---- Chapter 14 Ethan' s eyes went cold and flat. The man who had been tormented by guilt was gone, replaced by something ancient and predatory. He slowly, deliberately, pushed the door open. The sound of his polished shoes on the hardwood floor made everyone freeze. Leo Vance looked up, his smug expression dissolving into shock and then fear. Ilene scrambled off his lap, her face turning as white as a sheet. "Ethan!" she stammered, pulling at her dress. "What are you doing here? This isn't what it looks like!" Ethan didn't say a word. He walked calmly into the room, shrugging off his suit jacket and tossing it onto a chair. He methodically rolled up his sleeves. A slow, terrifying smile spread across his face. It didn't touch his eyes. "No, please," he said, his voice a low, pleasant murmur that was more frightening than any shout. "Continue. | want to hear all about it." Leo, trying to regain his composure, blustered, "Bruce! This is ---- a private residence! You're trespassing!" Ethan chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "I'm here to collect a debt." In a flash, he grabbed a full bottle of red wine from the table and smashed it over Leo's head. Glass shattered. Blood erupted from a gash on Leo' s forehead. He cried out, stumbling backward. Ilene screamed. Ethan ignored her. He grabbed Leo by the collar of his shirt, his knuckles white. "You wanted to kill my wife?" he whispered, his voice a venomous hiss. He slammed his fist into Leo's face. The crunch of bone was audible. Leo crumpled to the floor, blood pouring from his nose. The other men scrambled to their feet, trying to make a run for it. Ethan grabbed a heavy armchair and hurled it, blocking their path. He dragged a whimpering Leo up by his hair. "Tell me again how you had 'fun' with her." He delivered a brutal series of punches, each one fueled by a year's worth of regret and a newfound, volcanic rage. ---- Leo was a bloody mess, begging for mercy. "It was her!" he sobbed, pointing a trembling finger at Ilene. "It was all her idea! She wanted you to hate Aurora, to think she was worthless so you'd finally be with her!" Ethan' s foot came down hard on Leo's wrist. A sickening snap echoed through the room. Leo shrieked in agony. Ethan calmly turned his attention to Ilene, who was now a trembling, sobbing heap on the floor. He walked over to her and crouched down, his face just inches from hers. He grabbed her chin, his grip like iron. "The biggest regret of my life," he said, his voice a venomous whisper, "was ever believing a single word that came out of your mouth. The biggest mistake | ever made was hurting the only person who ever truly loved me, all for you." He flung her away from him in disgust. He pulled out his phone and made two calls. The first was to a journalist he had on his payroll. "I'm sending you a file," he said. "Evidence of all of Leo Vance's illegal activities. | want it on the front page of every paper tomorrow morning." The second call was to the police. ---- "| have evidence of a kidnapping and assault," he said, his voice cold and steady. "And | have the perpetrators right here." llene stared at him, her face a mask of disbelief and horror. "Ethan, no! Please! | love you!" Ethan looked at her, his eyes full of a chilling emptiness. "Love? You don't even know the meaning of the word." He turned and walked out of the apartment, leaving a symphony of screams and sirens behind him. He leaned against his car, his hands shaking as he lit a cigarette. He thought of Aurora' s eyes the last time he saw her. The disappointment. The heartbreak. The final, soul-crushing emptiness. "Rory," he whispered to the night sky, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry. | will spend the rest of my life making it up to you." If he could ever find her. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!