Chapter 4

The next morning, I dressed carefully. I was supposed to meet Olivia.

Chloe found me by the door.

"Where are you going, Ethan?" she asked, her voice sharper than usual.

"Just for a walk," I replied, keeping my tone casual.

She didn't believe me. I saw the suspicion in her eyes. She sensed my defiance, the shift in my demeanor since the courtroom.

"Don't do anything foolish, Ethan. Remember the plea deal. Remember Derek."

Her warning hung in the air.

I needed to leave, to meet Olivia.

"Chloe, I just need some air."

"You're not going anywhere alone," she said, her voice hardening.

Before I could react, two burly men in dark suits stepped out from the hallway. Private security.

They seized me.

"Chloe, what is this?" I demanded, struggling against their grip.

"A precaution, darling," she said, a smug smile playing on her lips. "For your own good. And Derek's."

They dragged me, not to the street, but down to the building's basement.

It was damp, unfinished, smelling of concrete and mildew.

They shoved me into a small, windowless room, locking the heavy steel door behind me.

Imprisoned again. But this time, I was awake. This time, I was ready.

A few minutes later, Chloe appeared.

She held out an expensive designer watch, its gold case gleaming in the dim light.

"A little something for you, Ethan," she cooed. "A token of my lingering affection. To remember the good times."

I stared at the watch, then at her. "Affection?"

"Of course, darling. Despite everything."

Her hypocrisy was breathtaking.

Just as I was about to refuse, Derek sauntered in, a smirk on his face.

He looked healthier than I'd ever seen him. The "fragile" and "sickly" act was clearly for public consumption.

He snatched the new watch from Chloe's hand before I could even touch it.

"Nice," Derek said, admiring it. "This will look much better on me."

He then contemptuously unstrapped his own old, cheap digital watch and threw it at my feet.

"Here, Ethan. You can have this. It's more your style now."

Chloe watched, a flicker of something – annoyance? – crossing her face, but she said nothing to Derek.

She turned back to me, her expression cold, businesslike.

"Ethan," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion, "I'm ending our engagement."

I feigned shock, though I had expected this.

"It's your... condition," she continued, her gaze clinical. "Your infertility. I want children, Ethan. A real family. Derek can give me that."

Medically induced infertility, orchestrated by her in my past life. A truth I now held close.

"I plan to marry Derek," she announced, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "As soon as this unpleasantness with your trial is over."

The pieces of her plan were falling into place, just as they had before.

But this time, the board was different. And I was a different player.