Chapter Eighteen: The Devil They Created
972 Words
The abandoned warehouse was silent.
Too silent.
Moonlight streamed through the broken windows, casting long shadows across the concrete floor.
Ava struggled against the ropes binding her wrists.
The knots wouldn’t budge.
Victoria stood a few feet away, calmly filing her nails as if k********g someone was an ordinary Tuesday evening.
“You know…” Victoria said without looking up, “I underestimated you.”
Ava glared at her.
“I get that a lot.”
Victoria smiled.
“Ethan was never supposed to fall for anyone.”
“So this is jealousy?”
Victoria laughed.
“You think this is about love?”
She stepped closer.
“This is about power.”
“My father spent twenty years trying to destroy the Blake family.”
“And Ethan ruined every single plan.”
“So…”
She tucked the nail file back into her purse.
“…we decided to destroy him instead.”
Across the city…
A black SUV sped through Manhattan.
Noah gripped the dashboard.
“You said you’d go alone.”
“I lied.”
Ethan’s eyes never left the road.
“We traced the call.”
“East River warehouses.”
“We’ve already notified the police.”
“They’re twenty minutes behind us.”
“They’ll have to catch up.”
Noah looked at him.
“This isn’t like you.”
“No.”
“It isn’t.”
Back inside the warehouse…
Heavy footsteps echoed outside.
Victoria smiled.
“Right on time.”
The large metal doors slid open.
Nathan Sinclair walked inside.
Immaculately dressed despite the abandoned building.
He looked at Ava as though she were nothing more than another business transaction.
“So…”
“This is the famous fiancée.”
Ava lifted her chin.
“You must be Nathan.”
“I expected someone… quieter.”
“I’m disappointed too.”
“I expected someone smarter.”
Nathan chuckled.
“I understand why Ethan likes you.”
A black sedan rolled to a stop outside.
Ethan stepped out first.
Noah grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
Ethan looked at him.
“If this is a trap—”
“It is.”
“I know.”
“You could die.”
Ethan’s expression never changed.
“If that’s the price…”
“I’m paying it.”
He walked toward the warehouse alone.
Inside…
The doors creaked open.
Ethan entered with slow, deliberate steps.
His gaze immediately found Ava.
Relief flickered across his face for only a second.
She was alive.
Bruised.
Frightened.
But alive.
Victoria noticed.
“Oh…”
“There’s the look.”
Nathan folded his hands behind his back.
“I wasn’t sure.”
“But now I am.”
“You really do love her.”
Ethan’s voice was cold enough to freeze the room.
“Let her go.”
Nathan smiled.
“I don’t negotiate from weakness.”
“You kidn*pped an unarmed woman.”
“I’d say you’re the weak one.”
Victoria walked behind Ava and pressed a knife lightly against the rope around her wrists.
One quick movement…
And the blade rested against Ava’s throat instead.
“One more step…”
Victoria warned.
“…and she dies.”
Ethan stopped instantly.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
Ava shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Don’t.
But he ignored her.
His attention never left the knife.
“What do you want?”
Nathan answered.
“Resign.”
“Transfer your voting shares.”
“Disappear.”
“And she’ll live.”
Silence.
Nathan smiled confidently.
“You’ll choose your empire.”
Instead…
Ethan did something no one expected.
“I’ll sign.”
Ava’s eyes widened.
“Ethan, no!”
He ignored her.
“I’ll sign everything.”
Nathan frowned.
“So easily?”
“I built another company once.”
“I can build another.”
His voice softened.
“I can’t replace her.”
Victoria stared.
Nathan’s confident smile disappeared.
For the first time…
They realized they had miscalculated.
This wasn’t a fake engagement anymore.
This was love.
Real.
Dangerous.
Unbreakable.
A loud crash echoed through the warehouse.
The rear doors exploded inward.
“Federal agents!”
“Drop your weapons!”
Chaos erupted.
Victoria screamed.
Nathan reached for a hidden pistol.
Before he could raise it—
A shot rang out.
The weapon flew from his hand.
Police officers flooded the building from every entrance.
“Noah…” Ethan muttered.
Noah stepped in behind them, breathing hard.
“Told you I wasn’t letting you do this alone.”
Within seconds, officers tackled Nathan to the ground.
Victoria tried to run.
She didn’t make it three steps before she was handcuffed.
Ethan was already beside Ava.
His hands trembled as he untied the ropes around her wrists.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“I’m okay.”
He gently cupped her face.
“I thought…”
His voice broke.
“I thought I lost you.”
Ava threw her arms around him.
He held her tightly, as if letting go would mean losing her all over again.
Around them, officers secured the warehouse.
No one spoke.
No one interrupted.
Even Noah quietly looked away, giving them the moment they had earned.
Ava looked up at Ethan, tears shining in her eyes.
“You came.”
He rested his forehead against hers.
“I’ll always come for you.”
She smiled through her tears.
“I love you.”
The words came easily now.
Freely.
Without fear.
Ethan closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then smiled.
The same rare, genuine smile that only she could bring out of him.
“I love you too.”
Outside, the first rays of dawn stretched across the New York skyline.
For the first time since they had signed a fake engagement contract…
Nothing about them was fake anymore.
- Writer
