Chapter 5 - The Devil's Deal
I stared at the ringing burner phone as if it were a venomous snake preparing to strike.
Ethan grabbed the device, putting it on speakerphone so we could both hear the demands of our unseen enemy.
Daniel's smooth, arrogant voice drifted out of the small speaker, completely devoid of any human empathy.
He mocked my current situation, laughing about how easily the great Claire Bennett had been reduced to a weeping fugitive.
I screamed into the phone, demanding to know where he was keeping the innocent teenage boy.
Daniel calmly informed us that Luis was securely locked inside the abandoned steel mill near the riverfront.
He explained that Walter Ashford had officially hired him as a private contractor to clean up the messy situation I had caused.
Ethan interrupted, furiously asking why Daniel was so incredibly loyal to a monster like Walter Ashford.
Daniel's voice went completely cold as he finally revealed the horrifying truth about the car crash twelve years ago.
He confessed that he had owed Walter massive gambling debts, and the only way to clear them was to ensure I could never dance professionally again.
Walter had specifically ordered Daniel to tamper with the brakes of our car on the night of the championship.
I collapsed onto my ruined couch, completely devastated by the fact that my entire life had been destroyed over a gambling debt.
Ethan looked absolutely nauseated, realizing that his own father had orchestrated the brutal attempted murder of the woman he admired.
Daniel interrupted my silent sobbing with his final, terrifying demand.
He stated that he would only release Luis if Ethan signed over the majority shares of Ashford Tower directly to Daniel's holding company.
He was betraying Walter to steal the empire for himself, using my guilt over the teenage boy as absolute leverage.
Daniel gave us exactly one hour to bring the signed physical transfer documents to the steel mill, or Luis would die.
Ethan hung up the phone, his dark eyes burning with a fierce, unstoppable determination.
He told me the only physical ledger capable of authorizing that transfer was locked inside his father's private vault at the Ashford mansion.
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We had less than an hour to break into a heavily guarded estate, steal the ledger, and survive a confrontation with the devil.
Before we could leave the apartment, a red laser dot suddenly appeared on Ethan's chest, shining directly through the broken window.
