10
Ethan froze. Struck by lightning. He couldn’t even process it.
A long moment later, he finally found his voice, disbelief thick in it. “What did you say?”
Secretary Mike, clearly uncomfortable, repeated it.
The air went dead silent.
His knuckles went white, gripping the phone. That day in the hospital room flashed through his mind.
He remembered her, crying, begging him not to take the ventilator.”Mom will die!”
But how could Luna’s mom be dead?
Dr. Peter had clearly said her mom was out of danger. He’d even brought in new machines, a whole team of top specialists on standby, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.
This had to be her doing. A manipulative stunt just to get back at him for siding with Chloe that day.
Ethan’s rage burned. She’d really grown ballsy, hadn’t she? To stoop this low for a petty rivalry, even using her own mother’s life and death as a sick joke.
“Secretary Mike, how many years have you been with me?”
“F-five… five years…”
Ethan let out a cold chuckle, his voice sharp as ice, “You’re one of my veterans, Secretary Mike. How could you not see through Luna’s pathetic little scheme? Or are you telling me she bought you off? Are you in on this with her? Are you trying to trick me?”
Secretary Mike practically tripped over his words, eager to prove his loyalty.”Mr. Carter, I swear I’m not lying to you. Mrs. Carter’s mom is really dead. Cremated, even…”
But Ethan wasn’t even listening. He just hung up.
Secretary Mike just stood there, clutching the death certificate, utterly lost. Should he snap a pic and send it to Ethan?
He hesitated. And hesitated again. Still couldn’t hit send. Best not to poke the bear right now.
Ethan dragged himself to the office, hoping work would numb the sting. But he couldn’t focus. Not a single word on the files made sense.
He idly scrolled through his phone. Then, a trending topic jumped out:[Mrs. Carter Officially Vanished].
Too many people showed up at the banquet tonight. He tried to keep a lid on it, but the news still got out.
Ethan scrolled down, his face already grim. With every line, his expression twisted further, settling into a cold, livid
mask.
Those people are full of shit, he snarled internally. She’s just throwing a tantrum, that’s all. She didn’t leave! Not really!
She loves me that much. She couldn’t bear to leave me.
Ethan was practically exploding with frustration. He slammed the files on his desk, grabbed his car keys, and tore out of the office, speeding home.
He had to find every single piece of proof of their love. He was going to ram it down the throats of everyone online.
But the moment he walked into my room, he saw it. All the proof of our love, every single shared memory – gone.
1001
Wiped clean.
All our photos? Gone. Love letters? Gone. Even the scrapbook he’d drawn for me, the one that documented ever single moment of our whole damn relationship? Gone too!
A sickening, empty panic washed over him. Ethan’s jaw clenched, tight He fought to shove down the ring dread ‘Where the hell is everyone?!” he roared, his voice tearing through the villa. Are you all dead?”
The servants scrambled over, forming a hesitant line.
‘Her room? The stuff?”
They exchanged uneasy glances, heads bowed low, wishing they could just vanish into the floorboards
Finally, the housekeeper stepped forward, meeting Ethan’s lethal glare. “Burned…. they’re all… burned, he stammered the words barely a whisper.
“WHAT?!” He snatched the housekeeper by the collar, his eyes turning deadly, dark as pitch. You know exactly what happens if you lie to me.”
“Mr. Carter, the voice stammered, laced with terror. “It’s… it’s true. Two weeks ago, your wife… she threw everything into the fireplace. You… you saw it when you walked in, didn’t you?”
The memory slammed into Ethan. He had seen her that day he visited, burning something in the fireplace. She’d just shrugged it off, calling it “junk I didn’t want anymore.”
She didn’t want those memories of their love. Did that mean she didn’t want him either?
The realization finally hit him, and Ethan completely freaked out.
He’d pissed her off a million times before, but she’d never gone this far. A little sweet-talk, and she’d always forgive
him.
But now, I’d wiped out every trace of our love.
Ethan replayed my recent actions in his head. Then it hit him: something was seriously wrong.
I used to be all over him, sharing every silly little thing. But then Chloe showed up, and just like that, our talks dried
- I hadn’t reached out in ages. My eyes? They’d lost their spark. Looking at him, it was like staring at a total stranger
Ethan reeled back, slamming into the wall just to stay upright. His whole body shook uncontrollably
Pure panic ripped through him. Suddenly, he was terrified. Terrified that I’d actually left him for good
He tried to steady himself, but his hands shook violently as he called his secretary. He couldn’t hold back the roar that ripped from his throat:
“Luna’s mom? Where the hell is she?! Get her here in thirty minutes, NOW
He willed himself to calm down. Just grab her mom, and she’d come crawling back
But the very next second, his phone buzzed. A death certificate.
The name and the black-and-white photo hit Ethan like a bomb. His vision blacked out, then blacked out again.
