“Hi, Alexa… Or I should say, Athena. It’s been a while.”Athena’s eyes slightly squinted as her nose flared and her hands clenched. Seeing this person in front of her made her blood boil.“Ina,” she said as she slowly hid the pocket knife she was holding under the pillow. “Aren’t you tired? Why can’t you just leave us alone?!”Ina scoffed. “Why should I? I will stop bothering you once I send you to your own grave. Because as long as you are alive, Ethan won’t be mine.” She walked toward Athena and towered over her. Ina held her chin tightly, making her wince. “You should thank Max later, as he requested to keep you alive.” Athena twisted Ina’s hand that held her chin, causing Ina to yell in pain.“You, Bitch!” She slaps Athena hard, which leaves a mark on her face and blood dripping from her mouth.Athena glared at her from the corner of her eye and scoffed. “You think Ethan will love you? Wake up, Ina! Even if I die, the only feelings that Ethan could give will be hatred and nothing
Ethan ‘I need to escape.’ Ethan thought. He noticed that Max’s men who were guarding them were all drunk. ‘If I was their boss, I’d probably kill these incompetent fools.’ He shook his head disappointingly at this thought as he tried to untie himself, but the bonds were too tight. He kept struggling until he noticed Stephen moving. “Stephen,” Ethan whispered. He used his feet to nudge Stephen until he woke up. It startled Stephen when he opened his eyes and saw Ethan beside him with his feet and hands tied up, and bruises all over his face. His long sleeves were torn and soaked with dried-up bloodstains. “I-I’m sorry, Ethan. I never had a chance to tell you their plans, and you ended up here.” He looked at Ethan apologetically with his right eye half-open because of the bruise from his beating. “It’s alright. I’m sorry this happened to you.” He looked around, and only a few men were half awake. “You need to help me. Untie me, but be discreet. We need to get out of here. Athena is
Ethan“Where’s the location?” Ethan asked Austin.They were on their way back to the hideout. “They brought Athena to a remote island far from here.”“So… How can we get there?” Ethan asked.“Here’s the map.” Austin replied.“I got someone to scout the area, and they said if we go by helicopter, it will take one and a half hours to get there. There's a big risk they would detect our arrival right away, which will give them a lot of time to escape, or worse, they could hurt Athena.” Austin explained.“So, what’s our other option?” Ethan asked.“If we go there by boat, it will take a full day before we reach their hideout. But there’s less risk, as you’ve seen on the map. We can go through the forest behind the villa, and they won’t notice us.” Austine said.“What if we use a chopper to go halfway and land on another island? Then, we can hire a boat to get there.” He pointed to the forest on the map. “We need to scatter to make sure nobody notices our arrival. Austin and I will sneak in
Ethan arrived at the hideout where Albert, Maxime, and Austin waited for their return. They were excited, hoping Athena was with him.Ethan was walking in a daze when Albert approached him with a smile plastered on his face. “I’m glad you’re back… Where’s Athena? Did you find her?” his father-in-law asked. His hands rested on Ethan’s shoulders as he looked around to see if Athena was behind him, but his face fell when he didn’t see her anywhere.A tear escaped Ethan’s eye as he felt disappointed in himself. He clenched his fist, gnashed his teeth, and his eyes blazed with fire as his nose flared up. Without saying a word, he walked away from the group and headed to the dungeon, where Ina, Max, and Andrew were locked up.He visited Andrew’s cell first and ordered his men to bring several weapons for torture. ‘Now that you’re in my hands… I can get justice for my parents.’ He thought while opening the cell.Andrew sat on the chair in the middle of the room. They tied his hands and feet
“Give me good news. Have you found Athena?” Ethan asked the private investigator and his men about the progress of finding Athena.“Sir, we traced her using the tracking device you put on her engagement ring and found the location.” One of his men answered.“And where is it?” Ethan asked. The private investigator gave him the engagement ring.“We found it on the same island where they kept Athena, she must have dropped it. We’ve also searched the area and only saw these torn clothing.” The investigator gave him pieces of torn fragments they thought came from Athena’s gown.“We found this in the trash bin. According to the pattern, I think they chopped it on purpose.” One of his men said.“Maybe she was thrown to the sea–” The investigator was about to deliver his conclusion when a wine glass flew above his head. It was supposed to hit him, but luckily he had fast reflexes and bowed down just in time to evade the flying glass.“GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW!” Ethan’s voice roared, which mad
Ina bit her lower lip as she looked at Ethan seductively. “Sure… Anything for you, my love.”“Master!” One of his men called out. He just came out of Max’s cell. “The subject is dead,” He added in a whisper. His voice was so low that only Ethan could hear him. Ina frowned in confusion. He nodded and said he should go ahead and would follow behind him. “I’ll be back,” Ethan said to Ina before leaving and going back to Max’s cell.Ina glared at the person who called at Ethan. ‘Tss... Damn this guy! What did he have to call Ethan for?! He just wasted my opportunity to escape from this stinky cell… I hope Ethan will come back,’ she thought.Ina waited patiently until she heard her cell door open again. It was Ethan and a bunch of his troops who entered. Ethan ordered them to remove the chain from Ina’s cell, making her smile victoriously.Then they laid down a case that was filled with various tools. Ina frowned. There were pliers, needles, small knives, scissors, a container with a whit
AthenaAthena woke up hearing unfamiliar voices quarreling near her. When she opened her eyes, she immediately covered her body with the quilt, protecting her belly from the strangers in front of her. She looked at them and figured they were a couple whose ages ranged in their late 50s. Then she looked around and noticed that she was in an unfamiliar place. The house was made of wood, bamboo, and nipa leaves. It was a small and quaint house, but it was cozy. She was sitting in a bed that was very comfortable. It felt like her own bed at home. She looked at herself and noticed she was wearing different clothes.“Who are you? Where am I?” she asked.The lady’s eyes softened while looking at her pitifully. She shook her hand. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. You are in our house because we found your unconscious body on the shore. At first, we thought you were dead, but thankfully, you were alive. So, we decided to bring you here to treat the wound on your head,” she explained.“How long
EthanEthan was drinking whiskey while sitting in the kitchen. He was about to drink his next glass when Austin appeared and took the drink from him.“It’s not the time to drink, Ethan.” He said sternly.“What do you want me to do, then? Athena is still missing, and I don’t have any idea where the fuck they brought my pregnant wife--” Ethan couldn't finish what he was about to say when Austin stopped him from talking.“She called,” Austin said.“What?”“Athena called. She said that she’s fine and safe.”“Where is she?” Ethan grabbed Austin’s collar and pulled him closer. “When did she call? Why didn’t you call me? What did she say?” Austin shook his head as he looked at Ethan in his drunken state.Austin knew how hard it was for Ethan to lose her, and even when he was badly injured, he never stopped worrying and looking for Athena. Every single day that she was missing, Austin witnessed how Ethan used his connections to find her. But now that Athena called them and said she didn’t wan