Chapter 152 Should We Tell Her?
The dinner suddenly lost its appeal the moment Daisy's phone call dropped.
Sarah glanced at her, eyes darting to the barely touched steak. "Ms. Reed, is everything alright? You've hardly eaten."
"I'm fine," Olivia lied, forcing a smile. "Just not hungry anymore."
Knowing Mr. Bennett would be returning soon, Sarah quickly cleared the table and retreated to the staff quarters.
Olivia sat in the living room waiting for Ethan, anxiously turning her head at the sound of the door opening.
Ethan walked in carrying a black coat over his arm. He wore a black cashmere turtleneck and black casual slacks that accentuated his tall frame, giving him an air of calm sophistication with hints of cold elegance.
"Have you eaten?" she asked, immediately regretting how domestic the question sounded.
Of course he had. It was almost ten o'clock.
"Yes," Ethan replied, hanging his coat on the rack by the door with precise movements before striding toward her.
Olivia smiled nervously. "I got a call from Daisy while I was eating dinner. Something weird happened—she started asking if I'd seen something online, but then the call suddenly disconnected. When I tried calling back, it said she was out of service range. Isn't that strange?"
Ethan's face remained impassive. "Perhaps her signal was poor."
"In Pacifica? It's not exactly the wilderness. And even with bad reception, you might not get internet, but calls should still work, right?" she pressed, watching his expression carefully.
"Try calling her again tomorrow," he said, his tone maddeningly reasonable. "You'll find out what happened."
"Before the call dropped, she asked if I'd seen the internet..." Olivia paused, gauging his reaction. "I wonder what she was trying to tell me. Did something big happen online?"
Ethan leaned down, one hand braced against the sofa arm, bringing his face inches from hers. His eyes, dark and unreadable, studied her intently.
"When did you start being so indirect, Olivia? If you want to ask something, just ask."
She met his gaze directly. "Has something happened that I should know about?"
His lips curved slightly. "Major things happen every day. Border conflicts in Ukraine, Syria's ongoing civil war—all significant global events."
Olivia swatted his arm in frustration. "I'm being serious."
He caught her hand mid-air, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss. "So am I."
She pulled her hand away. "Ethan, are you hiding something from me?"
"Yes," he answered immediately.
Olivia's heart sank.
"I haven't actually eaten dinner," he added, his expression deadpan.
"You're impossible!" She jumped up and headed for the stairs, irritation pulsing through her.
She heard his footsteps following as she climbed. "An actress committed suicide by jumping off a building," he said, his voice steady behind her. "A minor actress who worked with your friend on a project."
Olivia froze on the stairs, gripping the banister as she turned. "Daisy?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Do you have other actress friends I don't know about?"
"Which project? Which actress?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
He held out his phone. "See for yourself."
She reached for it, then handed it back. "It's locked."
Instead of taking it, he recited six digits. "Zero-six-zero-seven-zero-seven."
It took her a moment to process what he meant. Her birthday—June 7, 2006. The realization that Ethan Bennett used her birth date as his password sent an unexpected warmth through her.
Olivia unlocked the phone, only to see a weak 2G signal. "I can't get online with this," she said, offering it back.
Ethan tapped the screen, opening a conversation with Justin. The last message had been sent just minutes ago—several graphic screenshots that Ethan hadn't bothered to respond to.
She glimpsed the first image—a young woman lying in a pool of blood, the photo uncensored and jarring—and quickly handed the phone back, her stomach churning.
"Was it an accident or...?" Olivia couldn't finish the question.
"Deliberate," Ethan said coldly. When he noticed her shudder, he slipped an arm around her waist. "Your friend probably called because she saw the news and got scared."
Her imagination raced ahead. "Is Daisy okay? She called me, started to say something, then the call just cut off. What if—"
"Don't worry," Ethan interrupted, his voice softening. "If you're concerned, I can have someone check on her right now. They'll find her, I promise."
"Please do," she said without hesitation.
Back in the master bedroom, Olivia headed straight for the bathroom, desperate for a hot shower to wash away the disturbing image. She'd barely stepped inside when Ethan followed, closing the door behind him.
"Go use another bathroom," she protested, pushing at his chest.
In response, Ethan locked the door, then swept her up in one fluid motion. Within seconds, he'd carried her to the double shower and placed her in the oversized tub.
Olivia tried to stand, bracing against the edge, but Ethan pressed one hand against her chest, firmly pushing her back down. His other hand turned on the faucet as he leaned in to capture her lips, effectively silencing any further objections.
---
For ten days, Olivia studied Dutch without internet access. Ten whole days of conjugating verbs and practicing pronunciation while completely cut off from the outside world. Ethan only restored their connection when classes resumed.
"What happened to you over break?" Grace asked as they walked across campus. "Did you go off-grid or something? You never texted us back."
Emma coughed lightly and turned to look at the dormant oak trees by the lake.
What Olivia didn't know was that on the second day of break, both Emma and Grace had received strict instructions from Justin: whatever they saw online, they were not to tell her about it.
They'd messaged each other privately afterward.
Grace: [Should we tell Olivia anyway?]
Emma: [Are you insane? Didn't you hear what Justin said? We can't tell her ANYTHING we see.]
Grace: [But what if she doesn't know?]
Emma: [Not our problem. It's her choice to be with him. Don't get involved.]
"I was actually offline," Olivia sighed in response to Grace's question. "Completely disconnected."
Emma's eyes widened. "Wait, really? Did you go back to some rural area or something?"
"No," Olivia scoffed. "Ethan cut off the internet. Said it was so I could 'focus on my Dutch studies' without distractions."
"You're learning Ducth? Why?" Emma asked, her brow furrowed.
Olivia offered a casual shrug, hiding the truth. "Just wanted to pick up another language while I had some free time."
They continued chatting as they entered the lecture hall, settling into their usual seats for the first class of the new semester.
Olivia's life had fallen into a simple pattern: classes at UCLA, then back to Reeding Waters—the home she shared with Ethan. Blake hadn't contacted her since Christmas, nor had she seen him since.
What Olivia didn't know was that after Christmas, Blake had been forcibly sent back to the island by Ethan, continuing his isolated training there.
Blake didn't resist. He decided to endure the humiliation, adhering to one principle—master your enemy's techniques to defeat him.
When he became strong enough to challenge Ethan, he would return. Power, rights, women—he would take it all!