Chapter 7
The rusted padlock on the iron cage was heavy and formidable, but Ethan did not care. He gripped it with his tattooed hands, his broad shoulders bunching beneath his tailored suit as he searched the immediate area for something to break it. Finding a heavy iron crowbar resting near a wine barrel, he wedged it into the hasp of the lock.
"Will you step back, Claire?" Ethan asked, his voice a low, focused rumble.
Claire scrambled backward, her worn dress dragging on the concrete. With a violent, explosive exertion of force, Ethan snapped the padlock. The heavy metal clattered to the floor, and he ripped the iron door open, throwing the crowbar aside.
He moved into the cage, immediately wrapping his powerful arms around her frail, shivering body. Claire collapsed against his chest, burying her face in the lapel of his dark three-piece suit. She clung to him with a desperate, clawing grip, sobbing uncontrollably as the nightmare finally shattered. Ethan held her fiercely, burying his face in her matted hair, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"How many days has she kept you down here?" Ethan asked softly, his lips brushing against her temple.
"I lost count after the second month," Claire whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. "She brought me food once a day. Just enough to keep me alive. She wanted me to suffer, Ethan. She wanted me to hear the music from the parties above."
"Did she act alone, Claire?" Ethan inquired, his perceptive eyes narrowing as his mind began to calculate the logistics of such a massive betrayal. "Did she have help from outside our family?"
Claire pulled back slightly, looking up into his incredibly handsome, furious face. "She bragged about it. When she came down to taunt me, she said she had allies. She said the Moretti family helped her arrange the guards and keep the secrets. She promised them your southern shipping routes in exchange."
Ethan’s jaw clenched so tightly the muscles jumped beneath his skin. Vanessa had not just betrayed his heart and his home; she had actively sold out his empire to a rival syndicate.
"Will you let me carry you out of this dark place?" Ethan asked, carefully assessing her frail condition.
"I can walk," Claire said, though her legs trembled violently as she tried to stand.
"Do you think I would let your feet touch this floor for another second?" Ethan asked.
Without waiting for an answer, Ethan scooped her up into his powerful arms with effortless ease. Claire rested her head against his broad shoulder, entirely surrendering to his protection. Ethan turned and walked out of the iron cage, the beam of the flashlight cutting a path through the dark cellar toward the stone staircase.
At the top of the stairs, Lucy was still holding the gun on the two bleeding guards. When she saw Ethan emerge from the shadows carrying his wife, the beautiful maid let out a choked sob of profound relief.
"Is the hallway clear, Lucy?" Ethan asked, stepping past the heavy iron door into the dim light of the corridor.
May you like
"Yes, Mr. Blackwell," Lucy sniffled, lowering the gun slightly. "No one else has come."
"Shall we go introduce my fiancé to my wife?" Ethan asked, his voice returning to a terrifying, deadly calm.
