CHAPTER NINE

As much as her heart was sinking, Lauren summoned every ounce of courage and met his gaze.

"What if it’s true?" she asked, voice steady despite her racing pulse. "What if I came here to get revenge on Madeline?"

Ethan burst into sudden, loud laughter—so loud, it echoed off the marble walls. For a second, she was almost afraid.

Had he lost his mind since the fire?

He shoved her suitcases into the wardrobe without answering.

"You won't say anything, Ethan?"

He walked to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She flinched.

"Are you scared of me?" he whispered.

She couldn’t find the words.

He leaned into her ear, voice low and terrifyingly calm.

"Even if you came here to kill me, Lauren, I’d still keep you here."

And with that, he walked out.

Panic flooded her chest. This wasn't the Ethan she remembered. Something had changed. Or maybe… something had awakened in him—since the fire, or after death itself danced too close.

She stepped into the hallway.

A maid was cleaning the corridor.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

The maid straightened quickly. "Yes, ma’am. How may I help you?"

Lauren didn’t waste time. "I need the key to Ethan’s study room."

The maid gasped, startled by the request.

"He stepped out for a while, ma’am… when he returns, I—"

"Did he take the key with him?"

"He didn’t, ma’am. I… I—"

"Give it to me. Right now."

The maid ran downstairs, then returned moments later, nervously holding the key. She led Lauren to the study, and Lauren entered—alone.

She froze.

The room was nothing like she imagined.

Not a book in sight.

Instead, scientific equipment. Beakers, microscopes, test kits. Abandoned experiments. Chemicals so strong, she nearly gagged.

Ethan Whitmore—a scientist?

She stepped deeper, covering her nose, searching for anything tied to Madeline—but the files were stacked in the far corner. As she inched toward them, she heard footsteps.

She spun.

Ethan.

His breath was heavy. He had run.

The maid had called him.

He locked the door behind her with a metallic click.

What is he hiding in here?

She stepped out, heart pounding.

"We need to talk, Ethan."

She walked to the bedroom. He followed, removed his jacket, and sat on the bed—his back to her.

She stared at him. His silence was louder than any scream.

"What happened to you after the fire?" she whispered.

He turned, his eyes cold and burning.

"What happened after I left? That night we slept together—why did you go to Caleb? Why did you give yourself to him?"

She staggered back slightly.

How did he know?

He opened the drawer beside him and threw a set of photographs onto the bed—torn, taped back together.

Her and Caleb.

Her breath caught.

"You were watching us?"

"Madeline Carter." His voice was steel. "She brought them. I tore them up in her face, but picked them up after she left. Someone in Caleb’s camp is working for her."

Lauren’s fingers trembled as she held the photos.

He stared at her, eyes softening with pain.

"Even after you found me alive, you went back to him. Is that how little your body means to you?"

Tears burned her eyes.

"Ethan..."

He shook his head.

"All my life, you’ve been the only woman I allowed to touch me. I feel desire, of course, but I’ve never given myself away. Never."

Then, his voice dropped.

"Someone came to me days ago... claimed you slept with her while you lost your memory and she has your child right now ."

She stiffened.

He laughed again—dark and wild.

"You need to see a doctor," she said quietly.

"Exactly". He responded and sighed frustratedly. "The doctor should check if my heart is still functioning—because you’ve been trying to burn it alive since the day I met you!"

"Ethan, stop this. Get yourself together."

"Did she bring a DNA test after she gave you the report?"

"She did."

Lauren walked to her bag, pulled out the envelope, and handed it to him.

He opened it slowly, scanned the content, then laughed again—this time, more amused than angry.

He held the paper up to the light.

"What’s funny?" she asked cautiously.

His voice was calm now, almost amused.

"No hospital seal. No lab address. The name of the doctor is a generic print. No signature. And this watermark? It’s pixelated. A cheap copy."

He tapped the page.

"This isn’t even printed on real lab paper."

He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and walked away from her.

"Dr. Faye? It's Ethan Whitmore. I’m sending you a scan of a so-called DNA test. I want you to verify its legitimacy. Right now."

He ended the call and tossed the fake report onto the table.

"Nice try," he said without looking at her.

"If someone wants to shake me, they need to do better."

He turned back to Lauren, his eyes narrowing.

"If there's ever a child connected to me, Lauren... I’ll know. Because I’ll be the one to run the test myself."

Lauren clutched the printed DNA result, the accusation still fresh in her voice.

"Why then would someone send me something like this? Why now?"

Ethan's gaze didn’t waver. He stood at the window, one hand in his pocket, the other swirling the whisky in his glass. Calm. Controlled. Like a man who had already solved the puzzle before it was handed to him.

“Because they never expected you to confront me,” he said evenly. “They just wanted you to run. Withdraw. Vanish from my life without a word.”

He turned to face her now, walking slowly toward her like a man approaching a fragile truth. “They were counting on your pain. Your fear. But not your bravery.”

Lauren swallowed, her voice softer this time. “But… how did you know it was fake right away?”

Ethan gave a slow, knowing smile. “Because I’ve seen a thousand documents like that—and forged better. I know what genuine ink on genuine paper looks like. I know how hospitals watermark their official files. You forget, Lauren…” He leaned in, voice low. “I wasn’t just raised to inherit a business empire. I was trained to build and protect it—by any means. That includes knowing how people manipulate truth.”

Lauren stared at the paper in her hand. Now that she looked again, it did seem... off. Too clean. Too precise. Her chest tightened. “If it wasn’t Madeline Carter, then who? Who else would benefit if I turned back to you?”

Ethan took the glass from her hand gently, setting it down. “Think. Who stands to lose you if you stay with me? Who gets everything if you walk away?”

Her breath hitched. “Caleb?”

Ethan didn’t nod. He didn’t need to.

He simply watched her face as the storm built behind her eyes.

“But... but Caleb wouldn’t—he’s been nothing but kind. Supportive.”

“Yes,” Ethan murmured. “And desperate. And possessive. And scared.”

Lauren’s voice cracked. “He said he’d fight for me…”

“And I believe he will,” Ethan replied, stepping back. “But love isn’t about fear or control. It’s about trust—even when it hurts.”

She stood frozen, heart in her throat. Doubt and guilt swirled inside her, and yet Ethan’s steady calm unnerved her more than anything.

"Lauren," Ethan added gently, "if I ever had something to hide, you’d never find it in a piece of paper. You’d find it in me. And you haven’t."

***

The masked group sat at their hideout again in silence.

One of the masked lady sighed. "By now, I am sure Ethan would have found out from Lauren the fake DNA report".

The masked man grit his teeth. "If I had known that her choice would be to move to Ethan even after everything, I wouldn't have told you to feign that report. Ethan is too intelligent to loose to her on that".

"Well we just have to stand strong on finding that hidden wealth Ethan had before that fire. The one he used to push down our tech project ". Another man said.

"You still believe that Ethan might be the mastermind of the X app?".

"I am not sure....".

"If Ethan created those robots secretly four years ago, his wife would have known ".

"Have you forgotten that the night the profit from the machines boosted was the same day he was informed who his biological father was?".

"If Ethan had hidden wealth that he retained, that means he didn't loose his memory after that fire accident right?".

"Even if he lost his memory, his wealth will be retained because he was never an open CEO".

"If Ethan had so much wealth, why is he clinging to Raymond Whitmore's possession?".

"There are two situations that might be possible. Ethan might be holding onto Whitmore's Blackspire as a cover up or he doesn't own X platform and Chatgpt top robots".

"What if Ethan knows who we are? I can't see him making any move towards catching us. Why is he silent?".