29. Ethan

twenty-nine

”Any progress?”

”Yes, sir. I watched the footage from the night, and it appears to be one of your employees.”

I’d thought about it. But it yielded nothing.

My thoughts were all over the place. For the first time I couldn”t think straight... because of James. It”s why I left watching the footage solely to Philip. He was my private investigator.

“Who?” I balled my hands into a fist.

It could be an employee or an outsider. But an outsider would have difficulty infiltrating this building.

“I”ll need you to see for yourself.”

He barely completed his words before my computer dinged.

“I just sent you the footage.”

Swiftly I moved to open the message and played the video.

There was no camera in the conference room but there was one that swept the hallway.

I watched me and Evie exit the elevator and walk through the hallway. Then we disappeared into the conference room.

The hallway was empty for a while before all six of my team members appeared in the hallway.

There seemed to be a bit of stretching before they all stuffed themselves in the elevator.

A few more minutes of emptiness passed before somebody walked out of the elevator.

The figure was covered in hoodie and there seemed to be something white in their hand. A tissue? Handkerchief?

The figure’s steps slowly came to a halt. They paused before pressing themselves tightly against the wall.

Slowly they tiptoed and peeked into the conference room when they opened the door slightly.

I clenched my jaw. Immediately, they brought out their phone. After a few seconds, they tiptoed back to the elevator.

Fuck. Why? Just why?

As if Philip heard my thoughts, he spoke.

“We can obviously see that it was a coincidence. This person saw an opportunity to blackmail New York’s most successful billionaire and they took it.”

Men like me go through blackmail. I should have been more careful.

No, I never should have indulged.

I watched the video again and zoomed in. Once I figured out who they were I would teach them a fucking lesson.

“You cannot see their face, sir. The angle isn’t right. I, however, watched the whole company’s footage to find anyone with a dark hoodie that day. Only one person matched.”

The computer dinged again and I opened it. I narrowed my eyes on the zoomed in face of the figure. It was a lady. “Do you recognize her sir?”

I furrowed my brows. Short brown hair… glasses.

Suddenly it dawned on me. The lady from the elevator.

“I”ve seen her once.” Rage seeped through my bones.

“I’ve gone through the company’s database. Her name is Judy. Judy Hayes. Got hired about five months ago into the marketing department.”

“I’ll get back to you.” I furrowed my brows before ending the call.

Instantly I dialed Henry from HR.

“Good mor?”

“Judy Hayes from marketing. I want her in my office now.”

“One moment, sir.”

The call was on hold. Anger mixed with anxiety steadily rose in me for the few seconds before his voice reached me again.

“She’s not in today, sir.”

“Did she call in?”

“No sir, she disappeared from work three days ago without calling in or emailing her supervisor.”

Fuck.

I slammed the telephone in place. Fuck. My fist itched to smash something so I turned to a wall. I smashed my fist into it with a loud grunt.

“Fucking bastard!” My fist met the wall again. My knuckles cracked but that wasn”t enough.

I smashed again and again until my breathing was heavy. How could I have been so careless?

Why was every fucking thing falling apart?

Why did James have to visit?

I was fucking ruining everything… everything.

My legs suddenly felt weak. I staggered to the chair.

I ruined everything for James… his relationship with his daughter, our friendship, and now I was on the verge of ruining things for his daughter.

My breathing steadied at the thought of Evie.

I just… she didn”t deserve this. She didn”t deserve to be dragged into this mess.

Although the issue with the media had been resolved— they’d taken down the picture along with the stupid narrative on all platforms where it was released— it obviously wasn”t over.

Releasing the pictures would be a fatal blow to her career, and I didn”t want to imagine what would happen if it reached that stage.

I didn’t want to imagine how broken she’d be if she found out about the threat.

Maybe it was wrong; keeping it from her was probably best…for now.

Leaning against my chair, I ran a hand down my face before I fisted my hair.

My heart plummeted into the depths of despair.

That night, I didn”t say a word to Evie as I carried Sophie to her room.

There was nothing left to say. I realized the damage I caused. It possibly extended to Sophie.

After trying fruitlessly to find out if she witnessed the whole fight by asking her questions, I’d put Sophie to sleep. Then I went to my room to clean myself up.

Images of his hurt and broken face kept replaying in my head. It tormented me. I knew it would happen, yet I crossed the line again.

The only way to stop the thoughts was to drink, and so I did.

I drank until I didn’t feel anything. Not even the urge to check on Evie.

I let the alcohol lead me into oblivion.

I can”t believe you took advantage of my situation.

Did you ever see me as your equal? Or just some poverty-stricken bastard you could take advantage of…

Did he really think that of himself? Did he really feel inferior all this while?

I was guilty of a lot of things. A lot. And one by one, they were slowly backfiring.

I just hoped the consequence would skip Sophie.

I didn’t know if the fight had any impact on her progress. I hoped not.

It was probably selfish to say, but a part of me was thankful Evie didn’t go with her father that night.

I was grateful that she stood her ground. I couldn’t imagine Sophie’s life without her.

James had returned to Minnesota. I knew that because Evie told me.

Aside from work requirements, that was the most we’d said to each other in three days.

I’d called James several times after that night, but it all went to voicemail.

I didn’t expect him to answer, but I wasn’t exactly prepared for the hurt, knowing that my best friend was intentionally ignoring my calls. I couldn’t go to him, not while the wound I caused was still fresh.

James had always had a key to the mansion to spend the night if he was ever in town. I wished he didn’t. But it was now evident that karma wanted to strike.

I sank into my seat, bringing out my phone before glancing angrily at the threat message again.

Messages like this didn”t come without a demand.

There was no demand now, but it was only a matter of time.