PART 2: THE STRANGER
PART 2: THE STRANGER
Inside the car, Ethan Cross looked up from the shadows of the back seat.
He wasn't the type of man who welcomed chaos.
He was the kind of man people waited for.
Feared.
Obeyed.
His tailored suit was perfectly dry.
His expression unreadable.
His phone still glowing from a business call that had ended moments earlier.
But the young woman standing outside didn't look like a scam artist.
She looked like someone who had used her last miracle.
Ethan's eyes moved from the bruise on her face to her bleeding feet.
Then to the flashlights approaching through the trees behind her.
His voice was calm.
"Open the door."
The driver obeyed immediately.
Aria climbed into the back seat.
The moment the door shut behind her, the outside world disappeared beneath the steady rhythm of rain against tinted glass.
For the first time all night, she felt safe.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"I don't even know your name."
Ethan studied her silently.
Most people became nervous under his gaze.
Aria only looked exhausted.
"What happened?" he asked.
She laughed bitterly.
"My stepmother tried to sell me."
The driver glanced into the rearview mirror.
Ethan's expression didn't change.
"Explain."
And so she did.
The fake smiles.
The business dinner.
The locked bedroom.
The elderly investor waiting upstairs.
The slap.
The escape through the bathroom window.
By the time she finished, tears mixed with the rainwater still clinging to her face.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Ethan handed her a folded handkerchief.
"Your stepmother's company," he said calmly.
"Montgomery Holdings?"
Aria stared at him.
"How do you know that?"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Because they've spent the last six months trying to secure a contract with my corporation."
Her breath caught.
Even she knew that name.
Ethan Cross.
Billionaire.
Investor.
One of the most powerful businessmen on the East Coast.
The very man Victoria Montgomery had been desperately trying to impress.
At that moment, Ethan's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a familiar name.
VICTORIA MONTGOMERY.
Aria's eyes widened.
Ethan answered.
Victoria's frantic voice immediately filled the car.
"Mr. Cross, one of our family members has gone missing. If she contacts you—"
Ethan glanced at Aria.
Then calmly interrupted.
"Interesting."
The line fell silent.
"What do you mean?" Victoria asked nervously.
Ethan never took his eyes off Aria.
"Because the family member you're looking for..."
He paused.
May you like
"...is sitting right beside me."
TO BE CONTINUED...
