LOGINEthan didn’t bother with a legal summons or a polite invitation. He sent three men in a black SUV to drag Maya from her penthouse in her silk robe, bringing her to the one place she always dreamt of ruling– Morgan's Villa.As soon as she entered,she threw herself on Ethan who sat on the couch. Seductively fingering his arms, she poured, "I knew you would call me back. The night we spent together, the promises you made can't be forgotten.""After all inside my womb is your blood, your heir, Ethan. It's something your wife could never give you.""But, honey? Your men... they were so rough. What is happening?""Please fire all of them. I'll assign all the new workers that are more cultured. Alright?"Ethan didn’t just respond. He ruthlessly pushed her off the couch, making her fall on her belly. He didn't even care about the baby in the womb who she claimed was his.Maya could only hiss in pain, dared not say anything. The shock was written all over her face. She clearly had not seen it c
The Morgan empire continued to churn out billions, but its king was rotting from the inside out.For six months, the grand Westchester estate had transformed from a symbol of status into a tomb. Ethan Morgan no longer wore the bespoke Italian suits that once defined his silhouette. Now, he paced the dark corridors in a disheveled shirt, his eyes bloodshot and sunken, fueled by nothing but black coffee and a manic, agonizing regret.Every surface of his study was covered in grainy surveillance stills, private investigator reports, and maps of the tri-state area."Another dead end?" Ethan’s voice was a jagged rasp as he glared at Marcus."Sir, the car that picked her up from the hotel was a rental paid for with a burner card. We tracked it to a scrapyard in New Jersey. It was crushed three days ago. There’s... there’s no trail left."Ethan swept a stack of papers off his desk in a fit of silence rage. "She’s six months pregnant, Marcus! She has anemia! She can't just vanish into thin air
Ethan sat motionless, the doctor’s words—twelve weeks, little miracle—echoing in the hollow chambers of his chest. Desperate for some tether to her, Ethan began to tear through the room. He bypassed the empty closets and the sterile vanity until his eyes fell on the metal trash can.Among all the garbage remained a half-burnt journal and a completely destroyed wedding picture. His fingers shook as he took the journal out and opened it.The early pages were filled with a light that made Ethan’s eyes burn. Elena’s handwriting was loopy, almost breathless.May 14th: I met him today. Ethan Morgan. He’s like a storm—terrifying and brilliant. When he looked at me, I felt like the only person in the room. He said he wanted to build a world with me. I think I’d follow him into any darkness just to see him smile.He turned the pages, the entries growing shorter, the handwriting more controlled. The "we" began to shift into "him."November 2nd: Another dinner alone. Ethan is working late again
The flight back to New York was the longest ten hours of Ethan Morgan’s life. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Maya’s triumphant, malicious grin and then the sterile, empty penthouse in Paris. The silence of that suite had been a physical blow, but he clung to a single, desperate thread of logic. Elena was a creature of habit. She was soft, she was loyal, and she loved the home they had built together.She would be there. She had to be.Ethan didn't wait for his driver to open the door. He lunged out of the car before it had fully stopped in the driveway of their Westchester estate. He didn't use the key; he pounded on the door until the housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, opened it with a startled gasp."Where is she?" Ethan demanded, pushing past her into the grand foyer."Mr. Morgan? You weren't expected until—""Elena! Is she upstairs?" He didn't wait for an answer, his boots thundering against the marble as he took the stairs two at a time. He burst into the master suite, his heart ham
Ethan's steps paused in the middle. He turned back to look at Maya. Her lips curled up, eyes filled with hope and maliciousness, and her expression almost victorious."Yes, I'm. Your wife... She couldn't give you a heir yet but I... I fulfill your dream. I'm pregnant with your child. I was going to surprise you in the dinner.""Can you please stay with me one more night?"He crossed the distance between in just two steps and Maya thought she already won over Elena. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she raised her heels to kiss his cheeks. But, she was left stunned as Ethan pushed him away. The force was so strong that she barely escaped the fall. She looked up, frightened."Did you not take the pills?" He groaned."I-I forgot... Just one time." She murmured, still in the shock. She had thought, it was going to be her masterstroke to win him. Never in her dreams she had expected that he would react like this."Th-This is your child, Ethan. Something you always wanted. Why are you be
Third person's POVThe emergency meeting Ethan had so dramatically announced was, in reality, a suite three floors below the penthouse. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, the facade of the devoted, doting husband vanished, replaced by a hungry, reckless impatience.Maya was waiting for him, draped in silk that cost more than a mid-sized car—a gift from Ethan’s business account."You took your time," she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I thought you were actually going to spend the night with her."Ethan let out a rough laugh, tossing his blazer onto a chair. "How can that be? I have prepared so much to spend this time with you, babe.""Let's not talk about her anymore. It's only you who is important to me."He didn't think of Elena’s pale face or the way she had touched her belly. He only thought of the adrenaline of the secret. He spent the night losing himself in Maya, drowning out the faint, nagging voice of his conscience with expensive champagne and whisper







