Chapter 05

Amara was tall, blonde, and perfect. Her makeup was always flawless. Her posture conveyed strength and leadership, but she hadn’t given Ethan what Luna had offered—three beautiful children. When she entered the room unannounced, she almost ruined everything. She felt it when she looked into Ethan’s eyes and saw the disappointment written all over them.

They had been together for six years, and Amara could not give Ethan children. It frustrated her and made her furious. Yet in her husband’s presence, she was loving and understanding—but when Ethan wasn’t around, she became something else entirely.

“I apologize for interrupting the conversation.” She lowered her gaze, pretending to be embarrassed. “I got excited when I heard Luna was back and wanted to see her.”

“Since when did you become so close to Luna to treat her so cordially?”

“Since when did you decide to hide from me that you had children with her?”

The scorching glare Ethan shot at Amara should have scared her, but she didn’t back down.

“Why did you assume the children she referred to are mine?”

Amara’s eyes widened at him. That question seemed like the perfect trap for Ethan to uncover her secrets.

“Whose would they be, then?” she recomposed herself. “If they were another man’s children, she certainly wouldn’t be here asking for your help, Ethan. That’s precisely what I would do if I were in her place.”

She managed to call her husband by his first name only when they were alone. In other situations, Amara always referred to him as Mr. Ethan.

“But you don’t have children, do you?” Amara didn’t like hearing that, but she swallowed her dissatisfaction, pretending Ethan’s words didn’t affect her.

But the lack of an heir had always bothered Ethan. She had always known that. They hadn’t talked about it for a long time because arguments were constant. Ethan demanded that she give him children, but Amara didn’t know how. So every time the subject came up, she would avoid it to prevent things from getting worse between them. For a long time, there was peace, and Amara believed Ethan had given up on having children—until she discovered Luna’s whereabouts and learned she had given birth to three boys and that they were her husband’s sons.

That information would ruin all of Amara’s plans to be the perfect wife. Ethan couldn’t know about the whereabouts of those children, so Amara devised an almost perfect plan. She would kill Luna and the triplets so Ethan would never find out this secret. But something had gone wrong. Luna was still alive, and so were the three boys.

She smiled melancholically as she analyzed every detail of Ethan’s face, trying to figure out what his next move would be. But he was almost unreadable. There was a shell around Ethan through which no one could see his feelings or intentions.

“What are you planning to do now?” her voice came out softly.

Ethan turned his gaze to her, suspicious of the calm Amara exuded in such a complicated situation.

“I’m going to help her find the boys,” he said, watching her, “and eliminate any doubt about this.”

“And what if they’re not your children?” the question came out quickly. Amara’s eyes were wide.

“You said yourself that if they weren’t mine, she wouldn’t be here.” Amara watched him pick up his car keys and prepare to leave. “In my absence, you run the company. That’s an order, Amara.”

Amara’s heart pounded in her chest as the office door closed. She wanted to scream. She was in a fury. Ethan would leave the business and his family to go searching for the lost children, and alongside his ex-wife. The plan hadn’t just failed—it had also given Luna a new chance to have Ethan back. She couldn’t let that happen.

After thinking long and hard about it, Amara went straight home, disobeying her husband’s order and avoiding the city’s main streets in case she accidentally ran into someone—especially Luna. She wouldn’t be able to look into that woman’s eyes again and fake pity. Amara hated her. She wanted her dead, far from her path. She had always considered Luna weak, pitiful, and bland—incapable of keeping a man by her side. That’s how it was when Ethan asked for a divorce to be with her, and Amara believed she had won that war—until Luna came back, bringing the past and shattering all the future she had planned with the man she loved. But she made an inner vow as she walked under the scorching sun—she would eliminate Luna and her triplets, once and for all.

Someone ordered Nataniel to stay there until her return. When she found him sitting in the same spot, she stormed toward him and stared into his eyes.

“Why is that bitch still alive?” Her heart ached painfully as she growled at her brother.

“They assured me they’d gotten rid of her.” Nataniel stood up with his hands raised, carefully watching Amara.

“This is what happens when you trust men.” Amara closed her eyes tightly, clenched her jaw, and fought not to tear her brother apart in her fury. “They’re liars and traitors.”

“You need to calm down, Amara,” his words lingered in the air before a fierce snarl escaped Amara’s lips. “There’s no use crying over what went wrong.”

“Ethan is, right now, ready to abandon business and family to chase after the triplets, and you’re telling me to calm down?”

“So he knows the children are his?” he asked, eyes wide. “I should have killed that bitch when I had the chance.”

“Oh, really? I’m surprised you agree with me on something and regret what went wrong too.”

“Execute the plan and kill the triplets,” Nataniel clenched his yellowed teeth. “Then we’ll kill Luna.”

“Too late.” Her heavy breathing kept her from controlling her rage. “It would be too risky. We need to come up with a distraction that pulls Luna away from Ethan without having to kill anyone.”

Nataniel laughed in disbelief, still not understanding Amara’s actual intentions. What did she mean by that?

“Time for Plan B,” she said with a malicious smile on her face. “Summon the informant. He’ll know what to do.”

“Plan B?” Nataniel could hardly believe it. That idea had always seemed ridiculous to him, but he had agreed, thinking he’d never have to follow through. “Are you sure about this?”

“Just do what I ordered, Nataniel.” While struggling with her conflicting emotions, she looked at her brother in desperation before finishing, “Do it now, before it’s too late.”