Chapter 9: Ethan’s Internal Battle

Ethan sat in his dimly lit study, a glass of whiskey in hand, staring at the flickering city lights outside his penthouse window. The meeting earlier had drained him, but it wasn’t business deals or corporate strategies weighing on his mind tonight. It was Lena.

And the dangerous truth he couldn’t afford to tell her.

She was getting too close. Too close to him. Too close to the truth.

He had seen the way she watched Victoria. The way her sharp journalist instincts were kicking in. If she kept digging, it was only a matter of time before she uncovered things that could put them both in danger.

Ethan took a slow sip of his drink, his jaw tightening. He had spent years building walls around himself, ensuring no one could get close enough to hurt him. But Lena had walked right through them like they didn’t exist.

The night they spent together still haunted him. It had been reckless, a moment of weakness he couldn’t afford. But the way she looked at him—like she saw past the cold exterior, past the power and wealth, straight into the man beneath—unnerved him.

And now, she was in danger because of it.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

“Come in,” he called, his voice gruff.

Graham, his most trusted security officer, stepped inside. “We have a problem.”

Ethan already knew what he was about to say. “Lena?”

Graham nodded. “She’s digging into Victoria.”

Of course she was.

“She’s getting close,” Graham continued. “If she keeps this up, Victoria will notice. And you know what happens when Victoria feels threatened.”

Ethan exhaled sharply, setting his glass down. He knew exactly what Victoria was capable of. He had been playing this game with her for months now, allowing her to believe she had him under control while he worked in the shadows to dismantle her plans.

But Lena was a variable he hadn’t accounted for. And now, she was in the crosshairs.

He couldn’t let that happen.

“She’s stubborn,” Ethan muttered, running a hand down his face. “Even if I warn her, she won’t stop.”

“Then don’t warn her,” Graham said. “Shut her down.”

Ethan’s grip on the whiskey glass tightened. Shut her down? He couldn’t do that. Not to Lena.

But keeping her close was dangerous, too.

He stood, pacing the room, his mind warring with itself. There were only two ways this could go—either he found a way to control the situation, or Victoria would. And if Victoria got to Lena first…

Ethan wasn’t sure he could live with that.

Graham watched him closely. “So what’s the plan?”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. “I’ll handle it.”

Graham hesitated. “And if she doesn’t back off?”

Ethan turned to face him, his expression dark. “Then I’ll have to give her a reason to.”

But even as he said the words, something inside him recoiled at the thought of pushing Lena away.

Because the truth was, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Lena sat at her small hotel desk, her laptop screen glowing in the dimly lit room. Notes were scattered everywhere—scribbled pages filled with connections she was desperately trying to piece together. She had spent the last two days digging deeper into Victoria, following every lead, every whisper about the woman who was set to marry Ethan.

And what she found was disturbing.

Victoria was not just a socialite with an eye for wealth—she was a strategist, a master manipulator. Her past was littered with conveniently failed relationships, all with men who had mysteriously lost their fortunes shortly after she was through with them.

The more Lena uncovered, the clearer it became,Victoria was after Ethan’s empire.

But what scared her the most was how calculated Victoria’s every move seemed to be. The woman was always five steps ahead, leaving no loose ends, no visible trail to follow.

Lena chewed her bottom lip, scrolling through an old news article about one of Victoria’s ex-fiancés—a wealthy investor who went bankrupt and then suddenly disappeared from the public eye. No one had seen him in years.

“Where are you now?” Lena muttered under her breath.

Just as she was about to dig deeper, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the caller ID. Unknown number.

Her stomach twisted.

She hesitated before answering.

“Hello?”

A moment of silence. Then, a woman’s voice. Smooth, controlled, and dripping with quiet menace.

“You need to stop.”

Lena stiffened. “Who is this?”

The voice chuckled. “Let’s not play games, Ms. Reyes. We both know exactly who I am.”

Victoria.

Lena’s grip tightened on the phone. “You don’t scare me.”

“Really? Because I think you should be.” Victoria’s voice remained calm, but there was an underlying threat in her tone. “You’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. That’s a dangerous habit to have.”

Lena’s heart pounded, but she forced herself to stay collected. “And what exactly are you afraid I’ll find?”

Victoria sighed. “You journalists. Always so predictable.”

There was a pause before she continued.

“I’m going to give you a chance to walk away. Consider it a gift. Take it while you still can.”

Lena swallowed hard. She wasn’t stupid—Victoria wasn’t just talking about ruining her career.

There was something deeper. Darker.

But backing down wasn’t an option.

“Sorry,” Lena said coolly. “But I don’t take orders from women who are afraid of the truth.”

Victoria laughed softly, almost amused. “Brave. But bravery won’t save you.”

The call ended.

Lena sat there, the phone still pressed to her ear, her pulse racing. She had just made herself a target.

And for the first time since she started this investigation, she realized just how dangerous the game she was playing really was.