Chapter 6 - The Night I Learned Ethan Had Been Protecting Me All Along
I didn't kiss him.
Not then.
I wasn't ready.
Love couldn't erase three months of humiliation.
But it changed the shape of my anger.
Ethan had lied.
So had my father.
So had my mother.
Everyone had decided what was best for me.
Yet Ethan was the first person to admit it.
For two days, we stayed at a safe house.
My father recovered.
My mother was transported there secretly.
Brian and his men worked around the clock.
The flash drive revealed exactly what Henry had built.
The network was enormous.
And Ethan had been quietly dismantling it for years.
He had already closed seven illegal ports.
Destroyed four trafficking operations.
Cut ties with corrupt officials.
And moved millions of dollars into legitimate businesses.
He had done all of it while making Chicago believe he remained the same ruthless crime boss.
“Why?” I asked him one evening.
He sat across from me.
“Because if Henry believed I had changed, he'd come for me before I could finish.”
“And the marriage?”
“To strengthen my position.”
“And me?”
His gaze lowered.
“To protect you.”
I hated how much I wanted to believe him.
“What about the things you said?”
He exhaled.
“Brian wasn't supposed to let you near the study.”
“But he did.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted you to hear enough to hate me.”
I stared.
“What?”
“If you hated me, you would leave.”
“But you wouldn't let me.”
“I planned to annul the marriage after the territory transfer.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because I saw you.”
I blinked.
“What does that mean?”
“You kept helping the staff.”
“You remembered everyone's names.”
“You visited children's hospitals.”
“You defended a driver when Derek threatened him.”
“You never asked for anything.”
His voice softened.
“I started noticing the person I had married.”
I looked away.
“When did you know?”
“The night you fell asleep in the library.”
I laughed despite myself.
“I've never fallen asleep in a library.”
“You did.”
“That doesn't mean anything.”
“It meant everything.”
I finally smiled.
Then Brian entered.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Derek confessed.”
Ethan stood.
“To what?”
“He worked for Henry.”
“We know that.”
“He also admitted the wedding attack was supposed to happen during the ceremony.”
I froze.
“What?”
Brian nodded.
“Snipers were positioned outside the chapel.”
Ethan looked at me.
“I stopped them.”
“How?”
“I knew there was a threat.”
“You didn't tell me.”
“No.”
“Again.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Why didn't the attack happen?”
“Because Ethan moved the guests earlier than scheduled,” Brian said.
“And the blood at the warehouse?”
“He had sacrificed the shipment records to create a diversion.”
I stared at Ethan.
Every time I had thought he was being cruel, he had been making decisions I couldn't understand.
Not all of them were right.
But many of them had been designed to keep me alive.
That night I went to his room.
He was standing by the window.
“You should be asleep.”
“I couldn't.”
He turned.
“What is it?”
I walked toward him.
“I forgive you.”
He froze.
“I don't deserve it.”
“Probably not.”
A tiny smile appeared.
“That's fair.”
I reached for his hand.
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You made me believe I meant nothing.”
He looked devastated.
“I know.”
I squeezed his fingers.
“But I believe you now.”
His eyes met mine.
“Believe what?”
“That you love me.”
He didn't move.
Neither did I.
Then he whispered:
“Can I kiss you?”
I nodded.
His kiss was gentle.
Nothing like our wedding kiss.
This one was warm.
Careful.
Real.
He stopped after a moment.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I kissed him again.
And for the first time since the wedding, I didn't feel like Ethan Carter's wife.
I felt like Jane.
His wife.
The difference mattered.
The next morning, we got another message from Henry.
A photograph.
My father's hospital room.
Taken from inside.
Underneath it:
You have twenty-four hours.
Then another photograph appeared.
Lily.
My best friend.
Bound to a chair.
My blood turned cold.
Ethan stared at the image.
“I swear to God—”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“We don't rush.”
“We don't?”
“We think.”
He nodded.
For the first time, we planned together.
Not as husband and wife.
As partners.
I remembered something Lily had once told me.
Months earlier, she had received flowers from a company she'd never heard of.
The same company appeared in one of Henry's records.
We traced it.
The company had leased an old theater.
Ethan's men surrounded it.
Inside, they found Lily.
Alive.
And a note.
You solved the first trap.
May you like
Now come find the second.
The second trap was already moving.
