Her mocking smile.

Her cruel little comment about men having needs.

Some wounds don’t disappear because someone regrets causing them.

“You should go home,” I said quietly.

Vanessa looked defeated.

Then she noticed Clara sleeping against my shoulder.

And for the first time, guilt appeared in her eyes.

“She’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Yes,” I replied. “She is.”

Vanessa nodded slowly.

Then turned and left.

When the elevator doors closed behind her, my father walked back into the room.

“What did she want?”

I looked toward the skyline beyond the windows.

“To warn me,” I said softly.

“About what?”

I hesitated.

Then answered honestly.

“I think Ethan’s falling apart.”

My father remained silent for a moment.

Then he spoke carefully.

“Be very cautious of broken men with wounded pride.”

Something in his tone unsettled me.

“Why would you say that?”

He looked directly at me.

“Because desperate people make dangerous decisions.”

Two nights later, I learned exactly what he meant.

It was nearly midnight.

Rain hammered against the penthouse windows while Clara slept beside me.

I had just started drifting off when my phone rang.

Unknown number.

Normally I wouldn’t answer.

But some instinct made me pick up.

“Hello?”

Then breathing.

Heavy breathing.

A chill crawled down my spine.

“Who is this?”

Finally, a voice.

Ethan.

“I miss you.”

My stomach tightened immediately.

He sounded drunk.

Very drunk.

“It’s midnight,” I said carefully.

“I drove by the building today.”

Every muscle in my body stiffened.

“What?”

“I just wanted to see you.”

Fear crept quietly into my chest.

“Ethan, go home.”

“I made a mistake,” he whispered. “I know that now.”

I sat up slowly.

“Are you outside right now?”

He didn’t answer.

That was answer enough.

I immediately stood and checked the penthouse security monitor near the hallway.

And there he was.

Standing across the street in the rain.

Looking up at the building.

My heart started pounding.

“Ethan,” I said firmly, “you need to leave.”

“She should’ve been us,” he whispered brokenly. “You and me and Clara.”

The sadness in his voice almost hurt more than the anger.

But underneath the sadness was something else.

Obsession.

Danger.

“You’re scaring me.”

Then suddenly his tone changed.

Cold.

“Your father ruined my life.”

There it was.

Not accountability.

Blame.

I lowered my voice.

“No, Ethan. You ruined your own life.”

His breathing sharpened.

“You think you’re better than me now?”

“I think you need help.”

A long pause followed.

Then quietly, terrifyingly calm:

“If I can’t fix this… nobody can.”

The line went dead.

Ice flooded through my veins instantly.

I rushed to Clara’s crib.

At that exact moment, my father burst into the room wearing a robe.

“I heard raised voices,” he said. “What happened?”

I looked at him, shaken.

“Ethan’s outside.”

My father’s face hardened immediately.

He crossed quickly to the security monitor.

But by then…

The sidewalk was empty.

Ethan was gone.

Or so we thought.

Because downstairs, in the underground parking garage beneath the building—

Security cameras had just captured someone tampering with my father’s car.

And neither of us knew it yet.

THE END OF PART 2 – LIKE, SHARE AND COMMENT “FULL STORY” IF YOU WANT TO READ FULL STORY.