Chapter 27
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder, closer.
Red and blue lights flashed through the broken windows of the abandoned plant.
The cavalry had arrived.
Marcus, Ethan’s security chief, had been tracking Ethan’s phone, had heard the commotion, had called the police.
Uniformed officers stormed the warehouse, guns drawn.
“Police! Drop your weapons!”
Olivia’s henchmen, startled, hesitated.
Olivia screamed in frustration, her plan unraveling.
The officers swarmed in, quickly subduing the thugs, cuffing a hysterical, struggling Olivia.
It was over.
Ethan, his strength finally giving out, collapsed to the ground, his blood pooling on the dirty concrete.
Sarah, finally free from her ropes, rushed to his side.
“Ethan! Ethan, stay with me!” she cried, cradling his head in her lap, her tears falling on his pale face. “Don’t leave me! Please, don’t leave me!”
She was terrified of losing him.
Now. After everything.
After finally admitting to herself that she loved him.
Ethan’s eyes fluttered open. He looked up at her, a faint smile on his lips.
“Sarah…” he whispered, his voice weak. “Forgive me… I love you…”
His eyes closed. He went limp in her arms.
Paramedics rushed in, pushing Sarah gently aside, working frantically on Ethan.
Olivia, being dragged away in handcuffs, saw Sarah’s distress, Ethan’s still form.
“He’s mine!” she shrieked, her voice filled with bitter triumph. “Even in death, he’s mine! You’ll never have him, you bitch!”
Her hateful words barely registered.
Sarah’s world had narrowed to Ethan.
She waited anxiously outside the operating room at the hospital, Lily clinging to her hand.
Hours passed. Each minute an eternity.
She replayed Ethan’s sacrifice in her mind.
His selflessness. His courage.
He had saved them. He had saved her and Lily.
The monster was truly gone. Replaced by a hero.
Her hero.
Remorse, deep and profound, washed over her.
For her coldness. For her resistance. For the precious time they had lost.
She loved him. She loved this new Ethan, this true Ethan.
A doctor finally emerged, his surgical mask pulled down, his face tired but reassuring.
“Mrs. Miller?” he said. (She didn’t correct him.) “Mr. Hayes’s surgery was successful. The bullet missed any major arteries. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s strong. He’s going to make it.”
Relief, so overwhelming it buckled her knees, flooded through Sarah.
She sobbed, tears of pure, unadulterated joy.
Lily hugged her tight. “Daddy’s okay, Mommy?”
“Yes, sweetie,” Sarah choked out. “Daddy’s okay.”
When Ethan woke up, Sarah was by his side, holding his hand.
He looked at her, his eyes groggy but full of love.
“Sarah?”
“I’m here, Ethan,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
“Why?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes. “Why did you do it? You could have died.”
Ethan squeezed her hand.
“Because,” he said, his voice raspy but firm, “a life without you and Lily… it’s not a life I want to live. I couldn’t lose you again. Not again.”
His words, so simple, so sincere, shattered the last of her defenses.
“Oh, Ethan,” she sobbed, leaning down, pressing her forehead against his. “I forgive you. I forgive you for everything.”
A radiant smile spread across Ethan’s face.
“Thank you, Sarah,” he whispered. “I promise you… I will cherish this second chance. I will cherish you. Always.”
Lily peeked around Sarah. “Daddy?”
Ethan’s smile widened. “Hey, princess. Daddy’s here. And I’m never leaving you again.”
He reached out his good arm, pulling Lily closer.
Sarah leaned in, completing their embrace.
Reunited.
Whole.
“We’re a family,” Ethan whispered, his voice filled with a profound, peaceful contentment. “And we’ll stay together. Forever. I’ll spend the rest of my life making you both happy.”