Chapter 339

Ethan Blackwood felt himself plunging into endless darkness.

Death's cold fingers brushed against his skin.

He struggled to climb out, but the void offered no handholds.

"Hold me!" His delirious whisper echoed in the emptiness.

Then warmth.

Small fingers intertwined with his, pulling him toward the light.

The voice came next - soft yet insistent. "Ethan, I'm here. You need to wake up now..."

His eyelids fluttered open.

Vivian Lockhart's worried face filled his vision.

"You're awake!" Her relieved exhale warmed his cheek.

Three days.

That's how long he'd been unconscious from his hemophobia episode.

Doctors had warned his organs were failing.

Only Vivian's stubborn voice had dragged him back from the brink.

His first words were ice. "Where's Cassandra? The baby?"

The flinch in Vivian's fingers betrayed her before she spoke.

"Cassandra remains in ICU under observation."

"The child?" His grip tightened on her wrist.

Vivian's gaze dropped.

"Tell me!" He shook her, desperation cracking his composure.

"You're hurting me!"

"Hurting you?" Ethan's laugh held no humor. "If that baby dies, pain will be the least of your worries."

The words left her lips like shrapnel. "Then prepare your revenge. The baby didn't survive."

Silence.

Ethan's face drained of color.

Vivian saw the exact moment hope shattered behind his eyes.

Part of her wanted to take it back. To comfort him.

Instead, she bared her throat. "Go ahead. Kill me. Isn't that what murderers deserve?"

A test. A terrible, twisted test.

Ethan's fingers closed around her neck.

The cold fury in his eyes was something new. Something deadly.

"Don't tempt me."

His whisper held the weight of a death sentence.