Chapter 32; The Second DisappearanceEthan's Pov;Rain hammered the alley like it wanted to wash the whole street away.Yvonne's phone lay face-down near a puddle, the cracked screen glowing through the water. I picked it up slowly, thumb brushing over the shattered glass. It was still warm.She hadn't dropped it long ago.The message on the lock screen pulsed softly in the dark:Unknown: Don't scream. Just walk.My jaw locked. Something in my chest twisted, not panic, not fear. Something colder, sharper. The part of me I tried to bury the day I left Sally's house for the last time.I pocketed the phone. Rain slid down my face, mixing with the heat rising under my skin. 'He thinks he's ahead. Let him believe that for one more hour'I followed the alley path toward the street. Tire tracks streaked through the water, fresh ones turning out of the lot, curving toward the main road. A black SUV sped past a second earlier when I arrived. At the time, I'd dismissed it.Mistake.I pulled my

Chapter 34; The Aftermath of CollapseEthan's Pov;The warehouse finally went quiet.No groaning metal.No rattling beams.No Derrick yelling from underneath the wreckage.Just breathing mine and Yvonne's uneven, rough, real.She clung to my shirt like the fabric was the only steady thing in the room. Her fingers trembled, cold against my chest. I felt every shake. They landed under my ribs like blows."I've got you," I murmured against her hair.She nodded, but her breath hitched again. Not dramatic. Not staged. Just... human. Like the sound someone makes when they've held fear in too long and their chest finally cracks.When I pulled back slightly, her eyes were red, lashes wet, makeup smeared across her cheeks. She looked like someone who had been dragged through fire and somehow was still standing in the ashes.But her gaze didn't drop.She looked straight at me."You shouldn't have come alone," she whispered."I wasn't leaving you here."She closed her eyes, shoulders shaking f

Chapter 36; The Woman Who Wouldn't Let GoEthan's Pov;The headline sat on the TV like a punch that refused to land.Sally Tyler.Restraining order.Harassment.My name dripping through every sentence like poison.Yvonne's breath hitched beside me. She didn't move at first just stared at the screen, lips parting slightly, chest rising in tiny, quick bursts. Then she turned to me, confusion and fear tangled behind her eyes."Ethan... what is this?"Her voice wasn't accusing.It wasn't angry.It just... hurt.I swallowed slowly. "It's a setup."Yvonne's gaze dipped for a moment, lashes trembling. "She's doing this because of me.""She's doing this because she's desperate," I said.Yvonne hugged her arms tighter around herself, the oversized shirt sliding off one shoulder. A bruise formed along her collarbone, a dark reminder of Derrick's hands.I wanted to kill him all over again.The TV played Sally's voice next, fake-sweet, trembling in manufactured vulnerability:"I feared for my

Chapter 38; The Unseen PlayerEthan's Pov;The message glowed on my screen like a bruise.Unknown:Round two starts now.The wind cut across the rooftop, snapping at my coat. Sally's footsteps were already gone, just the echo of her threats lingering behind.I stood there for a long moment, letting the night settle into me.Letting the rage quiet instead of burn.Letting the fear harden into something useful.Inner thought: 'If Derrick isn't the one pulling strings... then who the hell is?'I pocketed the phone and headed down the stairwell.The ride back to the penthouse felt too slow, even though the driver cut lights and ran yellow signals. Every second stretched thin. I kept checking the rearview mirror, scanning the sidewalks, searching for a tail.Nothing.Nothing was worse than something.When we pulled up to my building, I got out quickly and took the back elevator up. The moment the doors slid open, I heard the quiet shuffle of someone pacing.Yvonne.She was in the living ro

Chapter 40; The Interrogation RoomEthan's Pov;The elevator dropped floor by floor with a slow, heavy hum.The agents stood stiff on either side of me, hands resting near their belts like they were waiting for me to snap.I didn't.My heartbeat stayed steady.My breathing stayed controlled.But Yvonne's face...The way she said come back...Her eyes were shaking like she was holding the last thread she had left...That wouldn't leave my head.Inner thought: Derrick tried to break me. Sally tried to break me. Marcus wants to erase me. But she's the only thing they can still use to get inside my armor.When the elevator reached the ground floor, the taller agent gestured toward the garage exit."This way, Mr. Hank."I didn't look at him.I scanned the garage instead of the corners, the shadows, the vehicles parked too perfectly. Nothing moved. Nothing shifted. Too clean.A controlled scene.A staged arrest.Marcus planned this.The agents led me to an unmarked black car. One opened the