Sophie's POVLorna’s fingers twisting a worn-out tissue, and I could already tell she wasn’t sure if she should speak. I could tell she was already getting emotional as I watched her lips tremble as she finally drew in a shaky breath.Ethan hands resting on the steering wheel even though we weren’t going anywhere, be looked very agitated as if he knew he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.“Lorna please.” I begged. “I know this is hard for you but Ethan needs answers.”She nodded her head and sighed.“She met him in school… your mother. God, she was brilliant. Soft-spoken but sharp. She could silence a room with just one look.” She was looking at Ethan with a sparkle in her eyes as if she was seeing his mother in him.Ethan didn’t move, but I could feel him getting agitated. I turned slightly in my seat, I turned my body to face her as Lorna spoke.“Your father was a scholarship student, an orphan but was deadly smart, your grandfather sponsored him and your mother took i
Lorna’s eyes shifted to him slowly, and the sorrow etched into her face made my chest tighten. She looked like someone who’d lived with the truth for too long, and it had started to rot inside her.“He isolated her,” Lorna said. “At first, it was subtle. He convinced her not to go to her usual doctor. Said he knew someone more experienced, someone who ‘specialized in stress-related issues.’ She was hesitant, but he insisted. Claimed it was best for the baby.” She turned to Ethan “Best for you.”She turned to me then, her voice sharper and deadly bitter. “But that doctor… he was a joke. No credentials we could ever confirm. Always gave vague results, told her the tests were fine even when she could barely walk without holding onto something. I told her it wasn’t right. Told her to get a second opinion. But Robert didn’t let her.”Ethan’s jaw clenched. I could see it working as he gritted his teeth.“He told her she was imagining things. That she was paranoid. That stress was making her
Sophie's POVThe silence in the car was thick and extremely suffocating. Ethan hadn’t said a word since the call, and I could see it in the way his jaw clenched, the way his eyes showed that he was close to being wild with rage or just that he was very angry.And what Lorna said today only fueled his temper ten thousand times over.“He is looking,” Ethan said in a very low voice as his eyes were distant now, he looked like he was already five steps ahead of his father. “The fucker suspects, I can feel it, you know when I went to my mother's room he was watching and that was the first time in yeats that he went to her wing in the mansion, then now he went in the room it feels sketchy."I nodded in agreement."When I left the mansion today he gave me a chilling look that didn't quite sit right with me.”I listened without saying a word, just nodding my head so Ethan would know that I was picking up every single word he was saying, but he wasn't don't talking.“I don’t know how much he
Rachel's condescending voice cut me short. “Sophia, will you let my father talk to my brother or not?” I couldn't help but roll my eyes while Ethan had his usual unreadable expression, he looked regal and detached, like he had practiced that mask in front of a mirror. But I knew him too well, I know how much work it took him to keep everything in control, I couldn't see that there was a twitch at the corner of his mouth, I noticed the way he was tightening his jaw and I could sense that he was anything but calm.Mr Blackwood just cleared his throat as his eyes went straight to me. “Come with me Ethan,” his tone was flat and commanding, as he was leaving no room for argument. Everyone was silent looking between Ethan and I waiting to see what would happen.Ethan walked towards me with a silent plea in his eyes.“Please, Sophie. Just this once… stay out of it.”His words hurt, but I gave him a look that told him that I wasn't comfortable with him being alone with his father, for all
I took.l one last look at Sophie as I followed my father, he didn't say a word but it was obvious that knew what was coming; he had to. I strode down the hallway, my footsteps heavy on the floor but my father's pace was steady, but I could sense the tension building between us as I trailed behind him. My eyes fixed on the back of his head as so many thoughts ran through my head, He didn't look back, didn't acknowledge my presence. I continued to follow him as we went past the portraits of a family that barely existed, past the polished antiques that felt more like props than memories. He stepped into his office like a king returning to his throne. I had to admit that his office does look with a throne with the hgh ceilings, heavy mahogany desk, lather and gold and of course it reeked of his ego that soaked into the fucking walls. But now I know that none of this belongs to him, except his ego He didn’t look back when I entered, he just walked straight to the far end of the ro
Rachel ran forward screaming in a high pitched voice I didn't know she had. “Daddy? Daddy, are you okay? I heard glass break, what did Ethan do?” I blinked. What! The! Actual! Fuck! The way she rushed to him, like a little girl desperate to protect her hero, had my breath catching in my throat. She didn’t even glance at Ethan, she just went straight to Richard like he was the one who had been hurt when he might have been the one to shatter the glass. When did all this happen? When did Rachel start calling him Daddy with such tenderness? When did the girl who once side-eyed his every move become this… concerned? I barely had time to process it before Ethan spoke. “What I did?” he said, his tone flat. “You mean existed?” Rachel’s body stiffened. Her hand, which had just touched Richard’s shoulder, dropped like it had been scorched. She turned to look at Ethan, but the words she had died on her lips. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. I stood there, in the middle of this st
The next morning arrived without mercy, I guess toke moved really fast when you hadn't slept at all After finding the business card, sleep became secondary because we knew who Drm Callahan was, was going to be a huge lead. So we spent the entire night at Ethan’s kitchen island, with a shut load of ccold coffee, our open laptops and half-torn sticky notes.At this point the name Dr..Callahan wasn't a lead, it was an obsession. We searched medical directories, university alumni pages, old oncology conferences, and even dark places in the internet that I wouldn't never think of goung to But a new click opened a new rabbit hole with each search result ending in a wall.No hospital.No city.And no fucking clue.Ethan sat on the counter at one point, head in his hands, while I stared blankly at the glowing screen. Neither of us said it aloud, but the truth was there, and that this was a lost cause. Whoever this doctor was, they didn’t want to be found.“This is hopeless,” he said.But I
After the call I sat down next to her, my heart racing as I stared at her, trying to make sense of what had just happened.Her voice was soft but trembled as she spoke. "When you and Ethan left the mansion yesterday… He took it out on me."This was my fault.I felt my throat tighten. A cold lump formed at the base of my chest, and I couldn’t breathe for a moment. I knew something wasn’t right, but hearing her say it out loud made it worse. I wanted to ask more, but I couldn’t. I needed to know.“Is this the first time?” I asked, and as soon as I did, I regretted it. I immediately remembered when she frantically came here in a crying mess but I didn't do anything because I was overwhelmed with my own shit.I remembered how broken she was and how she covered it up immediately when her darling husband came to ‘pick' her up.I had a lot of questions and I wanted to stop myself from pushing, but I couldn’t, I had to know."Why wouldn’t you leave him, Mom?" The words slipped out before I c
I turned back to Ethan, his hand still hovering like he wanted to reach for me again but didn’t dare.“Ethan,” I said, almost begging him to say, “What were you going to say?”His eyes met mine. “Don’t trust her, Sophie.”My pulse jumped. “Why? Make me believe you just don't tell me what to do.” He opened his mouth to speak but then Rachel appeared with a smile on her face.She was dressed in something effortless and expensive, her designer sunglasses pushed up into her waves. She looked like a magazine cover come to life.“Sophie, oh my God,” she said, eyeing me from head to toe. “That dress is stunning on you, you’re glowing!”I blinked, still wanting Ethan to speak, but I could tell he wasn't going to Rachel's gaze went right past Ethan like he wasn’t even breathing in the same room.“I’m parked outside. Come on, they’re expecting us you are gonna thank me by noon.”She held out her hand and I was about to take it, Ethan stepped between us.“She’s not going with you.”Rachel’s sm
Sophie's POVRachel kept on talking as if what Ethan was saying wasn't her concern.“Well don't listen to Ethan, what I planned was amazing.” Her eyes gleaming with excitement. “It will be just us girls and I have got us booked at Valentina’s, with all the VIP things, steam rooms, facials, massages—the works.” She paused and glared at Ethan. “You will love it, Sophie. So relaxing, play you need to loosen up.”I opened my mouth, unsure what to say.Ethan didn’t say anything., but I could sense that he had a lot to say. “I thought it would be nice for her to get a break from all… this.”She waved vaguely toward him, but we both knew what she meant, that Ethan was the problem here.That’s when Ethan coughed out loud.Rachel flinched before regaining her sugar-drenched composure. “Just saying—it’s bonding and I am trying.”Ethan stepped forward, clenching his jaw. “Sophie is not going anywhere.”Rachel scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder like the queen of chaos she thought she wa
Sophie's POVEthan was pacing my room, like a mad man on rampage and I actually understood where he was coming from.“He’s been sending money to Callahan.” He repeated.He kept walking and then finally he started staggering and the, his back but the wall and he sank like his legs gave up on him, he looked like he was about to drown.His hands clawed at his shirt, as he was hyperventilating.I walked up to him and then dropped to my knees to stay beside him. “Ethan, hey please look at me.”But he didn’t look.“Ethan—look at me.” I repeated as I cupped his face trying to make him feel calm, my thumbs brushed over his cheeks. His eyes were glassy like he wanted to cry, but he was trying to hold it together.“Breathe with me,” I said calmly. “Okay? In... one, two... hold it. Now out. Nice and slow.”I repeated it until I felt him mimic my breathing and then his breathing calmed down, our backs were against the wall looking like two people whose life was over.He let his head fall forward
Sophie's POVI didn't know what to say, but Ethan was giving me a very apologetic look, but my look was anything but accommodating.He needed to know that his mere presence wasn't going to change anything.“What the hell are you doing in my house?”“I need just five minutes of your time.” He said and I nodded because it was rare to see Ethan Blackwood begging for something from a common girl like me. “I came to apologize.”A laugh escaped from my lips before I could stop it. “It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?”“Sophie—”“No, do not say my name like we are still fine and like you didn’t shut me down and tell me to mind my business when all I did was trying to care.”He flinched at words, I was pleased that she was flinching like he should.“I was angry and I wasn’t thinking—”“Exactly,” I cut him short. “You weren’t thinking Ethan you were freaking spiraling, and I tried to help and you practically told me to disappear.”His silence only made me more angry and when I lo
Ethan's POVI have been missing Sophie, and I have been a terrible asshole that doesn't deserve her one bit.she was too kind, he was like a freaking saint who but up with me ever fucking time, she could do way better than a broken bastard like me but she still stayed.But it doesn't change the fact that I still wanted her.I know I hurt her. Maybe not with my hands, but with my words first and then my silence.I could apologize. But I won’t, because apologies don’t fix people like me.I want to make myself believe that she was better off without a sadistic mother fucker like me and a woman like her needs someone softer, who doesn’t wake up every morning with a bitter ass mood and snaps when he didn't .Still… I miss her.But not enough to seek her out.But the only thing I've been doing right this week is following Callahan, and the bastard's life was indeed monotonous.I parked my car behind him, as he stepped out of his sleek black BMW at Silver Pines Golf Club, he was laughing int
ONE WEEK LATER- Sophie's POVIt had been a week, seven freaking long, quiet days since Ethan last spoke to me.He hadn’t called or even texted, I didn't even get a forwarded meme or a “hey.”And I didn’t reach out either, not because I didn’t want to, but because I meant what I said. If he wants to talk to me, he knows where to find me.And more importantly, he owed me an apology. I wasn’t going to chase someone who could so easily brush me off like I was just another person in his life So when Monday came and I went to the site for the hotel expansion because we have been neglecting it. If he wanted to pretend I didn’t exist, fine. I could still work without him.I didn't know if it was because I hadn't been here for a while but everything came together just perfectly, to say that it was stunning was an incredible understatement.It was regal with floor to ceiling windows and it didn’t look like something built in under a year.“This is impressive,” I muttered to myself as I smooth
We were just about to leave when the receptionist called me back."Miss? Miss — could I have a word?"I turned, blinking, to find her standing halfway out from behind her desk, her hands were fidgeting nervously with the hem of her cardigan as she glanced around, as if afraid of being overheard.Would you mind if I spoke to you... alone for a moment?" she asked, her voice polite but still sounding very urgent.I blinked but before I could answer, she turned her apologetic smile toward Ethan."Sir, if you don't mind—?" she gestured vaguely toward the parking lot.Ethan looked between us, frowning slightly, looking at her very suspiciously as he always looked at everyone. But after a few seconds, he gave her a small shrug and muttered, "I'll be in the car," before stepping fully outside."I'm sorry," she said in a rush, "I just... I needed to catch you before you left."I shifted my bag higher on my shoulder. "It’s okay. What is it?"She glanced toward the door, as if checking to make
As we left the hospital, I took in a deep breath, but it didn’t help.Ethan walked in front without waiting for me, his shoulders tight, his head down like he, I hurried after him.We pulled out of the hospital lot as we drove in silence, there was a lot I wanted to ask but I couldn't find the right words to say them.But then finally, I couldn’t take it anymore."So," I said carefully trying to keep my tone neutral, "What’s the plan? What exactly do you want to do now?"He stared straight ahead as his eyes were locked on the road. His knuckles were so tight on the steering wheel, they looked almost white and bloodless."What else? We will visit Rose Callahan," he said without hesitation.I studied him quietly, feeling his uneasy he was, there was more to this, so much more he wasn't willing to share."Ethan," I said slowly, "I’m not dumb. Something’s going on between you and your ex-stepmother, I am not dumb not to notice and that whole thing back there? That wasn’t nothing."His re
The second she said his name, it was like an electric shock shot straight through Ethan. His body tensed, his usual composed exterior cracking as his eyes locked onto the nurse with an intensity that almost startled me. His reaction wasn’t subtle in any way it was as if someone had just tossed a bucket of ice-cold water over him, and he was struggling to process it.He looked both relieved and scared at the same time, and it was understandable. I could practically feel his anxiety pressing on my chest.“You worked with Dr. Callahan?” Ethan asked, his voice desperate. The nurse blinked at him, a little startled by his intensity. “Yeah. Unfortunately,” she muttered as she didn't try to hide her bitterness. “For a long time.”“Can I—” Ethan paused, swallowing the words as though they were fighting their way out of him. “Can I ask you some questions about him?”He asked it like she was offering something precious, like every word she could give him was the missing piece to a puzzle tha