The Billionaire's Silent Wife (Ryan and Eve) novel Chapter 171

1) The Call 2

171 The Call 2

Eve moved in her sleep somewhere down the hall. The faint sound of her shifting travelled through the

house like a warning.

Ryan didn’t want her waking to this.

But the house didn’t ask permission for danger.

“Ryan,” Steven’s voice cracked through the line. “Please. You know what they’re capable of. You know Leah. If you wait, it might already be too late.”

Ryan’s mouth tightened.

“You went to my mother’s house,” Ryan said. “Did you confront her.”

Steven let out a harsh sound. “I tried. Security wouldn’t let me in. They said she wasn’t home. They said,

his breath hitched, “, they said if I didn’t leave, they’d call the police.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed, cold. “And you believed them.”

Steven’s voice turned furious. “No! I don’t believe anything they say. But I can’t get in. I can’t,”

His voice broke again. “Ryan, I can’t lose her.”

There it was.

Not pride.

Not dominance.

Fear.

Raw, collapsing fear.

Ryan had heard men in court rooms lose control when verdicts came back wrong. He’d heard CEOs panic when they realised their empire was built on paper and lies.

Steven sounded like a man whose life was collapsing in real time.

Ryan’s jaw tightened. “Where were you when she went to meet Eve.”

A pause.

Steven sounded ashamed. “At home. I was, ” He swallowed hard. “I was trying to cool down. After what

happened at your house, I was trying not to… explode again.”

Ryan didn’t comment.

He didn’t say too late.

Steven continued, voice shaking. “She didn’t come back. I called her. Nothing. I drove to the café on her

calendar. They said she came. They said she left.”

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Ryan’s eyes sharpened. “Left alone?”

“I don’t know,” Steven admitted. “They said she paid and walked out. They didn’t pay attention.”

Ryan closed his eyes for a brief second.

Public places. Full of people who mind their business.

He thought of Eve saying she needed to meet Alissa alone. He thought of Ryan standing outside, not

going in, giving her space.

If Alissa had gone missing after meeting Eve…

Ryan’s stomach tightened.

The door behind him creaked softly.

Ryan turned.

Eve stood there in the doorway, hair loose, eyes heavy with sleep that vanished as soon as she saw Ryan’s

face.

Ryan didn’t move.

He didn’t want her to come closer, but the shock had already sobered her.

Eve’s gaze flicked from Ryan to the phone. Her voice was quiet. “Who is it.”

Ryan didn’t answer her directly. He kept his voice low into the phone. “Steven, listen to me. Stay where you are. Don’t confront anyone else. Don’t do anything that puts you in a cell.”

Steven made a broken sound. “I don’t care about a cell,”

“You will care if it stops you from finding her,” Ryan said, colder. “Do you understand.”

Steven’s breathing hitched. “Yes.”

Ryan’s eyes stayed on Eve. Her hand drifted toward her belly, instinctive, protective. Fear was blooming on

her face in slow realisation.

Ryan lowered his voice. “I’m coming.”

Steven exhaled like he’d been drowning and had finally found air. The relief in it sounded humiliating.”

Thank you. Thank you, Ryan, please,”

Ryan didn’t let him spiral again. “Text me the café name. The staff you spoke to. Any camera angles you know exist. Anything.”

“I will,” Steven rushed. “I will. Please, please hurry.”

Ryan ended the call.

For a moment, the study was silent except for the faint hum of the house.

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17) The Call 2

Eve didn’t move. She stood in the doorway like the floor might tilt beneath her.

Ryan looked at her, his face controlled, but his eyes were cold and sharpened now, dangerous not because

he wanted to hurt her, but because he had shifted into the version of himself that handled threats.

Eve’s voice came out thin. “What happened.”

Ryan didn’t soften it. Softness wasted time when someone was missing.

“Alissa hasn’t come home,” Ryan said. “She’s not answering calls.”

Eve’s throat tightened. “Alissa.”

Ryan nodded once.

Eve stepped into the room, slower now, as if she didn’t want to disturb the truth by moving too quickly.

“He thinks my parents did something.”

Ryan watched her process it.

Eve’s eyes flickered, shock, dread, a new kind of fear that looked sharper than scandal.

Because scandal was words.

Words could be endured.

This was different.

Eve’s voice trembled. “Do you believe him.”

Ryan didn’t blink. “It’s possible.”

Eve flinched. “Possible.”

Ryan’s jaw tightened. “Eve.”

She swallowed hard. “I met her. I was with her.”

“I know,” Ryan said, calm but firm. “This isn’t about blaming you.”

Eve’s hand stayed on her belly now, fingers splayed protectively. “If Leah can target Alissa,

Ryan cut in, low. “Don’t jump ahead.”

Eve’s eyes sharpened with panic. “How can I not.”

Because it was obvious.

”

If Leah had done something to Steven’s fiancée, the logic was clean. Alissa was a bridge between Steven

and Eve. Alissa had offered Eve warmth. Alissa had heard enough secrets to ask questions.

And Leah didn’t tolerate questions.

Ryan moved closer, stopping a careful distance away. He didn’t touch Eve. Not yet. He needed her steady,

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The Call 2

not startled.

“Eve,” he said again, voice controlled. “Look at me.”

Eve forced her gaze up.

Ryan’s eyes were hard, but not cruel. “We don’t know what happened yet,” he said. “We don’t know who

took her or if she’s,”

He stopped, refusing to say the word.

Eve’s breath hitched anyway. “If she’s dead.”

Ryan’s jaw flexed. “If she’s hurt,” he corrected, firm. “We act based on facts, not fear.”

Eve’s voice shook. “Fear is all I have right now.”

Ryan’s gaze held hers. “Then borrow mine.”

Eve stared at him, the same sentence he’d used before, but this time it wasn’t tenderness.

It was strategy.

It was a lifeline thrown into a storm.

Ryan turned away and grabbed his keys from the desk, the motion decisive.

Eve’s eyes widened. “You’re going.”

Ryan’s voice was flat. “Yes.”

Eve moved quickly, stepping closer. “Ryan, wait,

Ryan turned, and the look on his face stopped her mid-sentence.

This was the Ryan who could dismantle a person without raising his voice. The Ryan who didn’t hesitate

when decisions involved risk.

The Ryan who understood that hesitation was how people disappeared.

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