When My Ex Begged Forgiveness, I Was Buying His Company Chapter 05
A deafening crash shattered the silence, reverberating through my fading consciousness. Cold rain and gusting wind flooded into the sealed greenhouse.
I forced my eyes open a fraction, spotting Jamie charging inside flanked by several men all clad in
waterproof tactical gear.
“Ms. Chandler! Get the stretcher in here, stat!” Jamie’s voice cracked with panic.
Through the haze of pain, I recognized their faces- not Ethan’s security detail, but men who’d served my family long before the bankruptcy.
Jamie had once whispered, years ago, that my father’s tuition sponsorship was the only reason he’d survived law school. Now, that debt was being repaid in blood and rain.
Two certified EMTs rushed forward, lifting me onto a
medical stretcher and swiftly establishing IV lines to
push tranexamic acid and fluids.
“Where’s Ava Logan?” I gritted my teeth, forcing out
the question through waves of agony.
“We’ve detained her in the storage basement
downstairs, secured.” Jamie directed the evacuation
team while wrapping a thick thermal blanket tight around my shivering frame.
“The cruise ship’s docked at the terminal with a full medical team standing by. Hold on for us, Ms.
Chandler.”
They wheeled the stretcher quickly out of the greenhouse. I twisted my head to glance back at the spot where I’d collapsed–the cream carpet was saturated dark red, soaked through with my blood.
Resting on a small side table beside the oleander bushes sat the pre–signed divorce petition, weighted down by the release form I’d signed yesterday.
The crew carried the stretcher to a modified
emergency ambulance parked hidden in the mansion’s rear hillside driveway.
The instant the vehicle doors slammed shut, my consciousness vanished entirely.
When I woke next, all I could hear was the steady crash of ocean waves against the ship’s hull. The sharp tang of medical–grade antiseptic mixed with concentrated oxygen flooded my nasal passages.
“You’re awake. The emergency surgery was a success -you pulled through.” Jamie stood beside the medical berth in the ship’s infirmary, dressed in disposable sterile scrubs, adjusting the IV drip rate on my line.
I stared through the circular porthole window beside the bed, out into pitch–black open ocean.
“Where are we?” My voice came out rough and hoarse.
“International waters. We’re en route to Europe.” Jamie handed me a small glass of lukewarm water. “All
entry and exit records linked to your identity have
been fully erased. From this moment forward, Mrs. Howard no longer exists to the world.”
I gripped the glass and took a tiny sip. Warm liquid slid down my raw throat, the faint sensation grounding me back to the reality of being alive.
I didn’t ask what Ethan would do once he discovered I’d vanished without a trace. I didn’t ask what fate awaited Ava after her crimes were exposed.
I simply stared silently at the soft ripples swirling on the water’s surface inside my cup.
A decade of deceptive infatuation, five months of fragile hope for my baby–all of it had dissolved into the dark water, along with the child I’d lost.