“Ethan… Ethan… Ethan,” Max called his attention when he kept on cursing Ina until she left the scene. "Don't hate Ina that much… You should be thankful to her that she asked me not to kill you. If I wouldn't owe her, I would definitely kill you."Ethan glared at Max, which made him raise his brows. “Stop glaring at me, will you?” He signaled his men to get his whipping rod and knife.Max stood near his prisoner. He was afraid that Ethan would fight back so he ordered his men again to tie his feet. A smirk appeared on Max’s face as he saw Ethan’s miserable state. He took the whipping rod from one of his men and started to whip Ethan from behind.Ethan winced in pain for every lash he received, but he tried to be strong. The back of his white long sleeve shirt got shredded and was stained by blood. He groaned and gasped as he kept on receiving each whip. Max was not satisfied with exacting his torture so he took a paddle and began hitting Ethan at the back of his legs. He was starting

“Hi, Alexa… Or I should say, Athena. It’s been a while.”Athena’s eyes slightly squinted as her nose flared and her hands clenched. Seeing this person in front of her made her blood boil.“Ina,” she said as she slowly hid the pocket knife she was holding under the pillow. “Aren’t you tired? Why can’t you just leave us alone?!”Ina scoffed. “Why should I? I will stop bothering you once I send you to your own grave. Because as long as you are alive, Ethan won’t be mine.” She walked toward Athena and towered over her. Ina held her chin tightly, making her wince. “You should thank Max later, as he requested to keep you alive.” Athena twisted Ina’s hand that held her chin, causing Ina to yell in pain.“You, Bitch!” She slaps Athena hard, which leaves a mark on her face and blood dripping from her mouth.Athena glared at her from the corner of her eye and scoffed. “You think Ethan will love you? Wake up, Ina! Even if I die, the only feelings that Ethan could give will be hatred and nothing

Ethan“Where’s the location?” Ethan asked Austin.They were on their way back to the hideout. “They brought Athena to a remote island far from here.”“So… How can we get there?” Ethan asked.“Here’s the map.” Austin replied.“I got someone to scout the area, and they said if we go by helicopter, it will take one and a half hours to get there. There's a big risk they would detect our arrival right away, which will give them a lot of time to escape, or worse, they could hurt Athena.” Austin explained.“So, what’s our other option?” Ethan asked.“If we go there by boat, it will take a full day before we reach their hideout. But there’s less risk, as you’ve seen on the map. We can go through the forest behind the villa, and they won’t notice us.” Austine said.“What if we use a chopper to go halfway and land on another island? Then, we can hire a boat to get there.” He pointed to the forest on the map. “We need to scatter to make sure nobody notices our arrival. Austin and I will sneak in

“Give me good news. Have you found Athena?” Ethan asked the private investigator and his men about the progress of finding Athena.“Sir, we traced her using the tracking device you put on her engagement ring and found the location.” One of his men answered.“And where is it?” Ethan asked. The private investigator gave him the engagement ring.“We found it on the same island where they kept Athena, she must have dropped it. We’ve also searched the area and only saw these torn clothing.” The investigator gave him pieces of torn fragments they thought came from Athena’s gown.“We found this in the trash bin. According to the pattern, I think they chopped it on purpose.” One of his men said.“Maybe she was thrown to the sea–” The investigator was about to deliver his conclusion when a wine glass flew above his head. It was supposed to hit him, but luckily he had fast reflexes and bowed down just in time to evade the flying glass.“GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW!” Ethan’s voice roared, which mad

AthenaAthena woke up hearing unfamiliar voices quarreling near her. When she opened her eyes, she immediately covered her body with the quilt, protecting her belly from the strangers in front of her. She looked at them and figured they were a couple whose ages ranged in their late 50s. Then she looked around and noticed that she was in an unfamiliar place. The house was made of wood, bamboo, and nipa leaves. It was a small and quaint house, but it was cozy. She was sitting in a bed that was very comfortable. It felt like her own bed at home. She looked at herself and noticed she was wearing different clothes.“Who are you? Where am I?” she asked.The lady’s eyes softened while looking at her pitifully. She shook her hand. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. You are in our house because we found your unconscious body on the shore. At first, we thought you were dead, but thankfully, you were alive. So, we decided to bring you here to treat the wound on your head,” she explained.“How long