Chapter 8
“Ah-!” Ethan let out a guttural scream and slammed his fist into the monitor.
Blood trickled down the cracked screen, but he seemed oblivious to the pain.
“It must be them! They’re the reason Wendy didn’t dare come home! Find them! Round up every last one of those bastards from that day!”
In an upscale private room in the city center, several men knelt in a row, trembling like leaves.
Ethan lounged on the sofa, idly peeling an apple with a sharp fruit knife.
The peel spiraled down in a continuous strip, the cold glint of the blade réflecting his emotionless face.
“Speak! Who ordered you to humiliate Mrs. Caldwell?” a bodyguard barked.
The men exchanged glances, but none dared to speak.
Snap-
The peel broke. A flicker of impatience crossed Ethan’s face as he lifted his head, his gaze settling on the one–eyed man. “Seems like you don’t want your remaining eye either.”
Before the man could respond, Ethan’s hand flashed with cold steel.
“Ah!” The man screamed as a bloody eyeball plopped onto the floor.
The sight terrified the fingerless man into babbling, “I’ll say! It was Miss Caldwell! She paid us to ruin Wendy’s reputation! She promised us money if we made sure you’d despise Wendy forever!”
“Nonsense!” Ethan’s brows furrowed, and the knife came down again.
“Ah!” The man’s last two fingers were severed, blood gushing.”
“Spare us, Mr. Caldwell!” The others, terrified, spilled everything. “It really was Miss Caldwell! We even recorded her to protect ourselves. Here, listen!”
The recording played clearly-
“That bitch Wendy stole my Ethan while I was abroad! Ruin her, make him loathe her, and I’ll pay you handsomely!”
Instead of calming down, Ethan erupted.
“Lena would never do such a thing!” he roared. “This recording is fake! You’d lie through your teeth to save your skins!”
They kowtowed desperately. “Mr. Caldwell, we swear it’s the truth! We wouldn’t dare lie to you!”
Ignoring them, Ethan ordered the bodyguards to sew their mouths shut and lock them up. “Once I find Wendy, I’ll settle the rest of this debt.”
As the bodyguards turned to leave, Ethan suddenly added, “Wait! Search for Wendy with everything you’ve got.” He paused. “And investigate Lena’s every move these past months–where she went, what she did.”
“Yes, Mr. Caldwell!”
The moment they left, Ethan’s phone rang.
It was Lena.
He rubbed his temples irritably but answered.
“Ethan, why aren’t you home yet? The baby and I miss you.”
Ethan took a deep breath, his voice eerily calm. “I’ll be back soon.”
As
pushed open the bedroom door, Lena rushed into his arms.
She wore a nearly transparent nightgown, her pregnant belly pressing against him as she deliberately rubbed against him.
Her lips parted seductively as she traced circles on her chest with a finger.
“Ethan, feel if my breasts have gotten bigger…”
When Ethan didn’t her fingers trailed lower, reaching for his belt.
Just as she bent to unbuckle it, the men’s accusations flashed in Ethan’s mind. Chapter 8
”
He seized her wrist and fixed her with a cold stare. “Lena, did you ever hurt Wendy?”
