Chapter 49

The needle glinted coldly under the light.

Ethan Roscente pressed the syringe against Daniel Clementson's face, his voice icy. "Move again, and I can't guarantee where this needle will go."

Daniel froze.

His pupils contracted sharply, his breathing turning ragged. The sight of that syringe instantly dragged him back to that nightmare of an evening.

In the dim warehouse, he'd been trussed up like a hog for slaughter.

Ethan had traced the tip of a scalpel over his face, his gaze frigid, his tone terrifyingly calm. "Sophia is mine."

The sound of fabric tearing had been unnervingly clear.

"Ah—!"

A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the empty space. Daniel curled on the ground, blood seeping between his fingers.

Ethan wiped his hands methodically before grinding his shoe into Daniel's fingers. "Remember this lesson."

......

The sound of running water in the bathroom continued for a long time.

Ethan stared at his reflection, violence churning in his eyes. He scrubbed his hands furiously, his knuckles turning white.

Just a little more.

A fraction more, and he would've lost control—plunging that syringe into Daniel's veins.

His phone suddenly rang.

"Sophia Lowell" flashed on the screen. Ethan's brow arched slightly—she'd finally unblocked him.

In the hospital room, Sophia looked paler than the sheets.

"Just a dead man," Ethan said from the bedside, his tone indifferent, as if discussing the weather. "Scared you that much?"

Sophia's fingers clenched the blanket.

She'd just witnessed Daniel being flung across the road. What chilled her more was the nurse mentioning Ethan had visited the psychiatric ward.

"Someone saw you—"

"Worried I killed him?" Ethan smirked, pulling out a cigarette case before tucking it away. "Or mourning your little boyfriend?"

Sophia pressed her cracked lips together.

"I just want the truth."

Ethan looked down at her, then suddenly laughed. "Pity. This has nothing to do with me."

Daniel had been subdued when he left. Who knew why the lunatic had bolted straight into traffic?

At his answer, the tension in Sophia's shoulders finally eased.

She didn't see the darkness flicker in Ethan's eyes as he turned away.