“What do you say, son? Do you still want this to end now, or have you changed your mind?” Christof asked Ethan with a smile.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Ethan replied, and the next moment, I heard the deafening sound of a gunshot. “Ethan!” I screamed, pushing the door open and rushing inside. I ran straight to Ethan, who looked at me with a mixture of surprise and concern.
“I told you to stay in the car,” he said, but his words barely registered as I frantically inspected his body, searching for any signs of a gunshot wound.
“What are you doing, Christof?” I heard Wayne yell. I turned to see Wayne clutching his hand, blood gushing from it as he nearly collapsed to the ground, his gun falling beside him. “You shot me, Christof, not him!” Wayne shouted in disbelief.
Christof only chuckled. “That was the plan, you fool,” he said, stepping closer to Wayne and pointing his gun directly at his head, kicking Wayne’s weapon further away. “Did you really think I would betray Ethan? He’s like a son to me,” Christof sneered, making me narrow my eyes in confusion and dread.
I looked up at Ethan, who held me close, trying to pull me away and shield me from the scene that was unfolding.
“But he kicked your daughter!” Wayne cried out, desperation and pain in his voice. Christof struck him hard with the butt of his gun.
“He did. And he made up for it by giving me something better,” Christof explained, the ruthlessness he was known for now fully on display. How could I have ever thought this man was anything less than a monster?
Wayne tried to speak again, but Christof silenced him with another brutal blow. He kept hitting him, again and again, until Wayne was lying on the ground, weak and bleeding.
As Wayne lay there, his eyes moved from Christof to me. “Did you plan this too?” he asked, his voice cracking, his eyes filled with a mixture of accusation and sorrow.
“You’re just like them, aren’t you?” he whispered, making my heart ache. I shook my head desperately. “I’m not, I didn’t know,” I whispered, my voice barely audible as I felt a wave of guilt and helplessness wash over me. “Please, tell Christof to stop,” I begged, grabbing Ethan by the shirt as he tried to shield me from the violence. “Tell him to stop, please,” I pleaded. But the more I begged, the harder Christof seemed to hit Wayne, as though my pleas only fueled his brutality.
“Stop!” I yelled, pushing Ethan aside and rushing toward Christof. “Stop it already! He’s already on the floor, almost lifeless, that’s enough!” I demanded. Christof looked at me and chuckled, then turned to Ethan.
“I think you should get her out of here,” Christof said, and Ethan nodded, walking towards me and grabbing my hands, trying to pull me towards the door.
“No, stop him!” I screamed at Ethan, my eyes darting between Christof and the helpless Wayne. “I’m not the one you should be holding!” I cried, but Ethan’s grip on my hands was too strong, and his pull even stronger.
“You need to stop him, not me,” I whispered through my tears, my voice trembling as I watched Wayne, broken and defenseless on the ground.
Once we were outside the warehouse, Ethan pulled me close, grabbing my arm with both hands and staring at me with a serious expression. “You have to stay in the car. Don’t come out, okay?” he said, and I shook my head, refusing to accept what was happening.
“No, we have to stop Christof! Why aren’t you stopping him?” I demanded, searching Ethan’s eyes for any sign of emotion, but they were cold and unyielding.
“There’s nothing I can do to stop him. That’s not how it works. Wayne signed his death certificate the moment he decided to go against me,” Ethan explained, but his words felt distant, like they were coming from someone else. I shook my head, about to protest, but Ethan sighed, pulling me towards the car and forcing me inside.
“I don’t want you to see any more of this, Emily. It’s for your own good,” Ethan said, holding my hands and handcuffing them to the door.
I stared at him in shock. This was the first time he had ever been rough with me, and it felt like a betrayal. The gentle Ethan I knew had vanished, replaced by someone cold and unrecognizable.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” he said, his voice softening as he leaned in to peck me on the cheek. But I turned away, refusing to let him near me. How could I forget that he was a monster?
“If Wayne dies today, I’ll never forgive you,” I whispered, feeling a surge of disappointment. I knew what he was, but I had expected him to at least pretend to be something different in front of me.
“I’m sorry, Emily,” Ethan said, backing away slowly before turning and heading back into the warehouse.