Chapter 4

Ethan opened his eyes.

Ava was leaning over him.

Her hand, tentative, on his uninjured shoulder.

"Ethan? Can you hear me?"

Her voice was strained.

He saw the sheriff talking to Liam in the background.

Liam, looking shaken. But also... calculating.

Ethan sat up. The phantom bullet wound ached.

"I' m... I' m alright."

Ava let out a shaky breath.

"You saved me."

Her eyes searched his. Confusion.

"Why? After everything I' ve... I' ve said. Done."

Before Ethan could answer, Liam was there.

His good arm around Ava' s shoulders.

"Ava, darling, are you okay? That was terrifying."

He shot Ethan a look. Pure venom.

Then his face crumpled into concern for Ava.

"Thank God you' re safe."

The sheriff approached.

"Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Vance. We' ll need your statements."

Back in New York. Days later. Two days left on Ethan' s clock.

The Aspen incident was a blur of police reports and hushed phone calls.

Ava had been... different. Quieter.

More observant of Ethan.

A tiny spark of hope ignited in him.

Then Liam struck again.

Ethan found Ava in the main living area. Her face was a thundercloud.

"You."

Her voice was ice.

"Liam told me everything."

Ethan frowned. "Everything about what?"

"Don' t play dumb, Ethan."

She paced. Agitated.

"He said you orchestrated the whole Thorne incident."

Ethan stared. Disbelief.

"What? That' s insane!"

"Is it?" Ava whirled on him.

"Liam said you wanted to look like a hero. To manipulate me."

Her eyes were filled with fresh betrayal.

Liam' s poison. Working its magic.

"Ava, that' s not true! Thorne is real. His grudge is real."

He tried to explain. To reason.

She wouldn' t listen.

"Liam wouldn' t lie to me!"

Her faith in Liam was absolute. Unshakeable.

"He is the only person I can trust!"

Her words cut deeper than any knife.

"He said you knew about Thorne. That you probably paid him!"

"Ava, no!"

She pointed a trembling finger at him.

"I know about your childhood trauma, Ethan."

His blood ran cold.

The boating accident. Years ago.

He' d nearly drowned. Liam had been there. Watched. Did nothing.

A memory he' d buried deep.

How did she know? Liam. It had to be Liam.

"The pool, Ethan. Our rooftop pool."

Her voice was dangerously soft.

"You' re going to tell me the truth."

Her security detail. Two large men. Appeared as if from nowhere.

They flanked her.

"Take him."

They grabbed Ethan.

He struggled. Pointless.

They dragged him towards the indoor pool area.

The air was humid. The smell of chlorine, sharp.

Ava stood by the deep end.

Her face, a mask of cold fury.

"Liam told me how terrified you are of water. Of drowning."

She gestured to the weights. Heavy. Iron.

"Tie them to his ankles."

The guards complied.

The cold metal clasped around his ankles.

A surge of pure terror.

"Ava, please! Don' t do this!"

She ignored him.

"Lower him in."

The guards lifted him. Swung him over the water.

Dropped him.

The cold shocked him.

He sank. Fast.

Water filled his nose. His mouth.

Panic. Blinding.

He thrashed. The weights held him down.

Lungs burning.

Just as darkness crept in, he was hauled up.

Gasping. Choking.

Ava stood over him.

"Confess, Ethan."

Her voice, devoid of emotion.

"Confess you staged the kidnapping."

"No... I... didn' t..." He coughed, water spewing from his mouth.

"Lower him."

Again. The cold. The pressure. The terror.

His spirit form could mimic injury. Could it mimic drowning?

He didn' t want to find out.

Pulled up again.

Air. Blessed air.

He was shaking. Heart hammering.

"Confess."

"Ava... please... I' m telling the truth..."

His voice was a raw whisper.

Heartbreak warred with terror.

Her cruelty. It was monumental.

"You refuse?"

Her eyes were like chips of ice.

"Lower him again."

This time, he thought he was gone.

The darkness was complete.

Then, air. Rough hands pulling him onto the tiles.

He lay there, trembling, gasping.

Ava looked down at him.

"Liam is everything to me, Ethan."

Her voice was flat.

"If you ever, ever do anything to hurt him or come between us again..."

She didn't finish the threat. She didn't need to.

"Consider this a warning."

She turned. Walked away.

The guards followed.

Leaving him. Soaked. Shivering. Broken.

Two days left.

Hope was a dying ember.