Chapter 5

The message was sent, encrypted and routed through three dummy accounts before hitting its intended target. Clean. Silent. Just like the Zhao way.

Ethan placed his phone on the seat beside him and stared out the tinted window of the town car as it merged into the night traffic. The cityscape was a blur of gold and steel, reflections of lives moving forward, indifferent to the chaos simmering beneath his surface.

Serena’s voice haunted him like a ghost in his mind.

Not the voice that used to greet him with sleepy murmurs in the mornings or call him E, soft and full of love.

No. This voice had been razor sharp. Cold. Dangerous.

“Where to, sir?” the driver asked, his eyes flickering up in the mirror.

Ethan didn’t even hesitate. “The penthouse at Elysian Towers.”

Lila’s place.

He needed answers. Needed comfort. Needed control.

The traffic was merciful. In less than twenty minutes, he was stepping out of the car and being ushered past the doorman who gave him a knowing nod. He didn’t even have to announce himself. Everyone here knew Ethan Zhao. And they knew where he went.

The elevator slid open directly into Lila Chen’s apartment.

It smelled like jasmine and wine. The lights were dimmed to a sultry glow, the skyline stretching behind her like a painting through the floor to ceiling glass windows.

She was already waiting. A crimson silk robe hugged her curves, her long hair cascading in dark waves over her shoulder.

But one look at his face and her teasing smile faltered.

“She really canceled the wedding,” Lila said, stepping forward barefoot. “Did she really.. was the dress actually…?”

“Torn to pieces,” Ethan muttered, pulling off his coat. “In front of her mother. The designer. Half the goddamn staff.”

Lila blinked. “But… it was a Dior original. Custom pearls. Those diamonds on the veil alone...”

“That’s what you’re focused on?” he snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The cost?”

Lila's mouth tightened. “I’m focused on the fact that she’s completely lost it. No warning. No clue. One minute she’s obedient Serena, and the next she’s slashing couture and talking like a Bond villain.”

Ethan flopped down on the plush velvet couch, running a hand through his hair.

“She wasn’t emotional,” he said. “She didn’t even cry.”

Lila sat down beside him. “So you think she found out about… us?”

“Maybe,” Ethan muttered. “But that wouldn’t explain everything. Even if she knew you were using shell companies under Zhao Corp to fund your gallery... I could’ve spun it. She’s not stupid, but she’s... trusting. Or she used to be.”

Lila’s eyes flickered. “And now?”

“She looked me in the face and said she’d already walked through hell.”

“Hell?” Lila repeated, arching a brow.

“She said I was planning her funeral,” Ethan whispered.

The words tasted like poison.

Lila didn’t speak for a moment. Then she rose and crossed to the bar cart, pouring two fingers of whiskey into a crystal glass. She handed it to him.

“Maybe she just snapped,” she offered. “You know how she used to get. She bottles everything until it implodes. Maybe the pressure got to her.”

Ethan shook his head. “No. This wasn’t a breakdown. This was a chess move.”

Lila curled up beside him on the couch again, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw.

“She was just a means to an end, Ethan,” she murmured. “The Lin family name. Her father’s business ties. You’ve got most of what you need now. Let her go.”

“I can’t afford to let her go if she’s gone rogue,” Ethan muttered. “She’s unpredictable. She has files.”

Lila blinked. “What kind of files?”

He hesitated. “Notes. Ledgers. I don’t know how detailed they are, but she said something about shell companies and foreign accounts. Then she mentioned...” He paused.

“Who?”

“Lucien Feng.”

Lila went rigid.

“You’re joking.”

“I wish I were.”

“No,” she snapped, sitting upright. “That can’t be. Serena doesn’t know Lucien. He’s... he’s not even in our circles. He’s old money, discreet, terrifying. He doesn’t do favors. And if she’s with him...”

“She’s not,” Ethan said, almost defensively. “She’s bluffing. Has to be. I mean, come on, it’s Serena.”

Lila stared at him. “You just told me she looked like she wanted you dead and ripped up a hundred thousand dollars dress in front of her mother.”

Ethan opened his mouth, but there was no retort.

Lila exhaled, then laughed a little under her breath. “We underestimated her.”

“We created her,” Ethan said quietly. “She loved me. I let her believe we were forever while I built an exit strategy with you.”

“That’s what it took,” Lila said softly, her voice turning seductive as she leaned in. “Now she’s gone. And I’m still here.”

She slid into his lap, legs curling around his waist, silk robe parting slightly.

Ethan stared at her, sharp featured, cunning, the first woman who truly challenged him.

She kissed him, slow and deep. Familiar. Intoxicating.

He didn’t resist. For a moment, he let himself be swallowed by the heat of it, her fingers in his hair, her lips tracing his neck.

But even as he gave in, Serena’s voice echoed in the back of his mind.

“You and Lila can burn in each other’s ambition.”

He broke the kiss suddenly.

Lila frowned. “What?”

Ethan stood, adjusting his shirt. “I don’t know what’s going on in her head. But we’re going to find out.”

“You think she’s serious?” she asked, following him as he walked toward the balcony.

“I think if she even gets a meeting with him, she’s serious about burning this whole world down.”

He stared out into the city, the skyline glittering with glass and power.

For the first time in a long time, Ethan Zhao felt something he couldn’t name.

It wasn’t fear. Not exactly.

But it was close.

Ethan stepped out onto the balcony, his silhouette outlined against the glowing city. From where Lila stood inside the living room, she could see how tightly his shoulders were drawn. Stiff. Wary. Pensive.

He had always hated losing control.

But tonight, Serena had turned their entire game on its head.

Lila poured herself another drink, the clink of ice breaking the heavy silence. She took a long sip, the whiskey burning down her throat like her frustration.

She hated how Serena’s name still lingered in the air between them.

Hated how Ethan's lips still moved like he was mouthing the memory of someone else.

She’s gone. I’m still here.