The Kiss

The video kept playing in my head on loop. 

Me. 

Unconscious on a hospital bed. Tubes down my throat. Dead looking. 

I couldn’t breathe. 

Ethan saw my face go pale and immediately stopped the engine. We were still parked outside my apartment. The car was silent except for my shaky breathing. 

“Sarah,” he said. His voice was low. “What is it?” 

My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the phone. I shoved it at him. 

“Watch.” 

He took it. 

Ten seconds. 

Twenty. 

His jaw clenched so hard I heard it. 

When the video ended, he didn’t say anything for a long time. 

Then: “We’re going to the police. Right now.” 

“They won’t do anything,” I said. My voice sounded far away, like it belonged to someone else. “Not until after the hearing. He’s out on bail. He has lawyers. He has money. He has everyone in his pocket.” 

“Then we go to the FBI,” Ethan said. “We go to the press. We burn him in public—” 

“He said last chance,” I cut him off. “That means he’s going to do something. Tonight.” 

Ethan turned to me in the dark. But the streetlight cut across his face and his eyes looked black and Furious. 

“I’m not letting him touch you,” he said. “Ever. Again.” 

I nodded. But I was still cold. So cold that it hurt. 

“Come inside,” I whispered. “Just for a minute. I need to... I need to sit down before I fall down.” 

Ethan followed me up. Two of his guards stayed outside my door. I hated that I needed them around always.

My apartment was very small. One bedroom, a pull-out couch, boxes I never unpacked. The place I’d been hiding in for months like a ghost. 

I went straight to the kitchen and poured water. My hands were still shaking. The glass rattled against the counter. 

Ethan didn’t turn on the lights. He just stood in my doorway, watching me. Like if he looked away I’d disappear. 

“You remember it?” he asked quietly. 

“The hospital?” I shook my head. “No. I remember waking up. I remember the tubes. I remember thinking I was going to die and no one would ever know why, that no one would care.” 

I drank the water. It tasted like metal.

“I remember the first time I saw him after,” I said. 

“In the courtroom. He cried, he told the judge I’d been depressed. That I did it to myself. And I sat there thinking... Did I? Because I couldn’t remember. Because the drugs made everything fuzzy.” 

Ethan came across the room and met me. He didn’t touch me. He just stood close enough that I could feel his body heat. 

“It wasn’t you,” he said. “It was him. It was always him.” 

“I know that now,” I said. “Because of Nina. Because of the photo.” 

“Because you’re stronger than he ever was,” Ethan said. 

I looked up at him. “Why did you meet with him, Ethan? In 2023. Be honest with me. Don’t lie to protect me.” 

Ethan exhaled. He ran his hand through his hair and looked tired.

“Because I was an idiot,” he said. “Because Miller Tech was bleeding money and your dad wouldn’t return my calls. And David called me out of nowhere. Said he had a way to save it. He Said he cared about you. He also said he wanted to keep it in the family.” 

“You believed him.” 

“I wanted to,” Ethan said. “I wanted to believe someone could help without wanting something in return. I was twenty-six and stupid and desperate to prove I wasn’t just my last name.” 

He laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “Two weeks after that meeting, I heard about the accident. About you. And I knew. I just knew right away that it wasn’t an accident. No one falls on a knife three times.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“Because I had no proof,” Ethan said. “And because I was scared if I came forward, he’d come after you harder. So I waited and watched. I built Blackwood until I was big enough that he couldn’t touch me. And then I met you.”

“The fake engagement,” I said. 

“The stupidest idea I’ve ever had,” Ethan said. “And the best one. Because it got you out of his house. It got you out from under him. Even if you hated me for it.” 

I placed the glass down. “Clause 8B.” 

Ethan went still. 

“I know,” he said. “I should have told you. I should have torn it out the second I realized what it looked like.” 

“Do you want Miller Tech, Ethan?” 

“No,” he said. Immediately. Without hesitating. “I have three companies. I don’t need yours. I want you. And if having you means giving up 51% of Blackwood, I’ll sign it over today.” 

I believed him. God help me, I believed him. 

“Come here,” I said. 

Ethan stepped closer. 

I reached up and put my hand on his chest. His heart was pounding under my palm so fast. 

“I’m scared,” I said. “Not of David. Of this. Of us. Of believing you and being wrong. Of letting you in and having you hurt me too.” 

“Then don’t believe me,” Ethan said. “Watch me. For the next 24 hours. The next week. The rest of my life. Watch me and decide.” 

He lifted his hand and brushed my hair back from my face. His fingers were warm. 

“Sarah,” he said. 

I didn’t answer. 

He leaned down and kissed me. 

It wasn’t like the first time. That was desperate and angry and messy. 

This was slow. Careful. Like he was asking a question and waiting for me to answer. 

I answered. 

I kissed him back. 

My hands came up to his shoulders. His came to my waist. He pulled me in and I let him. I needed to. 

When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard. 

“Was that a mistake?” he asked. His forehead was still against mine. 

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Ask me tomorrow.” 

Ethan smiled. A real one. “Deal.” 

My phone buzzed on the counter. 

We both froze. 

Unknown number. 

I picked it up. My voice was still shaky. “Hello?” 

“Sarah,” David said. 

Ethan got still. 

“How did you get this number?” I said. 

“I have people everywhere,” David said. He sounded amused. “Did you get my video?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good,” he said. “Then you know what happens if you don’t come to me. Tonight. Alone.” 

“I’m not coming alone,” I said. 

“You will,” David said. “Or I post it. Everywhere. T****k. I*******m. The news. I tag Miller Tech. I tag Blackwood. Let’s see how your board feels about a CEO who tried to murder her ex and then lied about it.”

My blood went cold. “You wouldn’t.” 

“I would,” David said. “1 AM. I’m going live. You have 20 minutes to decide if you want to be on that livestream with me... or if you want the whole world to see you dying.” 

He hung up. 

Ethan grabbed the phone from me. “We’re calling Ms. Reyes. Now.” 

“They’ll be too late,” I said. “1 AM. That’s in 15 minutes.” 

Ethan was already getting me to the door. “Then we fight him where he’s fighting. On camera.” 

“What?” 

“If he wants a public execution, we give him a public trial,” Ethan said. “We go live first.” 

I drove like hell. 

The city was empty at this hour. Just us and red lights and Ethan’s hand gripping mine so tight that it hurt. 

“We’ll get him,” he said. “Tonight. For good.” 

“What if we don’t?” I said. 

“Then we try again tomorrow,” Ethan said. “And the day after that. Until he’s in prison or in the ground.” 

We pulled up to Blackwood Tower. 

It was lit up like a Christmas tree. 40 floors of glass. 

Ethan’s PR team was already there. 3 AM and they were fully on. 

“We can go live in 5,” his PR girl said. “YouTube. I*******m. X. T****k. All of it.”

Ethan looked at me. “Sarah. Are you sure? Once we do this, there’s no going back. He’ll come at you harder.” 

I thought about the video. About Nina. About my dad’s company. 

“No,” I said. “There’s no going back anyway.” 

The light went red. 

LIVE. 

1.2 million people joined in 30 seconds. 

Ethan sat next to me. He didn’t let go of my hand. 

“Hi,” he said to the camera. His voice was steady. “I’m Ethan Blackwood. This is Sarah Miller. And we need to talk about what David Blackham did.” 

I held up the photo. Me in the hospital. David with the knife. Smiling. 

“This is proof,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. “This is what he did to me in 2023. And this is what he’s threatening to do now.” 

Comments flooded in so fast I couldn’t read them. 

“IS THIS REAL”

“OH MY GOD” 

“DAVID BLACKHAM IS A MONSTER”

“MILLER TECH STAND WITH SARAH”

Then my phone buzzed. 

David. 

He was watching. 

A text came through: “Cute. But too late.”

Another buzz. 

A link. 

I clicked it with shaking fingers. 

It was a livestream. 

David. 

Sitting in what looked like a basement. Concrete walls. One light bulb. 

And next to him, tied to a chair. 

Nina. 

Her mouth was gagged and her eyes were filled with terror. 

David smiled at his camera. “Hello everyone. Since Sarah wants to play dirty, let’s play.” 

He held up a knife. The light caught the blade. 

“10 minutes, Sarah,” he said. “Come to me. Alone. Or I start cutting. And the whole world gets to watch.” 

He turned the camera to show a timer on the wall. 

*10:00*

Then the stream cut to black. 

The room went silent. 

Ethan grabbed my face with both hands. “We’re going. Now.” 

“Where?” I said. My voice was barely there. 

“To get her,” Ethan said. “Before he does.” 

He pulled me up. 

And on every screen in the building, on every phone, David’s countdown started. 

10:00... 9:59... 9:58...