Are you sure you don't want to think twice?"

In truth, she had fully intended to turn him down that afternoon.

They were practically strangers, and the gap between their worlds made her feel entirely out of place beside him.

Yet after a brief pause, he had looked at her and said, "Cordelia, I can offer you a home of your own."

That single promise had hit her weakest spot, shattering her resolve on the spot.

Jumping into a flash marriage with Gideon without looking back remained the most reckless thing she had ever done.

It had been a massive gamble from the very beginning.

And regardless of how that gamble played out, she was the one who would have to carry the fallout for the rest of her life.

"I have no plans for children," he had told her back then. "My mother won't be fond of you, so just ignore that side of the family. This household is strictly between you and me. If my mother gives you a hard time, I'll step in and deal with it. You won't have to worry about a thing."

Because Sylvia Drexel looked down on her, the rest of the Drexel clan had never once acknowledged Cordelia as Gideon's legitimate wife.

Given her modest upbringing, Sylvia had immediately written her off as a scheming opportunist who had latched onto a wealthy heir to climb the social ladder.

"Gideon, someone in your position could have his pick of women. Why settle on me?" she had asked him once, genuinely baffled.

"My grandfather's will stipulates that I have to be a family man before I can take control of the Drexel enterprise." Gideon hadn't lied to her with that answer, though he had conveniently left out the real catalyst—the woman he actually loved had walked out on him and left for Valerius.

Time had run out for him. He needed a marriage certificate in hand immediately to lock down his company shares and secure his rightful inheritance.

Any delay meant risking everything he was owed to the illegitimate son the Drexel family was keeping on the outside.

From day one, their union had been nothing more than a pragmatic arrangement on paper.

And in that arrangement, Cordelia had been the only fool to put her actual heart on the line.

Meanwhile, Gideon drove over to the Vance house.

Cordelia had lost her mother at a young age, not long before her father, Orson Vance, remarried and brought a stepmother into the house.

Since moving in with Gideon, Cordelia rarely set foot in her childhood home. Still, with her unreachable and nowhere else to look, Gideon had little choice but to try his luck there.

"Vivienne, has Cordelia stopped by today?" Standing at the threshold, Gideon used her stepmother's first name just as Cordelia always did.

Vivienne Vance welcomed him inside with a warm, accommodating smile. "Cora hasn't been back at all. Did the two of you have a falling out?"

Before he could say much else, she craned her neck toward the stairs leading up to the attic and called out, "Tamsin, come downstairs! Gideon is here!"

Up in her bedroom, Tamsin had been in the middle of a video game. The second the name registered, she tossed her controller aside, threw on a much nicer outfit, and spent several frantic minutes fussing with her hair and makeup in the mirror before hurrying down the stairs, her face flushed with anticipation.

"Gideon."

Tamsin had harbored feelings for her brother-in-law for a long time, driven by a persistent craving to strip away everything that belonged to Cordelia and claim it for herself.