Chapter 148
Aria's POV
The satisfaction I felt leaving Scarlett's birthday party faded as I walked alone through the parking garage. My heels echoed against concrete, each click a reminder of the confrontation I'd just escaped.
I slid into my car and leaned back against the leather seat, fishing a cigarette from my purse. I rarely smoked anymore, but tonight called for small rebellions. The flame from my lighter cast shadows across the dashboard as I inhaled deeply, letting the smoke fill my lungs.
Through the haze, memories of Ethan flooded back. His smile when we first date at the college. The way his hand felt against mine when he proposed. The hollowness in his eyes when I caught him with Scarlett. I took another drag, watching the ember glow red in the darkness.
"You stole everything that mattered," I whispered to no one, thinking of Scarlett. My mother's beach house, my father's attention, and finally, my fiancé. Not that I wanted Ethan back—but the betrayal still stung like an open wound.
I was so lost in thought that I almost missed the black SUV pulling up behind me, blocking my exit. Frowning, I stubbed out my cigarette and started the engine, but before I could reverse, headlights flooded my rearview mirror, blinding me.
"What the hell?" I muttered, grabbing my purse and stepping out of the car. "Excuse me, you're blocking—"
A hand clamped over my mouth, muffling my scream. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, lifting me off my feet. I kicked wildly, my heels connecting with nothing but air as I was dragged backward. The familiar scent of cologne hit me—Ethan's signature Clive Christian—and a surge of panic shot through me.
I bit down hard on the hand covering my mouth, tasting blood, but the grip only tightened as I was thrown into the back of the Range Rover. A cloth pressed against my face, sweet-smelling and damp.
"Shhh, Aria. Don't fight it," Ethan's voice was eerily calm in my ear.
As darkness began to close in, one horrifying thought crystalized: this was why Scarlett had invited me tonight. Not for some petty confrontation, but to deliver me to Ethan. My last conscious thought was of Devon, and how he would never know where I'd gone.
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Devon's POV
I sat rigidly in my chair during the executive conference at Kane Technology, one hand unconsciously pressed against the bandage beneath my tailored shirt. The gunshot wound still ached, a constant reminder of Connor's betrayal. Every small movement sent a sharp pain through my side, but I'd be damned if I'd let anyone see it.
"Mr. Kane, we need your decision on the Singapore acquisition," one of the executives was saying when Marcus slipped into the room, phone in hand.
I immediately noticed the tension in his normally composed expression.
"Sir, I apologize for the interruption," he said, his voice carefully controlled. "There's an urgent matter requiring your immediate attention."
"Continue without me," I told the room, rising carefully to avoid wincing from the pain in my abdomen.
In the hallway, Marcus spoke in hushed tones. "Our security team at Blue Sapphire reported Ms. Harper entered the underground parking forty minutes ago. When they went to check, they found her car still running but no sign of her. The surveillance footage shows..."
I watched the grainy footage on Marcus's tablet, feeling my jaw tighten as a black Range Rover blocked Aria's car. The subsequent footage showed a man—Ethan Blake, unmistakably—forcing her into the vehicle. Something cold and dangerous unfurled in my chest.
"Find that Range Rover," I ordered, my voice deadly calm despite the rage building inside me. "Track her phone. Alert our security teams throughout the city." I moved toward the elevator, ignoring the stabbing pain in my side.
"Sir, your doctor advised against any strenuous—"
"Get the car, Marcus." My tone left no room for argument. "Now."
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Aria's POV
I awoke to the taste of metal in my mouth and a throbbing headache. My wrists were bound behind me, the rope cutting into my skin with each attempt to move. Blinking against harsh fluorescent lighting, I tried to make sense of my surroundings—a sparsely furnished room with boarded windows and concrete floors. Definitely not in the city anymore.
"You're finally awake." Ethan's voice came from behind me. He stepped around, crouching to meet my gaze. His usually immaculate appearance was disheveled—shirt wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes, a day's worth of stubble on his jaw. "I've missed you, Aria."
"Missed me?" I spat the words, tasting blood. "Is that why you drugged and kidnapped me? Because normal people just call when they miss someone."
He reached out to touch my face, and I jerked away, nearly toppling the chair.
"You've always been stubborn," he said with a sigh that chilled me to the bone. "That's one of the things I love about you."
"Love?" I laughed, the sound brittle even to my own ears. "You don't know the meaning of the word."
His expression darkened. "I made one mistake, Aria. One. And you've punished me ever since." He stood, pacing the room. "You were supposed to be mine. You were always meant to be mine."
The way he said it—possessive, entitled—made my skin crawl. I tested the ropes again, feeling them give slightly.
"What exactly is your plan here, Ethan? Keep me tied up forever? Force me to forgive you?"
He knelt in front of me again, eyes fever-bright. "You'll see that we belong together. Away from Kane, away from everyone who's poisoned you against me." His fingers traced my jawline. "You're mine, Aria. You've always been mine."
I turned my face away, disgust rising in my throat. "I belong to no one."
His hand shot out, wrapping around my throat, squeezing just enough to make breathing difficult. "I could've given you everything," he hissed, his face inches from mine. "But I made one mistake. One! I did what every man in the world would've done."
The drugs still made my thoughts sluggish, but anger cleared my head. I gathered my strength and lunged forward, headbutting him with all my might. Pain exploded across my forehead, but his grip loosened, and he stumbled backward.
"You're insane," I gasped, struggling against the ropes.
Ethan touched his bleeding nose, looking at the red smear on his fingertips with something like wonder. Then his eyes met mine, and the coldness there made my blood freeze.
"I tried to be gentle," he said, advancing toward me again. "I really did."