The ballroom was quiet now, but the silence was wrong. Not peaceful but tense.
Broken glass littered the floor like a glittering trap. Guests held their phones,
whispering, some still in shock.Ethan's dark eyes scanned the room. Not for the damage, not for the chaos but for
the person who had dared to destabilize this night.
"Everyone out,
" he barked. His voice carried over the murmur, sharp and cold.
Security moved instantly, clearing the way. Hotel staff flinched at every word. He
didn't ask; he commanded.
Amelia trailed behind him, heart still racing, her arm stinging from where she'd
been cut. She watched him. The calm in his face was not comforting. It was
intimidating. He didn't comfort anyone, he didn't apologize, he didn't seem to care
that six months of work had been shattered in seconds.
A hotel executive approached, nervous.
"Sir, we need to…..
"
"You need to follow instructions,
" Ethan interrupted, voice flat, cutting.
"Move the
guests. Check the cameras. Secure all floors. Now.
" he said shouting
The executive nodded quickly, retreating. Amelia felt a spark of irritation and hate
inside of her. He talked like he owned the room. Even though the chandelier had
fallen, even though chaos had erupted, he seemed untouchable.
"You are not in charge here,
" Amelia roared back at him .
Ethan turned slowly, his gaze icy. The kind of look that made people freeze in
place.
"Right now, I am,
" she replied, calm and deliberate.
A small, charged silence hung between them. Security stiffened, unsure if they
should intervene. Ethan's jaw tightened, his posture rigid. For a brief moment,
Amelia saw the power behind the billionaire mask. It was sharp, unyielding, like
steel.
He didn't smile, he didn't laugh, he simply nodded, almost approvingly.
"Keep
close,
" he said, voice soft but edged with warning.
The police arrived in a flash of blue and red lights. Officers moved briskly, asking
questions, taking notes. His presence alone commanded attention. Amelia watched
how the room shifted with his every word. When he spoke, people obeyed. When
he gestured, doors opened.
A detective approached, trying to assert authority.
"Sir, we need to know what
happened. Can you explain…
"
Ethan cut him off.
"I don't answer questions. I fix problems.
"Amelia blinked in rage . The arrogance was intoxicating, she had never seen
anyone so sure of themselves, so unwilling to bend to authority. She also didn't
bow, she stayed at his side, steady. And that, apparently, intrigued him.
He moved to the monitors showing the ballroom. One of the security feeds had
been tampered with. Twelve minutes missing,enough to plan a disaster, enough to
escape unnoticed.
He barked orders at the security team.
"Check the stairwells, check the
maintenance areas. Cameras, now. Move.
"
Amelia noticed how swift he was, how he didn't panic, how every movement was
precise. But there was more. His mind was racing behind the calm exterior. He was
calculating, searching, hunting and she could see it.
A hotel lawyer tried to interrupt him. Ethan waved him off.
"You are not useful
right now. Stand aside.
"
Amelia's chest tightened. She had heard arrogant men before, but he didn't just act
like a billionaire, he owned the room without claiming it. The power radiated from
him, effortless, and terrifying.
And yet, she felt drawn to it somehow even though she's pissed with his attitude.
A message buzzed on Ethan's phone. He glanced at it, expression darkening.
"This is only the beginning,
" he read aloud, showing the screen to Amelia. Beneath
it was a photo of the chandelier in mid-fall. She saw herself in the image, running
to the little girl. The perspective was high, near the ceiling. Someone had known.
Someone had watched.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"They are still here,
" he muttered.
Amelia swallowed. The hotel had transformed. What had been an elegant,
glamorous night was now a battlefield. Guests whispered in fear. Phones recorded
every movement, every shadow looked like a threat.
Ethan moved through the crowd like a shadow himself, cold and commanding. He
spoke sharply to a guard.
"Stay with me. Every exit, every hallway. Do not let
anyone in or out without my knowledge.
"
Amelia followed closely, noticing how no one dared question him. He didn't ask,
he didn't suggest. He instructed and people obeyed.
Outside, sirens wailed. The city knew something had happened, but no one could
see what had caused it. Ethan ignored the noise. Amelia noticed how detached heseemed from the chaos, as if the world was divided into problems and solutions,
and he was only concerned with solving.
"Do you ever rest?" Amelia asked softly, walking beside him.
He didn't answer at first. His eyes scanned the room again, sharp, calculating.
"Rest comes after order,
" he finally said.
Amelia shook her head slightly, impressed but unsettled. He didn't seem human or
maybe he was just someone who had learned to hide it perfectly.
Another vibration on his phone. Another unknown number, another message.
"We
see everything,
" it read. A photo attached. This time, it was a close-up of Amelia's
office. Someone had been watching her.
Her stomach dropped.
"They know me,
" she whispered.
Ethan's dark eyes met hers.
"They know both of us. This is personal.
"
Amelia's heart raced. The room felt smaller. The chandeliers overhead swayed
slightly in the emergency lights. Red reflections of broken glass flashed like danger
signs on the marble floor.
Ethan pulled out a small device from his pocket. He tapped it quickly.
"Security
grid back online. Cameras restored. We track them.
"
"Are we too late?" she asked.
"No,
" he said coldly.
"We're just getting started.
"
They moved toward the back of the ballroom, toward the service corridor. Shadows
shifted along the walls. Amelia felt a chill.
Ethan's voice cut softly but firmly.
"Stay close, no mistakes. One wrong step and
they get us.
"
Amelia nodded, hands shaking, adrenaline pumping. Every corner felt dangerous,
every shadow alive. A metallic iron hung above; she jumped as Ethan grabbed her
arm.
"Someone's close,
" he whispered. A service door ahead cracked open, light
shone behind it, too many figures moving, silent.
"They know we're coming,
"
Ethan said. Her throat went dry. His phone buzzed: Time is almost up. The elevator
creaked open. Shadows stretched. A figure stepped out, watching. The night had
only begun.