He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 03

He Brought His Mistress, I Brought My Lawyers Chapter 03

The struggle in Ethan’s eyes lasted only a few seconds before it was replaced by something heavier, more resolute. He looked away, as if my gaze were a burning accusation.

“Sloane’s husband died saving me,” he said, his voice low and filled with a tragic self-righteousness. “She lost everything. All she has left is me.”

He paused, then finally looked at me again, his eyes holding a coldness I had never seen before.

“Avery, you’re the Caldwell heiress. You have everything. Why do you have to pick a fight with a woman who has nothing?”

The words were like an ice pick, piercing the last, ridiculous thread of hope in my heart with perfect precision.

I felt no pain.

Only a bone-deep cold that spread from my heart through every limb.

I nodded, my voice so calm it sounded unfamiliar.

“Understood.”

Then I turned and walked toward the door.

This house, the place that was supposed to be our home, now felt suffocating.

“Stop!” Ethan reached out, his hand clamping around my arm like iron.

I didn’t turn back.

“Sloane said,” his voice came from behind me, laced with the condescension of a favor granted, “as long as you stay in a room and calm down for three days, until the night before the wedding, she won’t press charges.”

“No.” I cut him off, my eyes as cold as the winter sea. “If she wants to sue, I’ll see her in court.”

“Don’t force me,” Ethan growled, his face darkening.

“You already did.” I finally turned, my gaze scraping across his face like a blade. “Move.”

Ethan didn’t move. He just glanced at the two security guards standing behind him.

They stepped forward at once, blocking my path like two brick walls as they reached for my arms.

I didn’t struggle. I only stared at Ethan, my voice chillingly clear.

“False imprisonment is a felony.”

“It’s just to give you time to cool off.” Ethan avoided my gaze, a flicker of guilt in his voice. “To keep you from doing anything irrational before the wedding. In three days, the night before the ceremony, I’ll come get you myself.”

As the guards locked their hands on my wrists and forcibly “escorted” me back upstairs, I looked back one last time.

The man who had once sworn to shield me from every storm now stood in the shadows of the foyer, his figure blurred and distorted, like a stranger I had never known.

I didn’t scream or beg. I only said, my tone so calm it was unnerving, “Ethan, you will regret this.”

My voice was quiet, swallowed by the cavernous hall. Ethan didn’t seem to hear it.

He just watched as I was taken away. A strange panic flickered in his eyes, but the next second, his phone vibrated, and the feeling vanished. Sloane’s name lit up the screen.

*Ethan, I’m so scared. Come stay with me…*

I was not taken to our bedroom.

The guards confiscated my phone and iPad, then escorted me to a remote storage room on the third floor. There were no windows, only a small vent high on the wall. The air smelled of old wood and dust.

The heavy door slammed shut behind me. The turn of the lock was sharp and final.

The world plunged into darkness and silence.

Claustrophobia surged like a black tide. I slid down the cold wall, my chest tightening as my breathing grew ragged.

I forced myself to calm down, my mind racing.

Ethan was doing this to make me submit.

And Sloane…

I suddenly remembered a casual conversation with Ethan. I’d mentioned once that I’d been locked in a wardrobe as a child and had developed mild claustrophobia because of it.

Sloane had been there.

So that was it.

This was Ethan’s order, and Sloane’s design.

I curled into a ball, buried my face in my knees, and gasped for air. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t beg. That would only give them the satisfaction.

Just then, Sloane’s soft, triumphant voice sounded from the other side of the door, slithering into my ear like a snake.

“Avery, are you all right? Ethan asked me to check on you. He said you just need to reflect in here for three days. Once you’ve thought things through, you won’t be so willful.”

She gave a light laugh, her voice seeping through the crack in the door.

“Did you know? Ethan just dressed my wound himself. He was so gentle. He said from now on, he’ll protect me and never let anyone hurt me again.”

My body began to tremble, not from fear, but from pure rage.

“Oh, right,” Sloane went on, her voice giddy with triumph. “He also said canceling the wedding would be too much trouble. The Caldwell and Ward families have to save face. But it’s fine. The bride can be changed. Our dress sizes are about the same, anyway. As for the veil… too bad you ruined it, but that’s all right. Ethan said he’ll buy me an even prettier one.”

She paused, savoring my silence.

Then a recording played from outside the door. It was Ethan’s voice, so gentle it could make you drown.

“Sloane, don’t be afraid. I’m here. You’ll be all right… I’m sorry. I let you suffer…”

Those were the words he had spoken to her downstairs.

Every one of them landed on my heart like a red-hot brand.

I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood. Curled in the dark like a trapped animal, I fought to suppress the scream that was clawing its way up my throat.

I would not break.

I would not let them win.

Sloane’s footsteps and the recording faded away, and the hallway fell silent. But the oppressive darkness only grew heavier.

Just as the lack of oxygen began to blur the edges of my consciousness, a cold sensation on my wrist pulled me back.

My smartwatch.

A gift from my grandfather on my twenty-first birthday. It had an independent GPS and the highest-level emergency distress system. As long as I wore it, the Caldwell security team would find me.

Ethan and Sloane had taken my phone and computer, but they’d overlooked this.

I analyzed the situation calmly.

First, Ethan wouldn’t let me die. His goal wasn’t murder; it was control. He wanted to force me to apologize so he could enjoy his twisted fantasy with a clear conscience.

Second, Sloane’s goal was to destroy me mentally, to make me break down and withdraw on my own.

Third, I had to survive until my grandfather’s people found me.

Ethan thought three days of confinement and claustrophobia would be enough to break me.

He was wrong.

These three sunless days would only burn away the last trace of warmth I had for him.

I slowly lowered my arms and took a deep breath. Each inhale was a sharp ache, but my mind had never been clearer.

I didn’t shed a single tear.

Tears were for people who deserved them.

Ethan no longer did.

The moment I got out of here—

There would be no mercy.