Chapter 36 Ethan's Fury

Chapter 36 Ethan's Fury
Ethan's Fury

"Run!" Isabella laughed breathlessly as the first heavy drops of rain began to fall, quickly becoming a downpour that sent all three of them scrambling toward the mansion's front entrance with their arms full of shopping bags.

Sophia clutched her packages to her chest as they hurried up the marble steps, Marcus close behind her trying to protect his carefully selected purchases from the sudden storm. The afternoon had been so perfect, so normal, that she'd almost forgotten her fears about returning home.

That illusion shattered the moment they pushed through the heavy front doors.

Ethan stood in the center of the grand foyer like an avenging angel, his tall frame imposing even in the silk kimono-style robe he wore. His dark hair was still damp from a shower, but there was nothing relaxed about his posture. Tony and Vin flanked him like stone-faced sentries, their expressions grim and alert.

But it was the fury on Ethan's face that made Sophia's blood turn to ice. She'd seen him angry before, had witnessed his cold calculation and controlled menace, but this was something different. This was rage so pure and hot it seemed to radiate from him in waves.

The moment they stepped inside, dripping rainwater onto the pristine marble floor with their shopping bags and breathless laughter, Ethan exploded.

"Where the hell have you been?" His voice echoed through the foyer like thunder, making Marcus flinch visibly at the sudden volume. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Do you have any concept of how many protocols you've violated by leaving this house without authorization?"

Sophia felt the familiar knot of fear settle in her stomach, but she kept her mouth shut. There was no explanation that would satisfy him, no excuse that would calm the storm she could see building in his dark eyes.

"We went shopping," Isabella said with forced lightness, though Sophia could hear the tension creeping into her voice. "It's not a federal crime, Ethan. We bought some clothes, had lunch, spent time together like normal people do."

"Normal people don't have targets on their backs," Ethan snarled, taking a step toward them that made Sophia instinctively move closer to Marcus. "Normal people don't have enemies who would kill them for the simple pleasure of sending a message to their families."

"We were fine," Isabella insisted, but her bravado was starting to crack under the weight of her brother's fury. "Nothing happened. We were in public the entire time, surrounded by people…"

"You were exposed," Ethan cut her off, his voice rising to a near shout. "You were vulnerable. You were unprotected. And you took my wife and her brother into that vulnerability with you."

My wife. The possessive way he said it made Sophia's skin crawl, even as part of her registered that he'd included Marcus in his protective concern.

"The reason we stayed late was because of the rain," Isabella said defensively, gesturing toward the windows where the storm was still raging. "We couldn't drive in that downpour. We had to wait for it to calm down."

"The rain started twenty minutes ago," Tony said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of someone who'd been tracking their movements. "You've been gone for four hours."

Four hours. Sophia realized with growing dread that Ethan had been monitoring their absence, probably had people looking for them, had been building this fury for the entire afternoon.

"Who gave you permission to take my wife out of this house?" Ethan's attention focused on Isabella with laser intensity, and Sophia could see something dangerous building in the space between the siblings.

"Permission?" Isabella's voice rose with indignation. "Since when do I need permission to spend time with my sister-in-law? Since when do you dictate who Sophia can and cannot see?"

"Since she became part of this family," Ethan replied coldly. "Since her safety became my responsibility. Since her actions started reflecting on the Rossi name and reputation."

"Oh, please," Isabella scoffed, though Sophia could see her hands trembling slightly as she clutched her shopping bags. "You're being dramatic. We went to a mall, not a war zone."

"In our world, there's no difference," Ethan said, his voice dropping to that deadly whisper that usually preceded violence. "But clearly you're too sheltered, too naive, too fucking stupid to understand that."

The insult hit Isabella like a physical blow. Her face flushed with anger, and when she spoke again, her voice carried none of its usual playful warmth.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child, Ethan. I'm twenty-four years old, I understand this business better than most people twice my age, and I won't be spoken to like some helpless little girl who doesn't know better."

"Then don't act like one," Ethan snapped back. "Don't make decisions that put people under my protection at risk. Don't undermine my authority in my own house. And don't you dare speak to me like we're equals when you clearly don't understand the first thing about real responsibility."

"Real responsibility?" Isabella's laugh was sharp and bitter. "You mean the kind of responsibility that involves treating your wife like a prisoner? The kind that makes you so paranoid you can't let her leave the house for an afternoon of shopping?"

"I mean the kind of responsibility that keeps her alive," Ethan roared, his control finally snapping completely. "The kind that recognizes we're at war with families who would kill her just to send me a message. The kind that understands every moment she's unprotected is a moment our enemies can use against us."

At war. The words hit Sophia like a revelation. This wasn't just about control or possessiveness… they were actually, actively at war with other families, and she was a target in that war.

"Well maybe if you'd explained that instead of just issuing orders like some kind of dictator…" Isabella began, but Ethan cut her off with a gesture so sharp it made everyone in the room freeze.

"I am the head of this family," he said, his voice carrying absolute authority. "I don't explain my decisions to you, Isabella. I don't justify my protective measures to anyone. And I sure as hell don't tolerate being questioned by my little sister who thinks she knows better than I do about keeping our people safe."

"Your people?" Isabella's voice was shaking with fury now. "Is that what Sophia is to you? Just another person to control and manage like a business asset?"

The question hung in the air like a challenge, and Sophia found herself holding her breath as she waited for Ethan's response. But before he could answer, Isabella made her choice.

With a sound of disgust, she threw her shopping bags directly at Ethan's feet, designer clothes and expensive accessories spilling across the marble floor.

"Keep your guilt gifts," she said, her voice cold as winter. "I don't want anything bought with blood money from a man who's forgotten how to be human."

As Isabella turned on her heel and stormed toward the staircase, the sound of her heels clicking angrily against the marble echoed through the foyer like gunshots.

But it was Marcus's reaction to the confrontation that made Sophia's heart stop.

The shouting, the anger, the sudden explosion of conflict in what had been a safe space… it was too much for his nervous system to process. She watched in horror as her brother dropped his own shopping bags, his hands flying up to cover his ears as a low keening sound began to emerge from his throat.

"No, no, no," Marcus started to chant, his voice rising with distress. "Conflict protocols disrupted. Safe space compromised. System failure, system failure, system failure."

He began to rock back and forth, his whole body trembling with the kind of overload that Sophia recognized as the beginning of a major meltdown. And this time, it was happening in front of Ethan at his absolute worst… angry, violent, unpredictable.