"Bro..." Daniel was scared too, but at the same time, he was astonished. Ethan, who detested strangers coming close, was acting out of character today.
"Sorry, Ethan. Serena was in a car accident and needs a kidney transplant. Jasmine owes Serena big time, and I was afraid she'd pull some stunt, so I brought her here to stay for a few days," Daniel hurriedly explained.
Ethan didn't make a sound; he was never one to meddle in other people's business.
Especially not Daniel's.
"Kid, scoot over," Daniel said, reaching out to grab Justin when Ethan remained silent.
But Justin pressed his head against Ethan's leg, embracing him like how a koala clung to a tree.
Though young, Justin had learned to read the room.
He could tell Daniel was a bad guy for bullying Mom, and that this bad guy was afraid of the man he was clinging to.
Jasmine, amidst her panic, was moved and pained by the thought of what Justin must be going through—he was only five years old...
"Justin, Mom will take you to find Daddy, okay?" Jasmine soothed in a soft voice.
"Just hurry up and find that deadbeat to take this little brat away!" Daniel snapped, unable to pry Justin off.
Ethan looked at the little guy smearing snot and tears all over his pants and didn't get angry. Instead, he almost wanted to laugh.
A five-year-old kid...
"Are you my daddy? Will you be my daddy and protect my mommy?" Justin asked innocently as he looked up.
Daniel's face darkened even further. He couldn’t believe a five-year-old could say something like this. Unless Jasmine coached him...
"Justin..." Jasmine choked up, trying to soothe him. "Listen to me, he really isn't your daddy."
Justin's face fell as the man didn't answer his question; finally, he loosened his grip.
As he watched Justin and Jasmine being led by Daniel to the backyard, Ethan said nothing, only glancing down at his soiled pants.
"Mr. Douglas..." his assistant rushed over, flustered, ready with a change of clothes. "Go get cleaned up and put on something fresh; I'll toss away these pants."
The assistant knew Ethan well—nothing unclean could stay.
"No need," Ethan said simply, as he walked away.
The assistant gasped, a sign of astonishment—they weren't going to pursue it further?
Truly, predicting Mr. Douglas's thoughts was like searching for a needle in a haystack—an impossible feat.
Once in the car, Ethan gazed out the window, lost in thought as his long, attractive fingers tapped rhythmically. "Liam, it's been six years. Have we still not found the person I'm looking for?"
Gripping the steering wheel nervously, the assistant replied, "Mr. Douglas, about what happened that day at the hotel... the surveillance was damaged; it didn't capture anything. And, sir, you didn't immediately instruct me to investigate after you left..."
Ethan's gaze darkened slightly. "Are you blaming me?"
"No, sir, that wasn't what I meant. It's just that after so many years, it's really hard to track down leads." Liam cursed inwardly, feeling like a good Samaritan caught in an impossible task.
If they ever did find that woman, with Ethan's temper, heaven help her.
Having worked with Ethan for seven years, Liam understood him better than anyone. Ethan was a man with a psychological need for cleanliness, and none of the women who tried to seduce him had ever come to a good end.
Yet somehow, six years ago, a woman managed the unthinkable—she spent the night with the notoriously unapproachable Mr. Douglas!
Because of that, several upper-level managers at Stellar Enterprises were implicated without cause, leading to a thorough restructuring. After all, those who could one-up Ethan were few and far between.
Initially, Ethan hadn't intended to search for the woman, believing it to be a mere ploy by his enemies, expecting her to surface soon enough with demands.
But one year turned to two, and still, there was silence.
That was when Ethan lost his patience.
In the third year since the woman vanished, Ethan directed Liam to start the investigation. But with so much time having passed, where were they to even begin?
Liam sometimes wondered if Ethan had simply drank too much that night and dreamed the whole ordeal.
"Felix still won't spill anything?" Ethan's voice grew colder by the second.
"He only admits to tampering with your drink that night, but refuses to acknowledge he brought a woman to your room," replied the assistant helplessly. Felix, a Stellar Enterprises executive, had dared to plot against Ethan.
Rubbing his temples, Ethan, weary, closed his eyes. "Keep looking."
Ethan himself didn't know why he was so determined to find that woman—was it for punishment, or something else entirely?
At some point, the events of that night began to haunt his dreams.
"Don't touch me... please, I'm begging you."
"I'll give you money, lots of money... just let me go."
He remembered only the woman's tears and her pleas for mercy.
Ethan conceded that on that night, it wasn't just the alcohol stirring his desire – he had indeed felt an undeniable lust for the woman.
The room had been dark; he didn't even catch a clear glimpse of her face. Yet, her scent was like a lethal allure.
"Stop the car!" Ethan's eyes snapped open, his voice deep and authoritative.
Jasmine...
Was it his imagination, or did Jasmine's voice and her faint perfume remind him of the woman from that night?