Raina Reddington had to work in the afternoon, so she couldn’t stay long. As she walked out, she saw Ethan Lancaster had sat back down on the sofa.
"I have to go."
"I’ll go with you." Ethan Lancaster stood up.
Seth Sinclair placed a key card on the table. "I’ll arrange for soone to co over later."
Raina Reddington walked outside and turned back, waiting for Ethan Lancaster to catch up. A slight smile touched her lips as the man nonchalantly strolled to her side.
"Hurry up, I’m going to be late."
Ethan Lancaster quickened his pace. When they reached the elevators, Raina Reddington took advantage of the mont before Seth Sinclair arrived to say softly, "Thank you."
He propped one hand against the nearby wall. "What’s a ’thank you’ worth?"
"I know. You even lied to your best friend for . I’ll rember this kindness."
Ethan Lancaster looked away, not daring to et Raina Reddington’s gaze. The mont the elevator doors opened, he stepped inside.
She believed this was the absolute safest place for Minnie Hale to hide.
「The next day.」
After finishing her morning appointnts, Raina Reddington decided to call Minnie Hale to ask if she was settling in, but no one answered.
She sent a text, but still got no response. Raina Reddington figured the apartnt complex wasn’t far from the hospital; she should have enough ti to hurry over.
When Raina Reddington reached the correct floor, she rembered she didn’t have a key card. ’But Minnie must be inside,’ she thought. ’There’s no way she’d go out alone right now.’
She took two steps forward, only to see Seth Sinclair standing at the door.
Seth Sinclair clearly hadn’t expected her. He froze for a second, his expression unnatural. "Young Madam."
"Seth, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was just dropping so things off."
Suspicion clouded Raina Reddington’s face. "Then why are you just standing out here?"
"I was just leaving," Seth Sinclair said, turning to go.
"Wait," Raina Reddington called out. "Can you open the door for ? I need to get in."
Seth Sinclair looked troubled and averted his gaze. "There’s no one inside. She probably went out to buy sothing."
"Minnie’s not here?" Raina Reddington walked to the door and rang the doorbell. "Just open the door for ."
Seth Sinclair didn’t move. A sense of dread began to creep into Raina’s heart, and her voice sharpened. "Open the door!"
He glanced up at her, then made a phone call—likely to get instructions from Ethan Lancaster. Raina felt a growing certainty that sothing was wrong. She began to pound on the door. "Open up! Open up!"
Seth Sinclair hung up and opened the door. Raina Reddington rushed inside, her eyes imdiately landing on Ethan Lancaster, who was sitting on the sofa.
Her gaze then shifted to the bedroom, where two unfamiliar n stood guard at the door, one on each side.
Raina Reddington charged forward, but Ethan Lancaster lunged and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don’t go."
"Who’s in there?" Trapped in his arms, Raina couldn’t break free. Her mind went blank, except for one crystal-clear thought: Ethan Lancaster had lied to her. A complete and utter lie. "Is Caron Fairchild here?"
"Raina, this has to be resolved eventually..."
"Then let’s resolve it!" Raina couldn’t stop herself from screaming toward the bedroom. "Isn’t that what I’m doing? Aren’t I trying to figure sothing out?"
Hearing this, Ethan Lancaster said nothing, only holding her tighter.
It felt as though he was crushing her shoulders, but Raina couldn’t feel the pain. All she knew was that Minnie was locked in that room, being threatened and intimidated. Raina struggled with all her might, but so did Ethan. With his right hand being weak, he had to use every last ounce of his strength to hold on to her.
"Ethan Lancaster, let go!"
"I won’t. Raina, they’ll work it out themselves. Can’t we just stay out of it, please?"
That might have been the most ridiculous thing Raina had ever heard. "Does ’working it out themselves’ an paying hush money? Isn’t Caron Fairchild supposed to be afraid of nothing? And you’re the sa... you’re not afraid of anything either..."
Her words were a knife to Ethan Lancaster’s heart. He was afraid. He was afraid of her finding out, and even more afraid that she would grow more and more distant.
Suddenly, a piercing scream ca from inside the room. "No! Stay away!"
Raina froze, then imdiately began to thrash violently in his arms. Ethan nearly lost his grip. As he pressed down on her shoulders, a tearing pain shot through his own arm.
"Let go!" Raina looked up and glared at him, her eyes bloodshot, her expression terrifying. "Ethan Lancaster, let go."
She had stopped screaming. The look on her face was as if she were seeing a complete stranger.
Still, he wouldn’t let go. The screams from the bedroom grew fainter and fainter, until they vanished completely.
"Minnie!" Raina scread her friend’s na, but there was no response from the room. Not a sound.
’It’s all my fault. I’m the one who pushed Minnie back into the tiger’s den.’
"Ethan Lancaster, why would you do this?"
His chin rested firmly on the crown of her head. "If this gets any bigger, it really won’t be the best outco for her."
"How kind and noble of you, always thinking of others. Ethan Lancaster, should I be thanking you?"
"Raina, don’t talk to like that."
Raina gave a cold laugh from within his embrace. "Then how should I talk?"
They were locked in a stalemate. Raina glanced at the arm barring her way, lowered her head, and bit down. Hard.
Ethan Lancaster cried out in pain. Seth Sinclair stood in the doorway, not knowing whether to co in or back away.
"I’ll say it again. Let go. Don’t touch ."
A knock sounded at the front door. Seth Sinclair went to open it. Raina’s gaze followed, and she saw several people standing outside, including a couple she recognized.
Minnie Hale’s parents seed hesitant as they entered. Raina couldn’t believe they had gone so far as to bring them here.
Mr. and Mrs. Hale followed Seth Sinclair forward. Raina’s lips trembled as she murmured, "Mr. Hale... Mrs. Hale."
Neither of them said a word, their faces etched with exhaustion. When they reached the bedroom, one of the guards pushed the door open.
Raina watched as the door opened from a narrow crack to a gap wide enough for one person. Her gaze followed inside, where she saw Minnie Hale sitting motionless on the edge of the bed, looking as if her soul had left her body.
"Minnie!" Raina cried out, but her friend remained as still as a statue. Raina could see that her clothes were disheveled, her shoes and jacket tossed on the floor by her feet.
"Minnie!"
Mr. and Mrs. Hale entered the room, and the man outside pulled the door shut.
Raina threw Ethan off with all her strength and dashed toward the bedroom, but she only managed two steps before he reached out and locked her firmly in his arms again.
She stared up at the painfully familiar face before her. "How can any of you be this despicable?"
A complicated emotion flickered in Ethan Lancaster’s eyes. When you got used to doing certain things, the word "despicable" lost its sting. But hearing it from Raina’s lips, he realized just how deeply it could cut.
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