The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Nikolai's POV

Matilda was gone.

The thought brought a satisfaction I hadn't expected to feel so deeply. The chairman had handled it swiftly, decisively — exactly as I'd anticipated.

By now, Matilda Reyes had been stripped of her position, her reputation in tatters, her medical license under review. She wouldn't be bothering Cynthia again. She wouldn't be bothering anyone.

Good.

I leaned back in my swivel chair and stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Cross Energy executive office in Missford.

The Missford skyline stretched before me, gleaming under the late afternoon sun, a monument to power, ambition, and legacy.

My legacy now.

The weight of it should have felt heavier. Instead, all I could think about was her.

Cynthia.

I hadn't seen her in days and the absence gnawed at me in ways I wasn't accustomed to. I was Nikolai Cross. I didn't pine. I didn't wait by phones hoping for calls that never came.

And yet, here I was.

I picked up my phone again, scrolling to her name, Cynthia and pressed call.

It rang.

Then voicemail.

Again.

I hung up without leaving a message and set the phone down harder than necessary. This was the fifth time today. She wasn't answering.

Worry coiled tightly in my chest.

Was she okay? Was something wrong? Had Matilda done something before I'd shut her down? Had someone else threatened her?

The not knowing was unbearable.

I exhaled sharply and pressed the intercom button on my desk.

"Yes, Mr. Cross?" my assistant's voice came through immediately.

"Send Gregor in," I said.

"Right away, sir."

Gregor was one of the men I'd inherited along with the company — loyal, discreet, efficient. The kind of person who asked no questions and delivered results. My father had trusted him implicitly, and so far, I'd found no reason not to do the same.

He entered moments later, tall and composed, his expression neutral.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"I need you to locate someone," I said, keeping my tone even. "Cynthia Laurent. Discreetly. I want to know where she is, what she's doing, and if she's safe."

Gregor nodded once. "Understood. When do you need this information?"

"As soon as possible."

"I'll have a report for you within the hour."

"Good."

He left without another word, and I was alone again with my thoughts.

I shouldn't have needed to resort to this. I shouldn't have been sitting here, ordering surveillance on a woman I was trying to court. But Cynthia wasn't answering, and the silence was driving me insane.

I told myself it was concern.

Protective instinct.

But deep down, I knew the truth.

I was lonely.

Profoundly, achingly lonely.

The realization settled over me like a weight I couldn't shrug off. I had everything — money, power, influence, a company worth billions. I had respect, authority, a name that commanded attention in every room I entered.

And yet, I had no one.

My father was gone. My mother had passed years before him. I had colleagues, business associates, people who smiled and nodded and agreed with everything I said because I signed their paychecks.

But I had no one who saw me.

No one except Cynthia.

She looked at me like I was just Nikolai. Not the heir. Not the CEO. Just… a man. Someone who could be hurt, who could be vulnerable, who didn't always have the answers.

I wanted that.

I wanted her.

I leaned back again, rubbing my temples.

The board had been breathing down my neck since my inauguration. They wanted stability. They wanted assurance that Cross Energy wouldn't falter under new leadership. And more than anything, they wanted me married.

"What else?"

Gregor hesitated, which was unusual for him. "I was able to get a nurse to reveal this crucial detail that Mr. Walker recently discovered Grace Walker is not his biological mother. DNA test results were delivered early this morning."

I absorbed that information in silence.

So Ethan's world was falling apart.

And Cynthia, with her kind, vulnerable heart, had been right there beside him.

Of course she had.

That was who she was. Compassionate. Loyal. The kind of person who stayed even when it hurt.

But it also meant she was vulnerable.

Vulnerable to manipulation. Vulnerable to Ethan's pain, his need, his ability to pull her back into his orbit every time she tried to break free.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my expression to remain neutral.

"Anything else?"

"Anna Walker has been formally charged and is currently in custody. Charges include sabotage, embezzlement, defamation, and potential child endangerment."

That, at least, was good news.

Anna had been a thorn in Cynthia's side for too long. With her out of the picture, there was one less obstacle between Ethan and Cynthia.

Which was... not good news.

I dismissed Gregor with a nod and opened the folder, scanning the details myself.

Cynthia had been at that hospital all night. She’s with Ethan home this morning.

The possessiveness that surged through me was immediate and irrational.

I had no claim to her, but I wanted one.

I needed to see her.

The Cross Energy end-of-year party was the perfect opportunity — formal enough to be significant, public enough to make a statement.

VIP treatment. A clear message to everyone in attendance that Cynthia Laurent mattered to me.

And maybe she would see me differently.

See me as more than the grieving son and as someone who could give her what Ethan never did.