Chapter 2

When the police arrived, Marcus blamed the entire accident on me.

I didn't have the energy to fight him. I admitted to everything, wanting nothing more than to get bandaged up and go home.

As I was being loaded into the ambulance, Marcus blocked the door, looking suspicious. "Ethan, did you take the wrong meds today? Usually, you'd use any excuse to ruin my reputation. Now you’re half-dead, and you just take the blame without a fight?"

Marcus and I had been at each other's throats for three years. We had used every dirty trick in the book to sabotage each other.

But right now, I was too exhausted to care. I snarled, "Fuck off," and slammed the ambulance doors shut.

By the time the hospital finished stitching me up, it was 3:00 AM. I refused to be admitted and called Hailey to pick me up.

"Ethan! Oh my god, what happened to you?"

"Chloe is missing. Just let the cops handle it! Why are you running around in the middle of the night for her?"

Hailey’s eyes welled with tears. Her fragile, helpless look made my heart ache. I pulled her close and whispered softly, "Shh, it's okay. You know I only love you. Honestly, I hope she never comes back."

"But everyone knows I built my career on her back. If I don't put on a show of looking for her, people will call me heartless. It'll ruin my reputation and the company. How else am I going to give you the life you deserve?"

Hailey parked the car by the curb and wept in my arms, deeply moved.

Feeling her young, soft body against mine, my frayed nerves finally began to calm down.

Hailey was a college student I had sponsored through my charity foundation. She was young and beautiful, but more importantly, she was obedient and highly capable—miles ahead of Chloe.

As long as I could be with her, any amount of stress was worth it.

In time, people would forget about Chloe...

"Mr. Vance, Miss Miller embezzled another $200,000 from the purchasing department! When Chloe was managing things, she never took a single dime from the company."

Hearing my secretary, Leo, mention Chloe again made my head throb. "I don't care. Why are you making a big deal out of it? I'll talk to Hailey in private."

Leo looked troubled. "When business was good, we could overlook these things. But ever since Chloe vanished, the company’s financials have been—"

"Enough!"

I cut him off, annoyed. "I said I’ll handle it!"

Leo lowered his head. "There's one more thing. Chloe’s parents are sick with worry because they can't find her. Her father was hospitalized, and they came to the office asking if you could help with the medical bills..."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Tell them the company is struggling and we don't have the cash."

"What?"

Leo looked at me in disbelief. "Mr. Vance, Chloe gave everything to this company. Her parents are sick, and you’re just going to ignore them?"

My patience snapped. "What kind of bullshit are you talking? Chloe was just a manager, she didn't own shares. Now that she's gone, why the hell should I take care of her parents? If every senior employee went missing, would I have to support their entire families?"

"But Mr. Vance, Chloe only transferred her shares to you because you two were engaged—"

I grabbed my coffee mug and hurled it at him. "Get the fuck out! Just do what I told you to do!"

If Leo hadn't been incredibly loyal to me—even refusing a massive bribe from Marcus to defect—I would have fired this blind idiot on the spot.

Once he left, I immediately called Hailey to my office under the guise of work to soothe my growing anxiety.

Another week passed, and Chloe didn't appear again.

I thought my mental state was improving, that life was returning to normal. But then, the unthinkable happened.

The dead woman didn't just reappear. She came back to my house.

Wearing an apron, cooking dinner for me.