CHAPTER 3 — The Woman He Thought He Lost
Ethan didn’t board the flight.
He left Victoria standing at Gate 14 with her diamond ring glittering on her finger and panic in her eyes.
Thirty minutes later, Ethan was in the back of a taxi with Lily asleep against his coat, clutching the old photograph like it was the only safe thing left in the world.
The address Lily gave him led to a small apartment above a closed laundromat on the edge of town.
The hallway smelled like dust, medicine, and cold rain.
Ethan knocked once.
No answer.
Then a weak voice came from inside.
“Lily?”
Ethan pushed the door open.
And there she was.
Emily.
Thinner than he remembered.
Paler.
Her hair tied back, her body wrapped in an old sweater, her eyes filled with shock as she saw the man she had been told had abandoned her.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Emily whispered, “Ethan…”
His entire body broke.
He dropped to his knees beside her bed and took her hand.
“I thought you left me.”
Tears slipped down Emily’s face.
“They told me you signed everything. They said you wanted your freedom.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I never signed anything.”
Emily closed her eyes, and the truth finally came out.
Five years ago, Daniel had come to her with documents, hospital bills, and a threat.
He told her Ethan’s father would destroy Ethan’s career unless she disappeared.
Then he showed her a forged letter saying Ethan never wanted to see her again.
Emily had been pregnant, terrified, and alone.
So she ran.
Not because she stopped loving Ethan.
But because she thought leaving was the only way to protect him.
Ethan’s hands curled into fists.
“Who paid Daniel?”
Emily looked at him with fear.
Before she could answer, Ethan’s phone buzzed.
A message from Victoria.
“Stop digging. Some graves are buried for a reason.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
A photo.
It showed Lily standing outside the apartment building earlier that morning.
Someone had been watching her.
May you like
And beneath it were five words:
“Bring the girl back, or Emily disappears again.”
