Ethan had known. He’d had his hand on my back through the entire ordeal and I’d felt him dig his fingers into me at the exactmoment my father had told my mother he’d just wanted to be with her.
Right before she’d taken the blame for everything on herself.
Yeah, Ethan had known.
Because he’d lived that life.
I remembered his declaration in the cabin that Eric would kill him. He’d had no doubt about it, had accepted it even. But unlike my mother, he’d fought back anyway. He hadn’t waited until it was too late to take a stand.
But it didn’t change the facts.
I knew now that Ethan had been right that night when he’d told me Eric would end his life. I hadn’t understood that at the time.
But I got it now.
My phone vibrating on the nightstand caught my attention. I reached for it and scanned the text that had popped up.
Phone’s fixed.
My insides tightened, but before I could respond to Vincent, another text appeared along with an attachment.
Lucy’s video.
I carefully eased Ethan onto his back. He eventually released me and rolled onto his side away from me, but he still had ahold of my hand. I let him hold onto it for a minute until he relaxed his grip enough to let me slide it free. I went to the bathroom and shut the door and left the light off as I woke my phone up and opened the video. I turned the sound down low enough so I could still hear, but that it wouldn’t carry.
I hit play and waited. The video started and while the image was jerky at first, the sound was clear enough.
“You think I don’t know about your dirty little secret, Eric?” a woman’s shrill voice yelled.
The image stilled and I could see a woman wearing an expensive-looking dressing robe standing just in front of a railing in what looked like an ornate hallway.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Patricia!” Eric snapped.
The guy was huge. My height and built like a brick wall.Definitely someone who spent a lot of time at the gym. I focused in on his meaty fists.
Ethan wouldn’t have stood a chance against him.
“I hired a PI!” she screamed. “He saw you with some guy from your gym, Eric. In your car! You going to tell me he just fell asleep with his head in your lap?” the woman sneered.
“Watch yourself, Patricia,” Eric warned, his face going dark as he eyed the woman.
“Get your shit and get out! And if you know what’s good for you, don’t contest the divorce or I’ll make sure everyone knows the truth about their hero!” The last word was said with pure venom. I didn’t miss the fact that the woman’s words were slurred or that she looked unsteady on her feet.
“Listen to me you little cunt,” Eric snarled as he grabbed her by the throat and yanked her to him. “I’m done putting up with your shit. You think you’re so much better than me?” he asked. “You think you can hide behind your daddy’s money? You think that gives you the right to treat me like I’m nothing?”
“You are nothing!” she returned as her fingers wrapped around the wrist holding on to her. “No one gives a shit about you anymore, Eric! They’ve forgotten all about you! But they’ll have a field day when they find out you’re a fucking queer who’s been lying to them all this time!”
“Fuck you, Patricia,” Eric said, his voice deadly. And with one hard shove, the woman flew backwards over the railing. The video jerked as her scream was abruptly cut off after a second or two. I heard what sounded like a muffled cry and assumed it was Lucy. The video cut off at that point.
I sent the video to Ronan and then sent him a message telling him to have Daisy find the PI Patricia had mentioned. If we were lucky, the man knew about Ethan. If we were really lucky, he’d have witnessed Ethan’s bruises. It wasn’t a guarantee that it would clear Ethan’s name, but it would go a long way to proving he hadn’t been stalking Eric or that he’d abducted Lucy because he was obsessed with the man.
I sat there in the dark for a while as I considered the turn ofevents. Having the video was good news, but I knew it wasn’t enough.
I dialed Vincent’s number.
“Yeah,” was all he said.
“I need a favor,” I said quietly. I didn’t wait for Vincent to answer. I just sent Ethan a silent apology and then told Vincent what I needed.
