Chapter 12: Free Ethan Woods

Susan's POV

The rays of the morning sun flickered through my window as I rubbed my blurry eyes.

“Goodness me! How did I sleep this long?” I exclaimed in shock after glaring at the wall clock.

I wasn't a coffee drinker, but I lost sleep the previous night thinking about Ethan.

His freedom matters to me more than anything else In the world.

I woke up with a massive tombstone in my heart that might not be rolled away for generations to come.

It feels to me like I'm carrying the world on my back.

All thanks to Maria, who has given Ethan and me a run for our money. How she amassed so much wealth in a few years still baffles me.

Not just the sudden wealth that bothers me; Maria also became stronger, more influential, and more powerful than ever before.

She wasn't the same person I usually bullied around a couple of years ago.

To think that she even had the guts to raise her hands on me.

“I need to figure out how she made her money. Something ain't right. I bet she's involved in some money laundering shit,” I mumbled succinctly as I tossed off the bed and got prepared to visit Ethan at the station.

He must be feeling gutted already after spending the night in detention for the first time.

He thought Maria wouldn't be a hard nut to crack.

He thought sending me over to yell at Maria would coerce her to order for his arrest.

He had no idea the kind of lady his ex-wife had become.

Unlike the previous days when I frequently spent a couple of minutes in front of the mirror beautifying my face with diverse makeovers, today seems different.

Who gives a fuck about being attractive when Ethan is still in detention? He would certainly do the same for me if I was in his shoes.

Hurriedly, I stepped outside the mansion straight to the car.

A thousand times, the domestic staff greeted me, but not for once did I respond.

The greetings were irrelevant to me. The only thing I care about is getting Ethan out of the godforsaken place. He doesn't belong there.

It's going to be a disaster for the company if the news about his arrest gets to the public.

Our major investors might be forced to pull out from every deal with us.

No one in his right senses would be thrilled to work with a company whose CEO got arrested for trespassing.

I finally arrived at the station after a twenty-minute drive. It was the roughest ride I ever had.

I practically overtook all vehicles in front of me while neglecting the traffic lights.

How I managed to arrive at the station in one piece without a ghastly accident remains a mystery to me.

“Where's Ethan, my husband?

He was illegally detained here last night.

I need to speak with my husband, please. It's time-critical that I do that now,” I asked one of the cops found at the counter.

I panted heavily like someone who's been chased by thugs loaded with sophisticated weapons.

“You might want to stay calm, ma'am. If you keep acting this way, I may be forced to walk you out,” the female cop threatened.

On the left breast pocket had her name crested in a dark thick thread as Aleeyah Coleman.

I endured her insult just for Ethan's sake. In normal circumstances, I would have retaliated, but I held my cool.

“I am sorry, ma'am.

It wasn't intentional,” I forced myself to apologize even when I shouldn't have.

“Come with me,” she said after scrutinizing my body as though I reeked of unpleasant odor.

I endured all the insults and went with her like someone leading the blind home

“Stay right here while I go fetch him,” The cop said after leading me to the waiting room.

I tried to convince myself that I was cool but deep down, my heart had been ripped apart. What's left inside of me is emptiness and nothing else.

Moments later, I saw someone come walk in with the female cop.

It took me a while for me to realize that it was Ethan.

He was unrecognizable. It's just a night in detention, and he's already looking like a zombie.

I couldn't fight back the tears despite how hard I tried to stay strong

“You got 10 minutes.

I'll be back,” the cop notified us and went away.

My mysteries worsened when I saw the giant cuffs around Ethan's hands.

“Don't worry, I will be out of here in a bit. My lawyer is already making plans for my release,” Ethan assured.

He sounded more confident about his release than me, who wasn't even arrested.

“Hey,” he called my attention to rejuvenate my lost soul. I wasn't even thinking straight.

My thoughts were clouded by Maria's terms for Ethan's release.

How do I explain to Ethan about Maria's plot against him? It will surely break him down more than the arrest.

“I just told you the arrangement with the lawyer, and you didn't demonstrate an atom of happiness. Is there something I should know?

Are you thrilled about my arrest?” Ethan lost his cool.

I tried to take his mind off the issue, but it was difficult. Ethan has already invested his energy in finding out the reason for my mood swings.

I tried to feign a smile to pretend that I was happy for him and I failed woefully.

My response didn't seem to resonate with my body language.

Even a three-year-old will know that I've got a skeleton hidden in my cupboard.

“You told me you were going to meet with Maria last night regarding my release.

What was the outcome of the meeting? You never mentioned,” Ethan tossed the question that I've tried my best to avoid.

At this crucial time of his life, he deserves some sort of motivation and not some killjoy news that I'm about to divulge.