The cold breeze off the harbor stung my skin as I made my way down the quiet pier. My footsteps echoed in the stillness, the salt air thick with the scent of damp wood and rusted metal.
I wrapped my coat tighter around me, scanning the shadows for any sign of Ethan. Pier 14 felt like a place where secrets came to die-and maybe, so would I.
I spotted him leaning casually against a crate near the water’s edge. Even in the dim light, Ethan looked every bit the polished billionaire-dark coat draped over his broad shoulders, his expression unreadable. He straightened as I approached, a wary smile ghosting his lips.
“Alyssa.” He said my name like a promise, but I wasn’t in the mood for charm.
“Cut the act, Ethan.” I stopped a few feet away, arms crossed over my chest. “Show me the proof you promised-or I walk.”
He gave a low chuckle, but his eyes were sharp, watching every move I made. “Always so demanding. You really are your father’s daughter.”
“Don’t.” My voice came out harder than I intended. “Don’t you dare talk about him like you respected him. Just show me what you have.”
Ethan sighed and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a sleek black folder. “You want the truth? Here it is.”
I hesitated for only a second before snatching the folder from his hand. Inside were photos-grainy surveillance shots of Xavier meeting with hitmen. Bank transfers to offshore accounts.
A detailed report of a meeting held the night before my father’s death, signed by Xavier himself. It was all there, the kind of damning evidence no one could escape.
My stomach churned as I flipped through the documents. “So, it’s true…” I whispered, barely able to get the words out. “Xavier had him killed. He… he planned it.”
Ethan nodded slowly, his expression softening. “Yes. Your father trusted him, but Xavier wanted more. He saw your father as a threat to his ambitions.”
I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. I could feel the walls closing in on me-Xavier’s lies, my father’s death, and the impossible maze I’d been walking into without even knowing it.
“And you?” I snapped, glaring at Ethan. “What’s your part in all this? Don’t act like you were just some bystander. You knew. You were there.”
Ethan didn’t flinch. “You’re right. I knew. But I didn’t pull the trigger. And I swear to you, Alyssa-I tried to stop it. I tried to warn your father, but it was already too late.”
I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief. “You expect me to believe that? That you’re some kind of hero in all this?”
He stepped closer, his gaze steady and unwavering. “I’m no hero. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. But I never wanted to hurt you. I still don’t. I’ve spent years trying to keep you safe-from Xavier, from everyone. And now, I need you to trust me.”
Trust. The word felt like a curse. Ethan and Xavier-two sides of the same twisted coin. Both of them had lied to me, used me, pulled strings behind the scenes. And now Ethan was asking for my trust, like it was something I could give freely.
“Why should I trust you now?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the sound of the waves lapping against the pier.
Ethan exhaled, his expression softening. “Because I’m the only one left who’s on your side, Alyssa. Xavier isn’t going to stop.
He’s obsessed with you-obsessed with power. And if you go back to him, he’ll control you just like he controlled your father.”
The words hit me harder than I expected, and for a brief moment, I let myself believe him. Maybe Ethan wasn’t innocent, but at least he was offering me something-the truth, or at least his version of it.
I flipped through the last pages of the folder, my hands shaking. There, at the bottom, was a bank statement-a transfer from one of Xavier’s accounts to the same hitman who killed my father. It was the final nail in the coffin. The proof I’d been searching for, even if I didn’t want to find it.
Just as Ethan reached out to take the folder from me, I heard it-a sharp, high-pitched crack that sliced through the night air.
A gunshot.
The world seemed to slow down. Before I could react, Ethan lunged toward me, shoving me behind a stack of crates just as another bullet whizzed past, splintering the wood beside us.
“Sniper!” Ethan hissed, dragging me lower as we crouched behind cover. My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline flooding my veins.
“What the hell is going on?” I gasped, struggling to catch my breath. “Who-who’s shooting at us?”
Ethan peeked over the edge of the crate, his expression grim. “Someone who doesn’t want us talking.” He grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer. “We need to move. Now.”
We darted from cover to cover, the sharp cracks of gunfire following us as we sprinted toward the shadows of the pier.
My mind raced, trying to piece together what was happening. Who would want to silence us? Xavier? Someone else?
Ethan pulled me toward a side alley, keeping his body between me and the sniper’s line of sight. “Stay low. Don’t stop moving.” His voice was urgent but controlled, like he’d done this a thousand times before.
We reached the end of the alley, breathless and shaken. Ethan pressed his back against the wall, scanning the rooftops for any sign of the shooter. I leaned against the cold brick, my pulse still hammering in my ears.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded, my voice raw with fear and anger. “Who’s after us?”
Ethan shook his head, wiping sweat from his brow. “I don’t know. But whoever it is, they don’t want you finding out the truth about Xavier-or your father.”
I clutched the folder to my chest, the weight of it suddenly unbearable. This was bigger than I ever imagined.
The lies, the betrayals, the secrets-they were all tangled together in a web I couldn’t escape. And now, someone was trying to kill us before we could unravel it.
Ethan touched my arm gently, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Alyssa, listen to me. We don’t have much time. We need to leave the city-tonight. It’s not safe here anymore.”
I stared at him, my mind reeling. Leave? Just like that? After everything I’d learned, everything I’d fought to uncover, he wanted me to run?
“I can’t just leave, Ethan. I need answers. I need to know the truth.”
He looked at me with something close to desperation. “You have the truth. It’s right there in your hands. But if we stay, you won’t live long enough to use it. Please, Alyssa. Trust me-for once.”
Before I could respond, another bullet shattered the streetlamp above us, plunging the alley into darkness. Ethan grabbed my hand, pulling me deeper into the shadows.
“We need to go. Now.”
As we sprinted into the night, the folder clutched tight in my arms, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was running out of time-and that the real danger was only just beginning.