When Lovers Find Their Way Back

Chapter 001

Olivia's POV

"Did you overlook me, Olivia?"

The same voice used to set my heart's flame stopped cold. It slithered over the large boardroom like a ghost from the past, softly rich and dangerously low, tightly enough to take my breath. As I turned, my professional armor threatened to break into a million fragments. My pulse flew.

Every inch the guy I had attempted to ignore for the previous four years, Ethan Sinclair stood at the front of the room. His cobalt-blue eyes jabbed through me with the fury of a thunderbolt, his crisp navy suit suited him like a second skin. The only thing holding me to reality was my fingers closing around the strap of my leather portfolio.

"Miss you?," Though my knees were not stable, my voice was ice. "I'm sorry, Mr. Sinclair; I don't hang around the past."

His mouth quitched, almost subtly, as though he were stifling a smile. It was so audacious that my blood boiled. "Is that so?" he said, his voice cool yet with a keen edge fit to cut through steel. "I suppose then entering my office today was merely a coincidence?"

I straightened my back, not wanting to give him the gratification of knowing how much he bothered me. Your office is not this one. Since your employer employed me, I am here at this employment site. That sums up all this is.

Ethan approached deliberately predatory, his movement near. The room appeared to shrink around us, the tension-charged air thick enough to suffocate. "Is it?" he said, his eyes fixed on me with a power that drove my well built defenses tumbling. "because it feels like fate to me."

I laughed bitterly, the sound loaded with every bit of hate I had been harboring. "Fate does not wipe off people, Ethan. You truly do.

The room's warmth plummeted, and for a second I watched something flutter in his eyes-perhaps regret? But it was gone, replaced by that impenetrable mask of his just as fast.

"You've always had a flair for dramatics, Olivia," he replied, his voice chilly. "I did not wipe you out." You become stronger thanks to me.

"And what exactly did you think leaving me would accomplish?" My voice broke, reflecting the tempest of feelings inside of me. I berated myself for allowing him to glimpse even a fraction of my sensitivity.

Ethan moved farther closer and stiffened his jaw, a muscle twitching. His fragrance, a terrible mix of cedarwood and spice, assaulted my senses and drove me back to evenings when his aroma was all I could hang onto.

"I never abandoned you," he continued, his voice kind but forceful, tinged with an edge suggesting deeper truths I wasn't sure I wanted to find. "You turned away."

And what option did I have? My words emerged like a whisper, a brittle fracture in the armor I had labored so hard to create. You let Ethan down, Ethan. You smashed me.

The air between us stopped momentarily, and I thought I saw his mask slide. Though he stopped himself, folding his fingers into a tight grip at his side, his hand jerked as though he wanted to reach out to me.

Quietly, he continued, "You don't know the whole story, Olivia," his voice bearing weight I didn't know how to interpret. "You just know what you observed."

"Don't," I snapped and stepped back. "Don't stand there and tell me I have no idea what I witnessed. Ethan, you choose what to do. Right now, live with it.

He opened his lips to answer, but before he could, the door sprung open like a hammer cracking glass. Wide-eyed and fluffed, a youthful assistant hurried in carrying a tablet.

"Mr. Sinclair, I apologize for interrupting; however, the system merging presents a critical problem. The press is already speculating on sabotage; the whole network is down.

Ethan turned to meet her, his face darkened and his jaw tightened. "Who is taking care of it?"

"IT is working on it; the merger talks run into danger. They are waiting for your comment.

Ethan ran a hand through his immaculate hair, grumbled under his breath, then turned back to me. With a low, firm voice, "This isn't over, Olivia," he said. Not quite by a long stretch.

He left me alone with my racing thoughts and the ghost of a guy I wasn't sure I would ever really know without waiting for a reply.

I tried to settle my quivering palms by exhaling forcefully. Seeing Ethan once more was like revisiting an old wound-one I had persuaded myself had closed. But standing there, in the aftermath of his presence, I sensed every sharp edge of the suffering I had suppressed.

His vitality still permeated the room, a seductive mix of bravado, risk, and something that seemed dangerously like desire. I hated that my heart deceived me by throbbing at the very sound of his voice, and hated that he still had this impact on me.

I looked at the portfolio in my hand, the one with the designs and ideas I had labored to create. This was meant to be my opportunity to show to the world and myself that I did not need Ethan Sinclair or anyone else to determine my value. I was meant to rebuild.

But destiny seems to have other ideas.

The harsh ring of my phone broke through my ideas. I drew it out, looking at the caller ID.

Vicente.

I responded with a sigh. Vic, right now is not a good moment.

"You'll make time," she responded sharply, her voice edged with desperation. "Have you seen the news?," said

"News?" I scowled, went to the window, and drew the curtain aside to allow the glaring lights of the city to flood in. "What are you speaking of?"

"There is a rumor going around Sinclair Tech. Something concerning an attack or takeover. Olivia, this may sour the union.

"Why are you showing me this?" Already afraid of the response, I inquired.

"Because you're in the middle of it, whether you like it or not," Victoria remarked, her voice stern. "And your project suffers as Sinclair declines."

Her comments sank in and my stomach turned upside down. "The project is not of interest to me. Let it break apart for all I am concerned about.

"Don't lie to me," she shot back. Whether or not you want to acknowledge it, you care for him too.

You don't know the full story, Olivia, Ethan's words rang in my head. You know just what you observed.

The conceit of it enraged me, but under the fury was a persistent curiosity. In what possible sense could he mean that? When I had seen everything with my own eyes-the treachery, the falsehoods, the devastation of what we had created together-what narrative was there to tell?

Shaking my head, I urged the memories to remain buried. I afford to let him reenter my heart. Not immediately. Never once.

My thoughts were disturbed by the faint chime of a new email. I opened it mechanically, staring at the screen.

Subject: URGENT FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.

The little message had terrifying words.

You are not knowing the complete narrative. See me tonight at nine thirty PM. Sinclair Tower's rooftop design.

As I went back over the note, my blood became ice. There was no sender, no signature-just a menacing invitation that made my spine quiver.

Was this Ethan? From his firm, someone asked Alternatively someone having more malevolent motivations?

Trapped between deleting the message and flinging caution to the wind, I gazed at the screen. When my phone buzzed once again, my finger stayed over the delete button. This time the work was a text.

Never trust anybody. Especially him.

I glanced at the mysterious phrase while my heart hammered against my ribs. Though the number was unknown, the writing clearly indicated. Someone watched me; they knew more than they were revealing.

And my reality felt less consistent suddenly.

Extension of Cliffhangers: Suspensive Confrontation

I watched the text on my phone, the words blurring as terror and uncertainty tore at the margins of my consciousness. What did they want from me, and who was forwarding these messages? Though my gut urged me to ignore them, the curiosity seething just below the surface refused to be quiet.

Once more my phone buzzed, the sound as piercing and intrusive as a gunshot. Shaking hands, I swiped to see the most recent message.

Olivia, Clock's ticking is under control. Tower. Nine o'clock. Alternatively everything you are attempting to preserve will burn.

My pulse thumping in my ears, I gasped and straggled. My breath slowed as questions shot across my head. Safety? Sort what? Someone? Amy? In terms of my work? Was this more of a bluff? a caution? Or something far more sinister?

Startled by a knock at the door, I almost dropped my phone. Turning toward the entrance of the suddenly vacant boardroom, my heart sprang into my throat. "Who's here?" I called, my voice faltering even with my best attempts to sound calm.

Ethan entered as the door cracked open, his face stormy and inscrutable. We should chat.

Ethan, this is not the time. My voice tightened. My hold on my phone tightened, naturally obscuring the screen from his view. "I have work to complete."

He squinted, his keen sight zeroing right on the stress emanating from me. "Something's incorrect." It was a pronouncement, not a question; it chilled me down from the top. He came closer, looking for responses on my face. "What is it?."

I lied, edging backward toward the window, "nothing." My brain ran for a way out, but Ethan's magnetic proximity and stifling all at once was unbearable.

With a low, menacing tone, he advised Olivia not to lie to me. "I see it in your eyes. There is something happening; if it affects you, I am not keeping out of it.

I bit my lip, my terror about to burst forth. "You're the last person I would trust to support me."

That really got to me. His eyes darkened with something between hurt and wrath as his jaw closed. His voice sharp, he replied, "Whether you like it or not, I'm already involved." "I have to know who is threatening you."

The air between us was charged, and for a minute I paused, stuck between the urgent threat of the present and the residual draw of the past. My phone buzzed once more before I could answer though.

A fresh message flashed on the screen, and this time it was not obscure.

He is not telling you truthfully. If you disagree with me, check the penthouse.

My blood flowed coldly. Ethan's eyes dropped to the phone in my grasp, and his posture changed to reflect doubt. With a harsh voice like a knife, he said, "Who's that?"

He grabbed for the phone before I could reply, or determine if I even wanted to. I yanked it back automatically, and when the tension reached a breaking point we both stopped.

"Olivia," he murmured, his voice low and lethal. Tell me what you are doing. just now.

Tucked between the truth and the lies, the dread and the rage, I peered into his angry eyes. But the structure trembled beneath the weight of a far-off, menacing boom before I could talk, with the lights in the boardroom flickering. Alarms shrieked in the hall, slicing through the thick quiet like a siren of catastrophe.

Ethan's face grew rigid, his defensive impulses firing right away. "Stay near me," he advised, his hand extending for mine. I did not, however, take it. My ideas were already whirling madly elsewhere.

Roof top. penthouse. The alert. The peril.

I had quick decisions to make.

Chapter 002

Ethan's POV

"Why will you not simply trust me, Olivia?"

Between us, my words lingered, loaded with frustration and something perilously near to desperation. She stood at the window, the New York skyline silently, a dazzling witness to our collision behind her. Her arms were crossed, her body rigid, her visage an inscrutable mask-but her eyes, those eyes burned with the fire that had always undone me.

Her tone more cutting than any knife, she fired back, "I stopped trusting you the moment you gave me a reason not to." And avoid behaving as though you had no idea why.

I moved forward, against the impulse telling me to back off. "I know I messed, Olivia, but you don't have the whole story."

Her laughter was harsh and frigid. "That's practical. Your perspective is absolutely as persuasive as your justifications.

Her disobedience was familiar, seductive even if it was infuriating. She was stronger, more guarded, and unlike the lady I had lost years before; it made me want to burst through her boundaries all the more. But I had to know what was actually going on much more than I wanted to contact her.

" What's on your phone?" I insisted, my voice falling as I moved forward another step. "The signals. emails. What are you not telling me? You seem to be waiting for someone to leap out and grab you from behind your shoulder?

Her knuckles white as she gripped her phone as if it were a lifeline; her lips formed a narrow line. I have no obligation to tell you anything.

"You are if it is about Amelia."

She gasped silently but clearly, and I knew I had touched a sensitive chord. Her shields weakened for a single second, but she recovered rapidly, her stare hardening into steel. Out of this, leave her out.

I moved nearer yet, until the air between us was charged with conflict. "I cannot leave her out of it, Olivia. She is my daughter-"

She stopped me off with a sharp "don't you dare." "Don't stand there and claim some noble right to her when you neither know her."

Her comments were like a blow, but I wouldn't back down. "You know that; it's not my fault."

Her shoulders shaking, she moved away from me and drew in a faltering breath. She said, "You don't know what you're talking about," her voice faltering just enough to slink away at my rage.

Her sensitivity, short as it was, made me feel naked. I wanted to reach for her to reduce the space between us and show her that I was not the enemy. But if I knew nothing about the depth of the cuts separating us, how could she come to believe me?

Every word, every gaze, every second that passed was another struggle in our ceaseless conflict. Still, under the wrath and under the suffering, there was another, unquestionable, silent truth. The link we always had, the one that kept me from walking away from her even now. It made it difficult.

Still, this time something was different. A darker thing. And whatever it was, Olivia was covering it.

Her voice tense, she continued, "You think I'm lying to you," abruptly. "That I'm hiding things just to hurt you."

With narrow eyes, I said, "I think you're scared." "And I think you trust me insufficiently to explain why."

She shot back, whirling to meet me, "Why should I?" Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears, and her voice shook with hardly controlled wrath. "You cannot ask Ethan for trust. Many years ago, you lost that right.

And I'm striving to win it back, my voice getting higher. But if you keep excluding me, I cannot do that.

She shot back, "Maybe I'm shutting you out because that's the only way to protect myself." "Did you ever give that any thought?"

Her comments lingered in the air like a smack, and for a minute we neither spoke. The stillness was charged, thick, the sort that made breathing difficult. Desperate to know the fury raging inside her, I sought her face but she looked away, once again excluding me.

Quietly, I murmured, "I'm not the same man I was, Olivia," then tentatively stepped in front. "You know that," said

Whispers of "Do I?" her back still to me. "Because all I notice is the same man who broke my heart."

Her voice hurt so much that I had to clench my hands to prevent reaching for her. "I didn't break your heart, Olivia," I murmured, my voice both hard and soft. "I was trying to shield you."

Her eyes burning, she turned to face me then. " shields me? Drawing from what?

Opening my lips to respond, the words stopped in my throat. How could I convey the reality without deconstructing everything? How could I help her to see that, albeit misdirected as they had been, my decisions were from a place of love?

Her phone buzzed once again, disturbing the moment before I could locate the words. She looked at the screen, and whatever she saw there sapped the color from her face.

Olivia, please? My voice hoarse with apprehension, I questioned. What is it?

She shook her head, her hand tightening on the phone. " It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," I muttered, my tolerance breaking. "Let me see-."

She cried out, "No!" and retreated. Her response was so quick and strong that it stopped me dead. You can't. You misunderstand.

Her distress rang off bells in my thoughts, but before I could press her more the room flashed and a strong rumbling roused the structure. First weak, like distant thunder, it got louder and more forceful.

My eyes flying to the window, I said, "What the hell was that?" Though the skyline was absolutely motionless, the air seemed everything but usual.

Olivia's phone buzzed once again; this time she tried not to hide it. Her face white, her lips shaking as she read the message, she fixed her gaze at the screen.

She said softly, "They're here." Her voice is almost audible.

"Who else is here?" I insisted, moving in closer. Olivia, what is happening?

She omitted responding. Her heels clicked fiercely on the floor as she turned instead and ran for the door. My pulse beating, I followed without thinking twice trying to understand what was happening.

"Talk to me!" I said, running up to her down the corridor. "Who else is arriving? What are you running away from?

She stopped suddenly and whirled around to meet me. Her breathing was quick, shallow gasps and her eyes were wild. With a trembling voice, she replied, "You have to trust me, Ethan." "You let me handle this if you want to guard Amelia."

Her comments came like a freight train, and for a time I just stared at her. My voice low and menacing, I said, "What does Amelia have to do with this?"

"Everything," she said in a whisper.

The sound of approaching footsteps reverberated down the corridor before I could demand a justification. Olivia's eyes went wide, then she grabbed my arm and dragged me into the closest office. She signaled for quiet by pressing a finger to her lips as the footsteps got louder, nearer.

My senses on full alert, I strained to hear. Though the sounds accompanying the footfall were low, muted, I managed to catch bits of their speech.

"...verified place..." This time there are no errors.

"...secure the target... kill the rest..."

My blood chilled. Whichever they were, they were not here for a nice talk.

Olivia moved in and tightened her hold on my arm, her lips brushing against my ear as she said, "If they find us, we're both dead."

Her words weigh like a tidal wave, and at that instant everything changed. This transcended our past or our unresolved emotions. This was considerably darker and far more expansive.

And it was barely getting started.

The feet stopped just outside the office door. My breath stopped, and Olivia's hold on my arm tightened to hurt. Her emerald eyes were wide with horror; her face was white. Nobody on the opposite side was here by mistake.

I bent in close, my voice a just audible whisper. " Who are they? What are their wants?

Her mouth opened but no words emerged. Her gaze revealed the anxiety that told me all I needed to know; this went beyond her or me. This was concerning Amelia. Daughter of mine.

My gut twisted when I spotted the glitter of something metallic as a shadow passed under the door's fracture. with a gun. Whatever their identity, they were armed and not leaving without a struggle.

"I need you to trust me," I whispered, my voice low and steady even though every nerve in my body cried for action. Tell me what you are doing. presently.

Her voice was wobbly, but her words flowed fast and almost angrily. They're after someone, something. Though I'm not sure of all the specifics, I know they would not hesitate to murder anyone in their path.

You are the target as well? Already arranging bits of the puzzle, I inquired.

She hesitated, then nodded with uncertain eyes. "They believe I possess something they need. But Ethan, it is more than that. should they discover Amelia...

She trailed off yet she had no need to finish. My hands tightened, a protecting flood coursed through me. That is not going to happen.

Olivia flinched, pushing herself into the wall when the door's handle shook. My brain flew, computing my chances of escaping this unharmed. There were no windows in the office nor other exits. Should they show up, we would be surrounded.

"We have to move," I remarked, speaking deliberately. "Tonight."

"How?" she said, terror tumbling through her voice. "They're right outdoors."

Looking about the room, I looked for anything we may have used as a weapon or diversion. My gaze fixed on a fire extinguisher kept on the wall. Though little, it would have to do.

I murmured, taking the extinguisher and orienting myself near the entrance, "Stay behind me." Every second stretched into eternity as my heart hammered in waiting.

Starting once more, the footsteps passed the door this time. They paused abruptly, though, as a deep, frightening voice said. Check every room. Not one loose end.

My hold on the extinguisher became more firm. Olivia's eyes locked with mine, a flicker of terror mixed with will deep inside them. There was no time to consider or to plan. The door handle swirled and I leaped as it creaked open.

The man collapsed to the ground and the extinguisher hit with a terrible thud. Another man emerged behind him brandishing his rifle, but I was already running forward driven by adrenaline.

"Run!": Shoving Olivia toward the hall, I yelled to her. She stopped for a split second, then ran, her footsteps resounding as I turned to meet the next attack.

One shot burst the suspense like glass. Though white-hot and scorching, pain erupted in my shoulder and I continued. I stopped not sure how to quit. Not throughout Olivia and Amelia's life, when it hung on a knife.

"Ethan! " Olivia screamed through the turmoil, and I turned just in time to see another man approaching her. As I barreled toward him, slamming him to the ground, my eyes fogged with agony and fury.

"Go!" I yelled, in a harsh voice. "Get away from here!"

But the room appeared to stop and the sound of approaching sirens filled the air before she could move. The men looked at one another, their faces changing from hostility to terror.

One of them barked, "Fall back," and turned away from the door.

Olivia collapsed to her knees next to me as the strain at last released, her hands quivering as she pushed on my shoulder to stop the bleeding. Tears flooded her eyes, yet her voice was firm.

Her tone somber, she replied, "We're not safe." " Not yet."

Chapter 003

Olivia's POV

"You are not allowed to play Ethan's saviour. Not when you were the cause my life initially collapsed.

Driven by the still-present adrenaline, the words flew out of me before I could stop them. As we turned into the poorly lighted alley behind the Sinclair Tower, my hands were trembling, my heart beating, and my breath was laboring. Every walk seemed like a countdown to our discovery, the disarray of the workplace ambush still audible in my ears.

Ethan turned to me, his jaw rigid and his piercing blue eyes flashing with equal parts rage and something softer-something I didn't want to describe. His low, harsh voice stated, "I'm not your savior." But I will be damned if I let anyone harm Amelia or you.

Her name set off a trigger, and I moved forward, jabbing a finger into his chest. "You have no right to pronounce her name like that. Ethan, you know nothing about her. About my last four years of existence, you know nothing.

And whose fault is that? he said, his voice rising. "You went, Olivia." You hurried without giving me time to clarify-"

Ask what you mean? I cut him off, angry voice shaking. "What did you share with your secretary from bed? That the life we were coining mattered so little to you?

His face darkened, and for a second he seemed as though he may blow up. Then he inhaled deeply, looking aside and gently slumping his shoulders. "It wasn't what you think," he murmured softly, the fury in his voice replaced by something raw and vulnerable. But you never let me tell you that.

My tongue opened to answer, but the words froze in my throat. I stammered for a single second as his look and the genuineness in his speech weighed me. Then I thought of the suffering, the treachery, the evenings I had grieved myself to sleep with Amelia in my arms, and the fire in my breast came back on.

"You never get to rewrite history, Ethan," I stated coldly. You devastated us. And no half-truth or apologies will make that different.

Ethan retreated, his fists closing at his sides as he battled emotional control. Our conflict was a live, breathing entity that permeated the little lane with its weight. From his gaze, I could see the struggle between his pride and his eagerness to help me to comprehend.

I , however, afford to show concern. not now. Not when we were both under hunt.

I turned away, trembling hands and pulling my phone from my pocket. The messages from the past still lingered on the screen, mocking me with their cryptic warnings. The weight of the risk we were under sank down on me like a vise, and for the first time in years I felt really helpless.

Ethan murmured, his voice shattering my thoughts, "We need to move." " Whoever comes after you won't stop. And should they also know about Amelia-"

"They don't," I said firmly, whirling to face him. "They can't."

"You don't know that," he said, his voice once more rising. "You have been hiding secrets, Olivia, and now those secrets endanger all of us."

"I'm hiding secrets??" I turned back, my voice quivering with rage. "That's rich, coming from you."

His jaw closed, but he said nothing. The quiet that followed was deafening, the unsaid accusations hovering between us like a storm just ready to strike.

His voice slicing through the stillness like a razor, "Who are they, Olivia?" he said. "Why are they hunting for you? And just what the devil does this have to do with me?

My voice cracking, I answered, "I don't know." "I have no idea their name or desire. I know they have been observing me for weeks; suddenly, they are becoming more aggressive.

And you didn't think to inform me? he said, his eyes narrowing. "You didn't believe I deserved to know my daughter was in danger?"

"She's not your daughter," I said, with hatred in my voice. "You are not entitled to claim her just because it would be handy for you."

"That's not what this is about, and you know it," he continued, his voice perilously low. "This relates to safeguarding her." About safeguarding you. And I'm not walking away whether or not you enjoy it.

I laughed cruelly, the sound empty and years of suffering filling it. Ethan, you already turned away. The minute you decided on your desire instead of us, you turned away.

He trembled; the words pierced more than I had meant. But the sound of approaching footfall sent a shudder down my spine before he could answer. The alley.

Ethan grabbed my arm and dragged me behind him while he looked across the alley for the noise source. Every muscle in my body tightened as the darkness surrounding us appeared to shut in. My heart was hammered.

"Stay near," he said, his voice almost audible.

My breath stopped as a person emerged from the darkness and the footsteps got louder, nearer. I assumed it was one of the office guys for a second, but my blood went cold as the man entered the low light.

It was a female. tall, strong, and shockingly familiar.

"Hello, Olivia," she murmured, her voice both threatening and silky. It has been a long time.

Ethan stood rigid beside me, his gaze narrowing as he moved forward. " Who the hell are you?"

The woman ignored him, her eyes fixated on me like a predator weighing up its prey. "You did not think you could hide forever, did you?"

"What do you wish for?" I questioned, my voice trembling even with my best attempts to seem robust.

She grinned, the sort of smile that chilled my spine. "Oh, Olivia,," she whispered gently. "It's not about my preferences here. It relates to what you possess.

Ethan moved between us, his body poised for conflict. "You're not receiving anything from her."

The woman inclined her head, her smile broadening. Mr. Sinclair, I am not here to negotiate. Here I am to transmit a message.

Her reaching into her coat stopped my heart as she drew out a tiny black gadget. She touched a button, and the sound of the calm alley cracked on a tape.

That was Amelia's voice, shaking and afraid. "Mommy, where are you?"

My blood became ice, and the earth appeared to slink toward its axis. Ethan's face reddened with wrath, his fists closing at his sides.

He hissed, his voice low and lethal, "you touch her," then said, "I'll destroy you."

The woman chuckled; the sound seemed icy and cruel. "That's up to her," she nodded toward me. "You know, Olivia, what we are looking for. You have twenty-four hours to deliver; your daughter bears the cost.

She turned and vanished into the darkness with that, leaving us startled quiet as the weight of her warning dropped all about.

Ethan never hesitated. He was already on his phone yelling commands to someone I couldn't hear on the other end as the woman vanished into the darkness. His voice was harsh, forceful, every sentence tinged with an intensity fit for the tempest blazing inside my chest. I , however, concentrate on him. Amelia's voice was all I could hear; her terror sliced across me like a razor.

"Mommy, where are you?"

The words kept coming back to me, trying to drag me down. My legs collapsed, and I slid down from my back against the chilly brick wall until I was seated on the floor. My breaths were short, terrified gasps, and I battled to stop the tears from pouring over.

"Olivia!"- Ethan's voice, harsh and forceful, broke through the cloud of fear. Grasping my shoulders, he bent in front of me. "Look at me.."

I pushed myself to look at him; his eyes seemed to be an anchor dragging me back from the edge. He said confidently, "We're going to get her back." Still, I want you to concentrate. Tell me what you know about these folks.

I faltered, my voice almost above a whisper: "I-I don't know." For weeks, they had been trailing after me giving mysterious messages. Thought: I reasoned that they would stop if I neglected them. I had not considered they would-"

"You didn't think they would take Amelia?" he said to me, his voice growing in fury. "You felt you could manage this on your own?"

"I had no option!!" I snapped, my own resentment blazing to life. "What was Ethan meant to do? Ask you? The man who turned on me? The guy ignorant of even her existence?

His jaw clenched, and for a brief instant I feared he may shout back. Then he inhaled sharply, his eyes softening just enough to catch me off-target. "We don't have time for this," he replied, his voice now softer but no less strong. "Olivia, they granted us 24 hours. Before it's too late, we have to find out their wants and how to stop them.

I nodded, swallowing hard to help me to control my shaking hands. "They said I have something they need," I responded quietly. But I have no idea what it is.

Ethan scowled, his mind racing obviously. "Had they not been confident you had it, they would not have followed after you. See, Olivia. Is there anything, anything at all, they could be after?

A shrill beep on Ethan's phone before I could reply. Glancing at the television, his face darkened. "They just emailed me a video.".

My heart came to a standstill. "What?," asked

He opened the file without waiting for my clearance; his expression stiffened as the movie started to run. As the TV came up, I peered over his shoulder and felt knots in my gut.

Amelia was shown on the video seated in a dark area fiercely hugging her knees. Her face was pale, and she glanced up at someone off-camera with wide-open terror. She whimmed, her voice just audible, "Please." "I wish for my mother."

I grabbed my lips to stop a cry, tears obscuring my sight. Ethan gazed at the television, his fingers tightened into a fist and his knuckles white.

The camera swung to show a guy wearing a mask looming over her. His voice came out artificial and distorted. "24 hours, Olivia," Bring what we need; else, you will never see her again.

The video shut off leaves us in stifling silence. My voice shaking with desperation, I went to Ethan. "What would we do?"

His jaw set, his eyes burning with will, he stared at me. "We combat."