Chapter 18

That explanation Rafael had been awaiting long, very impatiently. Bernice and Liam fixed their eyes keenly on him with expressions one could hardly explain but they looked full of hope.

Ethan's jaws parted to speak, but no words came forth. His mind was totally blank; which eluded him. For the first time in his life, Ethan felt speechless, and he knew he was in deep trouble.

He counted off the seconds, each one dragging into infinity, for Ethan to find a way to wriggle out, but he found none. No clever lie, no smooth excuse could get him out of this.

Finally, Rafael spoke, wrestling his voice into hardness. "I don't know what you're playing at, Ethan, but I'm no fool. If you have something to say, say it now. Otherwise, I'll make sure you regret ever crossing me.".

Ethan's mind echoed with the reality: he'd been cornered, trapped in every sense of the word, like a rat, and there was no getting out of the consequences of what he had done. Game over. Ethan had known it.

"Ethan," Rafael'