Chapter 5 Blood And Betrayal

The door flung open with a resounding bang.

Ethan stood in the doorway, wet in snow and bleeding from a gash over his right eye. His coat had rips in it. His breath came in jerky spurts, obscuring the cold air behind him like smoke from hell.

Layla froze, her arms instinctively shielding Nova, who groaned behind her.

Ryder raised his weapon in a second. "Do not move."

Ethan did not flinch. "Ryder, shoot me." Go ahead. Let us complete it.

"I will if you only take one more step."

Ethan's attention moved to the trembling girl on the bed. Then to Layla. "Darling, you had to make it unpleasant, right?"

Layla growled, "You did it yourself."

He stepped inside the room. Ryder tightened his grip on the trigger.

"Do not test me."

"You have always had a weaker stomach," Ethan mocked. "That is why you clean up after me instead of pursuing your true desires."

Ryder took a step forward. "Final Warning."

Ethan lifted his hands softly. "I did not come to murder her."

Layla scoffed. "You came with blood on your face and murder in your eyes. Do not profess to be a man of peace.

"I came to complete this," Ethan growled. "You have embarrassed me. You have damaged all I have achieved."

"You wrecked it," Layla said furiously. "You lied, assaulted me, poisoned my sister, and murdered your ex. "All I did was survive."

"Not long."

Ryder fired as his fingers moved toward his belt.

The bullet penetrated Ethan's shoulder.

He swayed, hissed like an animal, and then struck.

Ryder rushed him before he could reach Layla, and the two men crashed into a bookcase. Wood splintered. The gun clattered to the floor. Ethan hit hard, his power fueled by rage.

Layla grabbed Nova and raced to the door, shouting out for Damien.

Footsteps echoed down the stairs.

Damien appeared with a tranquillizer gun.

He did not hesitate.

Thwip.

The dart struck Ethan squarely in the back.

He howled, twisted, and made another lunge, but his limbs were already limp. Within seconds, he was asleep on the ground.

Ryder stood over him, panting, blood gushing from a wound on his cheek. "Is he breathing?"

Damien knelt to check his pulse. "Barely."

Layla pressed Nova to her, her heart racing so fast she could barely think.

"Why?" She whispered. "Why did you come here? Why now?"

Ryder's glare was hard. "Because he understood it was over. "When confronted, animals always bite before death."

They bound Ethan with shackles and administered sedatives before placing him in the storm shelter beneath the house, which is airtight, reinforced, and completely soundproof.

Layla felt a spark of control return to her hands.

However, the victory was short-lived.

By morning, the electricity had gone.

The satellite phones had no signal.

And Ryder spotted new vehicle tracks in the snow leading away from the cabin.

"Katherine," he muttered.

Layla followed him on the porch and looked out at the distant trees. "She eluded custody?"

Ryder nodded grimly. "Seems like it."

"Then we are not safe."

"No," he said. "Not until they are both gone for good."

They were under lockdown for the next three days.

Nova immediately improved, regaining her colour and increasing her appetite. However, the atmosphere in the safehouse remained tense and fragile.

Layla could not sleep.

Even with Ethan drugged and imprisoned under the house, his shadow remained.

His voice would give her nightmares.

You are nothing without me.

You are mine.

You will never be free.

She woke up screaming the second night. Ryder was there in an instant.

"You are secure," he whispered, taking her into his arms. "He can not hurt you anymore.

"But he did," she said. "Over and over." "And I permitted him."

"No," Ryder said fiercely. "He made you. He cornered you, "And you survived."

Layla broke down and wept into his chest. Ryder gripped her tightly, causing her to shatter while holding her without regard.

He did not kiss her.

He did not ask for anything.

He just stayed.

That was more meaningful than any promise could have been.

The fourth day brought turmoil.

Katherine arrived right before dawn.

She had stolen a snowmobile and made her way through the wilderness on foot. Her face was pale, her lips chapped, and despair oozed from every pore.

She did not come armed.

She offered an idea.

"Allow me to see him," she pleaded. "Just once."

Layla gazed at her through the barred gate. "Why should I give you anything?"

"He will murder you, Layla." "You believe you are winning, but Ethan never loses."

"He is bound in the basement, Katherine."

Katherine shook her head. "He planned for it. He stated, "If it comes to this, there will be a last move."

Layla's heart froze. "What moves?"

"I do not know. He stated that the end would come when the final match burned.

Ryder came beside her, gun pulled. "What does this mean?"

"I do not know!" Katherine let out a yell. "But if you let me speak with him, maybe I can stop it!"

Layla gazed at her former closest friend. The girl is responsible for poisoning her sibling. Lied to her face. She slept with her husband.

Katherine's eyes were filled with horror now.

Real horror.

"You have ten minutes," Layla said sharply. "And I am watching the whole time."

They carried her down to the shelter.

Ethan was awake but injured and restrained. Chains encircled his wrists and ankles. He grinned when he saw Katherine.

"Ah. "My favourite traitor."

"I came to save your life, you bastard!" she said.

He laughed in a low, guttural tone. "Kitty, it is too late for that."

"Explain what you mean," she urged. "The last match. What did you do?"

He leaned forward. "Do you remember Zurich?"

Katherine's face had lost its colour. "You didn't."

He smiled wider.

Layla's voice burst across the intercom. "What the heck happened in Zurich?"

Ethan's grin spread. "It is already in action."

Ryder rushed inside the shelter, grasping Katherine's arm. "Do you know about it?"

She shuddered. "I did not think he would actually... It was a bluff. Ethan vowed that if the world turned against him, he would guarantee that the Monroe sisters died alongside him.

"What is this?" Layla demanded.

Katherine appeared to be about to feel sick.

"He fabricated evidence-fake files, offshore accounts, and edited footage-to make it look that you were involved in the donor fraud operation. "As if you arranged everything."

Layla stumbled back. "No..."

"He is going to spill everything. It will ruin you."

They rushed upstairs.

But the internet was back.

But it was already too late.

The news was everywhere.

"BREAKING: Layla Monroe Under Investigation for Medical Fraud."

"Exclusive: Video Shows Layla Threatening Ashford Medical Executives."

"From victim to villain?" New Evidence Supports Deeper Involvement.

Layla looked at the TV, scared.

"They twisted the narrative," Ryder lamented bitterly. "He poisoned public opinion."

"And now I am the villain," she muttered.

Nova gazed down the corridor, her eyes wide and scared.

"I do not understand," she said. "Why are they saying that?"

Layla's voice cracked. "Because he is striving to complete what he started."

Damien slammed his laptop closed. "We need a plan. Fast."

Ryder took Layla away with a whisper. "There is only one way to end this."

She looked up, exhausted. "What?"

"We make the narrative live. All of it. Zurich. Donor fraud. The abuse. The body. We flip every piece of soil Ethan possesses. "Bury him in his own grave."

Layla halted. "What if it backfires?"

Ryder looked into her eyes. "Then we will go down fighting. Together."

She took a nervous breath. Then nodded.

"Let us bury him."

They scheduled it for six hours.

One last webcast.

A last confession.

But before Layla went live,

The electricity went off.

Then the rear door burst.

Smoke flooded the corridors.

Gunshots reverberated.

Nova shouted from upstairs.

Layla turned -

He confronted Ethan, free of shackles, holding a knife in one hand and blood splattered on his neck.

"I told you," he muttered.

"Everybody dies."