Chapter 10 - THE BETRAYAL NO ONE EXPECTED
The room went completely silent.
Ethan stared at the photograph in his hand.
Lena.
Standing near the wrecked car.
The same night Ava almost died.
The same night everything changed.
“No…”
His voice was barely audible.
Ava looked at him.
“Ethan?”
He didn’t answer.
His eyes stayed locked on the picture.
Margaret watched him carefully.
“I told you.”
Ethan slowly looked up.
“What did she do?”
Margaret smiled.
A smile filled with satisfaction.
“She wasn’t helping you.”
“She was using you.”
Ava immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“She saved me.”
Margaret laughed.
“Did she?”
Ava’s face changed.
Because a small doubt appeared.
Not because she believed Margaret.
But because she remembered something.
Something strange.
The night after the accident.
The hospital room.
Lena standing outside.
Crying.
Saying she was sorry.
At the time, Ava thought it was because she felt guilty.
But now…
She wasn’t sure.
Ethan turned toward Margaret.
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
Margaret looked at the photograph.
“I expect you to ask questions.”
Ethan grabbed the picture.
“Where did you get this?”
Margaret didn’t answer.
“Where?”
“From the same place I got everything else.”
“What does that mean?”
Margaret walked toward the table.
“Your wife and your maid are both hiding things.”
Ava’s eyes filled with anger.
“You’re still trying to manipulate him.”
Margaret looked at her.
“Am I?”
She pointed at Lena’s picture.
“Ask her why she was there.”
Ethan immediately grabbed his phone.
He called Lena.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
His expression changed.
“She’s not picking up.”
Margaret smiled.
“She knows you found out.”
Ava looked worried.
“Ethan…”
“I need to talk to her.”
He grabbed his jacket.
But before he could leave…
A message appeared on his phone.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
STOP LOOKING FOR THE TRUTH, OR YOU’LL LOSE SOMEONE ELSE.
Ethan stared.
Ava saw his face.
“What happened?”
He slowly turned the phone toward her.
Her blood ran cold.
Because underneath the message…
Was a photo.
A photo taken just minutes earlier.
Of Lena.
Tied to a chair.
And behind her…
Was a familiar location.
May you like
Margaret’s old warehouse.
TO BE CONTINUED…
