21 Lucas Bailey stood in the empty apartment, a sense of dread growing with each passing moment. Autumn's furniture remained, but her personal touches-the books, the design portfolios, the small treasures she collected-were gone. So were her clothes, her toiletries, even the plants she'd carefully tended on the windowsill. "Dammit, Autumn," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Where are you?" He'd been trying to reach her for two days. At first, he'd assumed she was busy or perhaps avoiding his calls after their last awkward encounter at a coffee shop downtown. But when she missed a scheduled meeting with a mutual client and didn't respond to any of his increasingly worried messages, he'd used the spare key she'd once given him to check on her. Only to find her gone. Lucas pulled out his phone and called Victoria again. Like yesterday, it went straight to voicemail. "Victoria, it's Lucas. Again. Please call me back. I need to know where Autumn is." Next, he tried Shepherd Design Studio directly. The receptionist answered with professional cheer. "Shepherd Design Studio, how may I direct your call?" "This is Lucas Bailey. I need to speak with Victoria Hayes immediately." There was a pause. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bailey, but Ms. Hayes is unavailable. Would you like to leave a message?" 'Tell her to call me back as soon as possible. It's about Autumn." He hung up, frustration mounting. Someone had to know where she'd gone. Autumn wouldn't just disappear without telling anyone. Would she? As a last resort, he drove to Richard Shepherd's estate. The housekeeper who answered the door informed him that Mr. Shepherd was abroad on business and not expected back for several weeks. She knew nothing about Autumn's whereabouts. Lucas was about to leave when he had a thought. "Has Mr. Shepherd received any mail recently? Anything from his daughter?" The housekeeper hesitated, her loyalty to her employer visibly warring with Lucas's obvious distress. "There was a letter delivered yesterday," she admitted finally. "I put it on his desk with the rest of his correspondence." 2 'I need to see it," Lucas said, his tone making it clear this wasn't a request. She shook her head firmly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bailey, but that would be highly inappropriate. Mr. Shepherd's mail is private." _ucas knew she was right, but desperation overrode his usual respect for boundaries. "Please," he said, softening his approach. "Autumn has disappeared. I'm worried about her. That letter might tell me where she s." The housekeeper's expression shifted at the mention of worry. "Miss Autumn left something for you as well," she said after a moment. "It arrived with instructions to deliver it today." She disappeared into the house, returning moments later with a cream-colored envelope. "This came for you.' Lucas stared at the envelope, immediately recognizing Autumn's neat handwriting. His name was written on he front in her distinctive script. "Thank you," he said, already tearing it open. He read the brief letter twice, trying to make sense of Autumn's words. She needed time. Space. She romised to be in touch when she was ready. But where had she gone? And why hadn't she told him face to ace? Did another letter arrive for Mr. Shepherd?" he asked, looking up from the page. "From Autumn?" The housekeeper nodded. "Yes, but I can't-" I understand," Lucas interrupted. "You can't show me. But can you at least tell me if she mentioned where she vas going? Please, I just need to know she's safe." "The woman studied him for a long moment, clearly weighing her options. Finally, she sighed. "Miss Autumn aid she was going abroad. To Paris, I believe. That's all I can tell you." 'aris. Lucas felt a momentary relief that quickly gave way to renewed frustration. Paris was a starting point, ut a city of millions was still a vast haystack in which to find one person who didn't want to be found. Thank you," he said again, more sincerely this time. "I appreciate your help." Back in his car, Lucas read Autumn's letter once more, searching for clues, for anything that might help him Inderstand her decision. "Please don't try to find me," she'd written. But how could he not? After everything hey'd been through, after the night they'd shared before the divorce, after the tentative peace they'd stablished in the weeks since-how could she just leave without a word? Over the next week, Lucas exhausted every avenue he could think of to locate Autumn. He hired private nvestigators in Paris. He had his contacts in the design world discreetly ask about her whereabouts. He even lew to Paris himself, spending three fruitless days searching neighborhoods where expatriate designers ypically lived and worked. Nothing. It was as if she'd vanished into thin air. When he returned to Northbrook, defeated and increasingly worried, he found Richard Shepherd waiting in his office at Bailey Enterprises. Richard," Lucas greeted him, surprised. "I thought you were in Asia." I came back early when I got a call that you were turning my house upside down looking for my daughter," Richard said, his tone cool. "What's going on, Bailey?" Chapter 21. Lucary Span Lucas ran a hand through his hair, exhaustion evident in the gesture. "Autumn's gone. Just packed up and left without telling anyone. All I have is this." He handed Richard the letter. Richard read it silently, his expression giving nothing away. When he finished, he folded it carefully and handed it back. "And you thought breaking into my house would help you find her?" 'I didn't break in," Lucas protested. "I asked your housekeeper for help. Autumn could be in trouble-" 'My daughter is a grown woman who clearly wants some space," Richard interrupted. "If she's chosen not to ell you where she's gone, perhaps you should respect that." Lucas fought to keep his frustration in check. "I just need to know she's okay." Richard studied him for a long moment. "She's okay. And she'll be back when she's ready." You know where she is," Lucas realized. "She told you." She did," Richard acknowledged. "And I'm not going to tell you. She asked for privacy, and I'm going to honor hat." .ucas slumped into his chair, the fight draining out of him. "I don't understand. We were... things were better >etween us. After the divorce, we were finding a way to be friends, at least. Why would she just leave?" Richard's expression softened slightly. "Sometimes people need distance to get clarity. Autumn has always >een independent-she processes things in her own way, in her own time." But why not just tell me that?" Lucas pressed. "Why the secrecy?" Richard sighed. "That's a question only she can answer. But I can tell you this-my daughter doesn't do inything without good reason. If she's gone to this length to get space, then she must need it badly." After Richard left, Lucas sat at his desk for a long time, staring at Autumn's letter without really seeing it. The urt of her disappearance had evolved into something deeper, more complex-worry tangled with confusion, inger mixed with a surprising sense of loss. He'd thought they were past this-the misunderstandings, the careful distance they'd maintained during their narriage. That night before the divorce, when they'd finally been honest with each other, had felt like a reakthrough, even if it had come too late to save their marriage. n the weeks since, they'd established a fragile peace. Occasional coffee meetings. Professional courtesy when their work overlapped. Once, even dinner at a neutral restaurant, where they'd talked for hours about verything except their shared past. le'd thought they were building something new-not a romance, perhaps, but a friendship based on mutual espect and understanding. Had he been wrong? Had he misread the situation completely? Or was there something else going on, something Autumn wasn't telling him? "hat night, alone in the penthouse that still held echoes of Autumn's presence-the view she'd loved, the itchen where she'd taught him to make proper pasta, the sofa where they'd sometimes watched movies ogether-Lucas made a decision. le would respect her wishes. For now. He wouldn't follow her to Paris again, wouldn't hire more investigators, wouldn't harass her friends and colleagues for information. He would give her the space she clearly needed. But he would also make sure she knew she had something to come back to. Opening his laptop, he began to compose an email: Autumn, received your letter. While I don't understand why you felt you needed to leave without saying goodbye, I vant you to know that I respect your need for space. won't try to find you again. But I hope you'll let me know you're safe. Whatever you're going through, whatever you need to figure out, I'll be here when you're ready to talk. ake care of yourself. ucas le sent the email, knowing she might never respond. It was a small gesture, but it was all he could offer now -respect for her choice, and the promise of patience. or the first time since Autumn Shepherd had walked back into his life, Lucas Bailey found himself completel lone with the realization that he might have lost her for good this time. nd the pain of that possibility was far deeper than he'd expected.