Back Off, You Cheating Ex Wife!

Chapter 9

The surveillance footage was high‑definition, perfectly reproducing everything that had happened that night.

Ethan appeared to be talking calmly to himself, but his body was trembling uncontrollably, and his face was ashen.

Vivian saw her own face, cold and haughty, showing Ethan no mercy at all. Finally, she watched herself order Ethan to be thrown out.

A lawful husband. A husband who loved her deeply. A husband who had been utterly humble and submissive before her. And she had ruthlessly kicked him out of the house!

Good God, Vivian, what have you done?

Vivian steadied herself. She rewound the video and listened carefully to what Ethan had been saying. The audio was noisy because she and Jack had been laughing and chatting the whole time—Ethan’s voice was completely drowned out by theirs.

But Vivian played it back again and again, watching Ethan’s desperate expression over and over, trying to make out what he had been trying to say that night. It might have been the first time in a long while that Vivian had paid so much attention to what Ethan wanted to say.

Finally, she caught fragments. Humanitarian relief operation? Doctors Without Borders? A small town near the battlefield?

Vivian did not fully understand what these things meant, but she felt a knot of tension in her chest.

She immediately called Shelly and told her assistant to follow those leads. This time, Shelly called back quickly.

Doctors Without Borders was a group of noble people engaged in humanitarian relief. They went to battlefields, disaster zones, and impoverished countries to provide free medical aid to civilians in need. According to the organization’s schedule, three days earlier they had sent a team to the small town of Mubach on the Far Eastern battlefield to provide medical assistance to the local civilians. Ethan was on that team.

Vivian lost control of her emotions and shrieked, “What? That idiot Ethan actually went to a war zone? My God, how could he be so stupid? He’s committing suicide! Shelly, immediately, right now, apply for international clearance for my private jet! I’m going there myself to bring that reckless man back home!”

Vivian rushed to the relief base in the small town as fast as she could. Before the car had even stopped, she pushed the door open and jumped out.

Vivian shouted at the top of her lungs, “Ethan! Ethan! Where are you hiding, you bastard? You’d better come out right now, before I lose my temper!”

No one answered Vivian. A few family members of patients looked at her curiously.

Most people were busy with their own affairs and did not notice her arrival. Vivian walked forward more than ten yards and suddenly stopped dead.

A glaring patch of white made Vivian’s blood run cold.

It was a row of bodies covered with white sheets!

Fourteen bodies laid on the open ground to the right of the relief base, each face covered with a white cloth. No one wanted to go near them; only a volunteer was spraying disinfectant.

Vivian’s legs trembled as she walked painfully toward the bodies.

A terrible thought crossed her mind. If Ethan were still alive, the moment he heard her voice, he would have rushed over to hug her.

But Ethan had not appeared.

Could Ethan be lying under one of those white sheets?

No!

Ethan, you are not allowed to die without my permission!

Vivian walked up to one of the bodies and abruptly pulled back the white sheet.

It was an elderly man, his eyes peacefully closed.

Vivian breathed a sigh of relief and quickly pulled off the second sheet. This time, what lay beneath was a face mutilated beyond recognition—Vivian screamed in fright.

Vivian kept pulling the sheets off the bodies, using this crude and direct method to determine whether Ethan was alive or dead.

Several people nearby were startled by her actions. Someone stepped forward to stop her but was pulled back.

“Are you crazy? That’s Vivian Ashford, the CEO of Ashford Industries. Don’t be rude to her!”

“She seems to be looking for her husband, Ethan. Quick, go find Ethan!”

At that moment, Ethan was returning to the relief base with David.

David said gratefully, “Thanks to your excellent medical skills, our relief work didn’t ground to a halt.”

Ethan patted David on the shoulder. “My old friend, you’re too kind. Even without me, you all could have managed the medical relief.”

David smiled bitterly. “It’s not that simple. We lack good general practitioners. Dr. Michelle passed away, and Dr. Duncan ran away. Without you, things would have been very bad.”

Ethan said with a smile. “But no matter what, the situation in the town is finally getting better.”

David nodded happily.

The two were chatting and laughing as they approached the relief base when a nurse ran over. “Thank God, Mr. Ethan, you’re finally back!”

“There’s a lady who says she’s your wife. She’s at the base, frantically looking for you!”