“Natalie,you’ll pay for this!”I screamed in despair,tears streaming down my face.
“Give me back my daughter!Give Emma back to me!Ethan!Ethan,you bastard!Talk to me!She’s your daughter!”
I cried and shouted into the phone until my voice went raw.
Then suddenly,another voice came through—it was Ethan.
He sounded impatient,his tone rough,as if he had just woken up.“Jenna,haven’t you had enough?What are you yelling about in the middle of the night?”
“Ethan!”
My chest tightened.I clung to the chance to ask him like a drowning woman grabbing a rotten branch,even though I knew it was hopeless.
“Where’s Emma?Where’s our daughter?Is what Natalie said true?What did you do with her?”
There was a pause.Then I heard Natalie’s soft,whiny voice beside him.“Honey,she’s being so cruel to me.I’m scared…”
Ethan’s voice immediately softened for her.“Don’t be afraid,sweetheart.I’m here.”
But when he turned back to me,his tone was cold and hard.“Jenna,what’s wrong with you?My daughter is with me.She’s fine.You’re always so suspicious.Do you enjoy this?”
“Fine?”I was shaking with fury,my voice trembling so hard I could barely speak.
“Ethan,I checked the security cameras and I saw you take her.Natalie told me herself that you sold her to those old men just to buy her a handbag!Ethan,you’re not even human.You’re a monster!”
There was a sharp pause on the line,like he was stunned I had seen the footage.Then he quickly regained control,his voice flat and sure.
“So what?Jenna,I’m done with you.I’m done with your family’s fake pride.Without me,would your business have survived?My daughter is with me.Why not get something in return?”
Each of his words hit me like poisoned needles.Done with me?Getting something in return?
Back then,when his small company was on the verge of bankruptcy,he came to me begging like a stray animal,begging for help.It was me,hiding it from my family,pouring in all my personal savings,pulling every connection I had and working day and night to land him sales and investors,that dragged him back from ruin.
When we married,my family asked for no dowry.We gave him a car,a house and even shares in the company.My father taught him business.Every step of Ethan’s success came from my family,the Sinclair Family.
Now he had the audacity to say he had had enough?He called it charity?
“Ethan…”I said and my voice dropped low and went calm.“You’ve forgotten who you are.You’ve forgotten who I am.”
He seemed caught off guard by my sudden calm.For a moment,he stayed silent.But before he could speak,Natalie snatched the phone and spat,“Jenna,stop acting high and mighty.You’re not the Sinclair Family’s golden daughter anymore.Ethan doesn’t even want you.And your daughter will be some old man’s bride soon.Cry yourself to death if you like.”
I didn’t listen to the rest.I ended the call.
Tears ran down my cheeks,but my heart had gone cold.
I wiped my face,steadied my breath and with shaking fingers,I scrolled down my contacts.Soon after,I finally found a number I had never used.The encrypted line.
It rang once before a calm,cold male voice answered,“Special task force.Go ahead.”
I spoke steadily,each word clear,“Lock down every exit out of the state,especially routes to the western mountains.Ground flights if you must.”
“And notify my father.”I swallowed a choking sob.“His granddaughter has been kidnapped.Tell him to use everything at his disposal to find her.”
A brisk reply came back,“Authorization acknowledged.Highest level.Unconventional measures permitted.”
There was no single question and hesitation.Just a clear response.
“Instructions received.We will keep in contact.Rescue teams are on their way.”
The call ended.Slowly,I pushed myself up,leaning on the wall.
Moments later,my phone rang again.It was my father.I picked up the phone,but before I could say anything,his low,dangerous voice asked one word,"Location?"
I told him about the mall and the security room.
"Ten minutes,"he said and hung up without another word.
I let out a shaky laugh.
Ten minutes.That was all he needed to mobilize the nearest team.
And every second of those ten minutes felt like a year.
I sat in the cold chair in the security room,staring at the frozen screen,my heart pounding.
How terrified must Emma have been?Was she calling for me?
Ethan Lorrimer,how could he do this?
When the ten minutes were up,the security room door opened.Two men in black suits walked in.They looked serious and gave a small bow.
“Miss,the car is ready.Sir ordered everything to be done as you requested.”
I stood,my legs weak but my eyes sharp.“Take me to Ethan and Natalie.Now.”
“Right away.”
In the car,I closed my eyes.My mind was a storm.I saw Emma smiling and calling me“Mom,”then crying and struggling on the screen.I could still hear Natalie’s cruel voice.I remembered Ethan’s cold,indifferent face.
The pain in my chest was so sharp I could hardly breathe.
The car stopped in front of an upscale apartment building.I recognized this place.Ethan had bought it long ago as an investment.
Back then,I thought nothing of it.Now I got it.This was where he hid his mistress.
Two bodyguards escorted me upstairs to the top floor.
From inside,I heard faint music and a woman’s laughter.I drew a deep breath and kicked the door hard.
A loud bang echoed.The door didn’t open,but the noise inside stopped at once.
“Who’s there?”Ethan’s impatient voice came from inside.
I said nothing,but I kicked once again.
One guard signaled,stepped forward and with a strong kick,the lock broke.The door was violently kicked open.
The scene inside made my blood boil.
Ethan stood in a robe,his hair still wet from a shower.Natalie clung to him in a thin silk slip,holding a glass of wine.
Women’s underwear was scattered across the floor.The air reeked of their scent.
By the sofa lay a brand-new orange designer handbag still in its box.Condoms and birth-control items were ripped open and tossed around.
At that moment,all the blood in my body surged to my head.
My vision blurred.I charged forward like a madwoman,screaming,“Ethan!Where is my daughter?Where did you take Emma?Give her back to me!”
Ethan froze at the sight of me.
For a moment,guilt flickered in his eyes,but it quickly hardened into anger.He pulled Natalie behind him and glared at me.
“Jenna!Are you insane?What do you think you’re doing?How dare you break in here!”
"What am I doing?"
Seeing this,my whole body trembled with rage.I pointed at Natalie behind him,then at the expensive handbag on the floor.
“Ask her!Ask her what she told me on the phone!Ask her about the handbag she said you bought with the money from selling our daughter!Ethan,you’re not even human—you’re a monster!That’s your own daughter!”
I lunged forward,ready to fight him,but the bodyguard beside me gently stopped me.“Miss,no need to dirty your hands.”
Natalie hid behind him,adorably poking her head out.She didn’t show any trace of fear at all.Her face was full of smug pride.Her voice was soft.
“Jenna,how could you think Ethan would ever do that?Emma was just sent to a private summer camp as a surprise.You can’t believe every rumor you hear.Selling your daughter?How rude.”
She tugged at Ethan’s robe,her eyes pretending to glisten with tears.“Ethan,look…she must have misunderstood.”
Ethan quickly wrapped his arms around her,comforting her,before turning on me with a glare.
“Jenna,listen to yourself.Natalie is kind enough to explain things for you,but you?You storm in here without warning and make a scene.I’m done with you.”
