As soon as Ethan arrived, he went straight to Alexa’s room, expecting her to be awake. But when he came in, Alexa was already sleeping. She was curled in a fetal position, kicking the blankets off earlier, so now she was shaking. Her brows knitted, and sweat dotted her forehead.
‘Is she having a bad dream again?’ Ethan wondered. He pulled the blanket over Alexa’s body and caressed her hair. Alexa’s body eased up, her knitted brows and body relaxed.
Each time Ethan visits her at night, he notices Alexa tossing in her dreams. For some unexplained reason, his heart clenches whenever he witnesses her struggling from her nightmares.
He looked at Alexa one last time before he walked out of her room and into his. Their rooms were side so he could easily hear her at night. He was there to change his clothes and wait for Austin’s arrival. After two hours, Austin had finally arrived.
“Tell me what you found?” Ethan commanded without looking at the man who just arrived. Austin’s mouth was agape. ‘I’ve just arrived, dude.’ He thought.
“Can’t you at least allow me to sit? Or ask me if I want to drink anything?” Austin jokingly said. But Ethan glared, then he pointed to the chair in front of his table.
“Tell me what you found, NOW!” Austin hissed, then he sat on the chair.
“Chill! Dude.” Shaking his head, he took the brown envelope from his bag and handed it to Ethan.
“I haven’t found any personal information about the girl we saw. Her name doesn’t show in any of the records. Are you sure that her name is really Alexa Morgan?” Austin asked.
“I’m not sure I know either. When I asked, she told me Alexa Morgan was her name.” Ethan frowned in confusion. He opened the brown envelope and saw pictures of two different cars. The first picture shows the front of a red car, and the second the bumper of the gray car.
“What is this for?” He asked.
“Well, those two-car piqued my interest. I took those from the CCTV footage near the area where we saw the girl. Both cars headed in the direction of our hideout. Though they stopped a few miles away from our borders, they seemed suspicious. Where were they going?” Austin said. Then he took another small envelope from his bag.
“I found out who owns one of the vehicles. The gray car is unknown. The plate number was fake, and we couldn’t see who was inside because it was heavily tinted. But the red car… you will never guess who owns it.” Ethan raised his brow, waiting for him to continue.
Austin smirked. “It is owned by Max Willies.” Ethan leaned on his swivel chair.
“What is he doing in that area? He doesn’t have any property around that parameter, right?” Ethan asked.
“Well, he has.” Austin shrugged. “It is in a remote area along the way to the hideout, located in the middle of the forest. And when I searched for it, I saw an abandoned house. Here’s the thing, I saw a piece of ripped white cloth inside the house. I assume it was Alexa’s.” Ethan’s hand clenched. His eyes were burning with anger, enough to kill anyone with his own bare hands.
“That filthy asshole!” Ethan gritted his teeth.
“Woah… chill, Dude. We don’t know if that’s a fact yet. The best way to find out what really happened is to ask Alexa about it. Maybe try to show him Max’s picture. And if she reacts, it means it was Max’s doing.” Austin reminded him.
Ethan took a deep breath and nodded.
“Tell me, what kind of business is Max involved in?” He asked.
But Austin came prepared. “Here, I brought more information,” Austin smirked after handing a white folder to Ethan.
“Max Willies, 40-years old, Widowed. Ranked 2nd in the underground organization. He has a shipping line and owns several clubs around the country, to cover up his dirty deeds. He uses these businesses as a front to smuggle drugs, guns, and sometimes, even women. Those he kidnapped were sold as prostitutes to international buyers here and abroad. He is powerful and very well connected with people we can’t afford to be enemies with. The other Mafia families are praising him, and even though he may seem old, he’s very dangerous.” Austin said.
“I don’t care. If it confirms that it was him who abused Alexa, then I will help her take revenge on him.” Ethan said while holding the folder containing Max’s information.
“That is our assumption. For now, we don’t have any evidence yet. So you better ask.” Austin advised as he noticed Ethan looked furious. He is afraid that Ethan might do something unjustifiable to Max even before he gathered his facts.
The next day, Ethan decided to stay at home. It was time to ask Alexa about what really happened to her, and if she knew the person responsible. He knocks on her door before entering. A sweet fragrance welcomed him. ‘Damn, why does her room smell so good? Did she just take a bath?’ He thought. Alexa’s fragrance gave him images of her in the shower. ‘Stop it, Ethan... You know nothing about her.’ He reminded himself while staring at her, sitting in front of the vanity, combing her long wavy hair. Her creamy white skin enhanced by the blue button-down long sleeve dress that reached below her knees.
Ethan gulped. “Good morning!” He greeted.
From the reflection in the mirror, Alexa finds him standing behind her. She turned around and smiled sweetly. “Good morning,”
“Don’t you have work today?” She asked, noticing Ethan still wearing his jogger pants and white shirt.
He shook his head. “I took the day off.” He smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed. ”Alexa,” He started. “Can I ask you something?”
Alexa could sense what Ethan wanted to ask, and she was ready. ‘I will tell him everything he wants to know. I will not hold back.’ She thought.
Alexa slowly nodded. “Sure, what is it?” She said, smiling.
“Remember that day…,” He started, referring to the time they found her. “Can you tell me what happened?” Ethan took a picture from his pocket and showed it to Alexa. “Do you happen to know this guy?” Watching how Alexa reacts to the photo.
Alexa clenched her fists, and tears streamed down to her face. She bit her lips to prevent them from shaking. Ethan understood how Alexa was feeling. And it gave him the answer that he wanted. He knew it. The guy in the photo was the one who tried to rape her. “It’s okay if you don’t want to…,” He was stunned when Alexa shook her head.
“No, I am ready. I am willing to tell you everything.”