Chapter 21
"I know exactly where Victoria is." Sophia Reynolds traced Lucas Whitmore's haggard face with her fingertips. "Once we kidnap her and get the ransom, we can disappear together."
Beads of sweat formed on Lucas's temple. Sophia dabbed them away with a silk handkerchief. "Look at you. You've suffered so much."
"It's all Victoria's fault!" Lucas clenched his fists. "Why does she get to live freely while I'm like this?"
He shut his eyes in agony. Yes, his downfall was entirely Victoria Montgomery's doing.
...
In the café, Sophia slid a memory card across the table toward Victoria.
"Where's the recording?" Victoria demanded coldly.
Sophia pressed down on Victoria's reaching hand. "Such private content shouldn't be viewed here, Ms. Montgomery. Don’t you think a more discreet location would be appropriate?"
"You think you deserve to ride in my car?" Victoria yanked her hand back in disgust.
"Oh, I wouldn’t dare." Sophia smiled cryptically. "I just hope you’ll transfer the payment promptly after verifying the goods."
Victoria stood and strode toward the parking lot. A shadowy figure lunged at her from the darkness. Before she could react, a sharp blow struck the back of her head.
When she came to, a rag was stuffed in her mouth. The hushed voices of her captors reached her ears.
"We can’t contact the Montgomerys!" Lucas's voice trembled. "They’ll trace us."
"Then who?" Sophia kicked a metal barrel impatiently. "Who else cares if she lives or dies?"
Lucas suddenly lowered his voice. "Ethan Sinclair... I heard he hooked up with a wealthy woman in France..."
Victoria's pulse spiked. Ethan... Would he still come for her?
When the call connected, Ethan's silence thickened the air in the garage.
"No ransom, and she dies!" Lucas shrieked hysterically.
A soft chuckle came through the receiver. Victoria's blood turned to ice.
"She means nothing to me." Ethan's voice was terrifyingly calm. "And just so you know, kidnapping is a felony."
Nothing.
The word stabbed through her heart like a blade. Victoria finally understood—she had lost the man who once loved her deeply.
As the dial tone buzzed in the silence, Sophia approached with a pair of scissors. "Since you're awake, it's time we settled our score..."
Ethan set down his phone, his knuckles white.
He had sworn to cut all ties with Victoria. But a life was at stake, and if the police got involved...
After a moment’s hesitation, he dialed Mr. Montgomery’s private number.
The Parisian wind still cut like knives, but Ethan Sinclair's palms remained warm.
The first significant day after his rebirth was when he donated blood to Lucas Whitmore.
A month later, the "Apple Tree" jewelry collection, a collaboration between Santa and Ethan's studio, took the world by storm.
At the press conference, a reporter sharply accused Ethan of plagiarism in his early works. Under the glare of camera flashes, he calmly explained the inspiration behind each piece.
The scandal had long since died down back home. Ethan knew it was Isabella Laurent who had quietly orchestrated everything.
Lucas had plagiarized countless designers. With the Montgomery Group's backing, victims had no choice but to swallow their anger. Only when Santa publicly accused Lucas did those suppressed voices finally erupt.
The Montgomery Group's stock plummeted, and former allies turned their backs overnight. Yet Victoria Montgomery and Lucas vanished without a trace.
When Victoria's father arrived at the abandoned factory, he found chaos. Victoria lay bleeding on the ground, while Lucas trembled nearby.
No one knew the details of the struggle. Only that Sophia Reynolds had tried to blind Victoria with scissors but ended up cutting the rope binding her in the scuffle.
When Victoria seized the scissors to fight back, Lucas struck the fatal blow from behind.
In the end, Sophia bled to death, Victoria fell into a coma with severe injuries, and Lucas was imprisoned.
But none of that mattered to Ethan anymore.
He stood by the Seine, watching Isabella beside him. Sunlight broke through the clouds, gilding her hair with gold.
This time, he would take her hand and walk slowly through the rest of their lives.