37. Ethan

thirty-seven

Philip called a few minutes ago. He finally placed a location for Laura.

She was at the park. The same fucking park Evie and Sophie were at.

I didn”t know what would happen if I lost any one of them.

Slamming my foot harder on the accelerator, I tightened my fist against the wheel.

Fear slammed into my guts as I turned a corner. Both Evie’s and Lewis’ phones weren”t going through.

I tried several times; it rang, but there was no response. Why the hell were they not answering their phones?

Red was all I saw as I leaned closely to the steering.

Philip had prepared for backup, so I wouldn”t be there alone if Laura had anything planned.

God. If anything happened to Sophie and Evie, I wouldn”t forgive myself. I— My phone barely buzzed before I answered it. It was Philip.

“Her location has changed. Suddenly, it”s untraceable.”

“Fuck it, Philip.” I slammed the brakes.

“She can”t be untraceable.”

“It”s like she”s doing it intentionally. Revealing her location and then hiding it. I don”t—”

“Find her, Philip.”

I ended the call before tossing the phone in the passenger’s seat.

The sound of cars honking from behind reached me. I brought myself out of my rage-filled haze before steering toward the mansion.

Laura was fucking with us. I hated it. I wanted to end this as fast as possible.

It took less than twenty minutes to reach the mansion. I drove past the gates and jumped out once I parked.

Sophie’s room was the first place I raced to. When I reached her room, she was asleep. I stayed for a while to inspect her. She was fine.

I knew it wasn”t fucking coincidence that Laura’s location was the park at the exact time Sophie and Evie were there. What I didn”t know was how the fuck she knew they’d be there.

I silently exited the room to Evie’s.

Just then, she was leaving her room. Her steps faltered when she noticed me before they quickened in my direction.

She seemed stressed. Her eyes were puffy and weary, and her complexion seemed paler.

“I think it’s time to let the girl go. She has played her part in Sophie’s life.”

“Don”t you think the girl also needs to mend her relationship with her father?”

“Something happened at the park.” She licked her lips, a brief expression of fear crossing her eyes.

I furrowed my brows when she raised a brown envelope.

“I— I lost Sophie for a minute and...”

“You what?” I was instantly on edge.

“A- and she came back with this.” Gritting my teeth, I yanked the paper from her. God, if anything… anything at all had happened to Sophie…

I opened the envelope and brought out the small paper inside.

You have less than twenty-four hours to meet me at Roosevelt Island Abandoned Tramway Station with the video. I gave this to your daughter, think of what more I can do. Don”t come with your men. I won’t hesitate to show the world your picture.

I clasped the paper between my fingers. The thought of Sophie being anywhere near this witch made my skin burn with fury.

The thought of her releasing the pictures made me want to drive a fucking bullet through her skull.

“Where were you when it happened?” I managed to curtail my anger.

“I—I was… she was in front of me one minute and the next... she...” Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I fisted the paper tighter.

It probably wasn”t her fault. If Laura had successfully been evading us then it was inevitable that her gimmicks had worked to get Sophie.

“Did you see who gave it to her?” I interrupted her rants.

“No.”

“Did Sophie see?”

“She didn’t say.”

I fished for my phone and moved to call Philip when her words halted me.

“I”m scared, Ethan. Who”s trying to hurt Sophie? What”s going on?”

I had two options: finally tell her the truth— the whole truth— or tell her to stay out of it. But she needed to know. She’d sacrificed more than enough for me.

“Laura Nova was my late wife’s best friend.”

She gasped. I could see the confusion in her eyes.

“Why would she want to do all of this?”

“The night she died, we had an argument. Like always, it was about how I wasn”t doing enough, but this time she was drunk... I was angry.” My hands found my hair in a thick clench. “We exchanged words, and… somehow, after moments of arguing, she kept moving backward. I noticed her about to fall and moved to grab her, but just then she fell…”

Evie’s expression turned from sympathy to horror.

“She fell just when I reached to grab her. There were cameras… because of Sophie and I knew the first thing the cops would ask was to check them. So I did something drastic; I tampered with the evidence.”

Her gasp was loud. The horror on her face intensified. I couldn”t decipher whether she was judging me… seeing me as the monster I was.

“I— I was taking anger management classes.”

“Anger management?” she echoed.

I fisted my hair.

“I couldn”t leave Sophie. I— I just started breaking through into the robotics fields I”d always dreamt of. My reputation was growing. I was climbing the success ladder… I couldn”t let Olivia’s death ruin everything I worked so hard for.”

Images of that night flashed through my mind. The guilt thickened in my chest, but I continued.

“I rewatched the CCTV footage that night, over and over again…it looked like I pushed her, so I took drastic measures. I couldn”t take any chances.”

“You couldn”t have explained to them? You had money. You could have hired good lawyers. You could have won.” Her voice broke.

“Could, Evie. I could, but what if I lost? The odds were against me. I was taking anger management therapy because of the numerous fights with Olivia. She constantly worked me up, and the therapy was the only way to control myself... to save myself.”

She shook her head, her eyes widening with each word.

“Her family knew we had issues, her best friend too. And though they didn”t have much money, the odds were strongly against me. Even if I ended up winning the case, the rumors that I killed my wife out of anger would have spread. The damage would have been done. I had deals I was eyeing… I wanted to expand.”

My chest heaved as I desperately tried to explain.

“Everything was going right with the company. Everything I built was at stake. Sophie too. It was a risk I wasn”t willing to take. When the issue was investigated, just like I planned it, I wasn”t faulted. With the help of Dawson, who used to be my military intelligence security personnel, I cut the videos… seamlessly. So they didn”t find anything.”

“Dawson,” she muttered. “And where”s he now?”

“Gone. I paid him off.”

She didn”t say anything for the longest time before she breathed. “How long ago was this?”

“Today makes it a year, seven months, and thirteen days.”

She furrowed her brows. “I don”t understand. If the case was closed and you weren”t faulted, why is Laura threatening Sophie? How does she know you did anything with the footage?”

I swallowed. “The threat is a way to get at me. Laura has been blackmailing me to confess the truth to the world. I recorded the video, but I can”t… I just can”t. And I don”t know how she knows what I did that night, but her request for the real footage shows that she knows.”

“Blackmail,” she breathed. “What”s her leverage?”

I swallowed thickly, an unspeakable tension slicing my bones. “Us.”

“Us?” Her brows furrowed even more. “Pictures of us in the conference room when we had sex. She h?”

“What?” Her voice shook.

“There”s a deadline to deliver the video. If I don”t, she will release–”

“No!” She brought her hands to her ears. Her lips quivered.

“If those pictures get out there, I”m ruined. My career, everything I”ve gone through just to get here, is nullified. No academy would pick any teacher with scandalous sex photos out there. My relationship with Dad will be severed for good. I”ll be...”

“Stop, Evie.” I quickly moved to hold her, but she yanked herself out of my hold.

“Give her the damn video now!” Her voice turned malicious.

“I”m trying to—”

She shook her head. “You’ve done enough damage. I— I didn”t sign up for this. All I wanted was to help Sophie.”

I winced at the tears that rushed down her cheeks.

“If you truly are grateful to me for helping Sophie, you”ll give this Laura the video now.”

Her words struck my heart. “I need you to calm down, Evie…”

“Don”t you dare tell me to calm down, Ethan. How much more until you ruin me?! You”ll take the video, and we’ll go to the address on the paper. I don”t care what impact releasing the video has on you. We’re going… and you”ll do exactly as she says.”

“Evie, you can”t. I don”t know if it”s safe for you to come.”

“That”s a risk I”m willing to take. The clock is ticking, Ethan.”

The loud buzz of my phone interrupted our stare. I answered it.

“Philip.”

“I”ve found her location. Roosevelt Island Abandoned Tramway Station.”

“I know the location. Tell the men to abort mission.”

“What?”

“She threatened to release the footage if I had company. I”ll handle this myself.”

“You still have the cameras, sir?” He asked.

“Yes.” He’d given me a minuscule camera and recorder, which I attached to a buttonhole on my chest.

“I”ll keep track and intervene when I sense danger.”

“Good.”

When I ended the call, I dialed Mother. She picked on the first ring.

“Evie and I have a few businesses to sort. I need you to take care of Sophie till we’re back.”

She replied positively and ended the call.

Digging my phone into the pocket of my pants, I turned to a tense looking Evie. With a stiff nod, I started to walk and she trailed behind me.

In no time, we were on our way to the location. It was probably her turf, and I was defenseless.

My knuckles turned white against the wheel. I glanced at her. “I”m sorry.” That was the only thing I could mutter at the distraught look in her eyes.

She clenched her fist but didn”t say anything. The silence only grew thicker as we rode.

Approximately two hours later, we arrived at the place. It was on the outskirts of the city.

The place was deserted, with rustling scaffolding clawing at the sky. An abandoned train station.

Eerie silence carried by the wind rustled through my ears.

Taking slow steps, I walked through the crumbled concrete. It was the only way to go…

I turned to see Evie treading my path. She looked scared, I didn”t like it. After a few minutes of walking on crunched gravel, we reached the heart of the ruin.

I instantly spotted her— Laura— amid a tattered scrap of fluttering papers.

“Well, well, well.” She took slow steps toward me. “I see you brought the secretary.”

I heard Evie’s small gasp when she stopped just at a distance from me. A cold breeze blew, lifting our hair as it did so.

Fuck. She looked so different from the last time I saw her. The couple of times she came to the house, she was nowhere near the figure that stood before me.

“You know why you”re here, Ethan. The video.”

“Give the pictures up, Laura. Stop trying to dig into the past,” I clenched my fist.

She tilted her head with a scowl. “You killed Olivia. Don”t you dare tell me to forget about that.”

The murderous glare in her eyes was enough conviction that she did believe it.

I clenched my fist and expelled much needed air.

I didn”t know how this would end, but I hoped it wasn”t a one for one. It wasn”t my career… for Evie’s.