Page 66 of Sinful Obsession
I shivered, the anger and grief mixing in a bitter taste in my mouth. “Her life meant nothing to you?”
Ethan’s eyes flickered, almost imperceptibly, with something unspoken—regret, perhaps, or a memory best left buried. “I did what I had to do. Don’t mistake duty for cruelty. I protected my own.”
I forced myself to speak. “You kidnapped me to get to Cassian?”
“I was supposed to send you to Chicago, to replace your mother,” he admitted, his voice low, almost regretful. “That’s how it’s done. Cassian still owes us, and since he took your mother from us... you were meant to take her place. But I... I pleaded with my father to let me keep you here, alone in the middle of the sea.”
I stared at him, confused and horrified.
“I knew if you were taken to Chicago, your fate would be worse. You would have been raped by men who would’ve used you as a tool, forced to do degrading jobs, trapped in misery with no escape. I couldn’t stand the thought of that life for you,” he said, his voice tight, almost breaking.
“Thankfully,” he added. “My father finally agreed, after I pushed and pushed. I kept you here... because it was the lesser evil.”
“That doesn’t make you a hero,” I spat, my voice trembling with rage. “You tortured me. Threw me into the sea, tied my hands until they bled, locked me in a cage so small I couldn’t breathe, whipped my back until it burned, starved me for days, pressed ice to my skin until I screamed. You wore a mask so I wouldn’t know it was you.”
He didn’t flinch. “Those were for the cameras. My father watched every move. I had to prove you were suffering, or he’d take you to Chicago himself.” His voice softened, a crack in his armor.
“But after, I warmed you with blankets when you shivered from the sea. Massaged your shoulders when the cage left you aching. Slipped water through the bars when you were parched. Mixed painkillers into your food to ease the welts. Bandaged your wrists when the ropes cut too deep. I did what I could to keep you whole.”
The memories flooded back—his hands, gentle after the cruelty, wrapping me in warmth, whispering apologies I’d barely heard. I swallowed, my throat tight. “Why kidnap me again? Why let me go the first time?”
“My father’s sick,” he said. “Cancer, eating him alive. I thought you were free when I left you at your grandfather’s cabin, with the will to choose the underground trials or the Morettis. I figured you’d fight for your inheritance and vanish. My father’s men would search, but they’d never find you.”
“And if I’d chosen to marry the Morettis?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“Cassian would protect you,” Ethan said, his lips twitching. “He’s obsessed with you, Charlotte.”
“My father’s clan works in shadows—anonymous proxies, silent strikes. Even Cassian doesn’t know we exist. If my father recovers, though...” He trailed off, his eyes darkening. “Pray he stays sick. He’s showing signs of recovery, but he’s still weak.”
He sat, half-perched on the edge of a seat, his posture deceptively casual. “And no, this is not a kidnapping. This is protection—from Cassian, from my father. Chicago is no place for you. If my father’s men found you here... they’d take you, and you’d never see freedom again.”
I stared at him, my chest tightening. “Then if it’s not a kidnapping... take me out of here.”
He tilted his head, considering me. “I could take you somewhere right now, but to where? You’re safe here. I won’t hurt you, not in the slightest. I’ll leave immediately if you don’t want me staying. Everything you need—food, clothing, water—is here. I can even send a maid over to help you if you like.”
I exhaled, trying to steady myself. “Then leave. Send a female maid over.”
He stood, bowing slightly, a gesture that felt like mockery. “Consider it done.”
Silence fell, my mind reeling with the weight of my restored memories.
One question burned, sharper than the rest. “The baby,” I said, my voice breaking. “I don’t remember Cassian... with me. You swear you didn’t touch me. How am I pregnant?”
Ethan’s eyes softened.
“Cassian’s dying,” he said. “Stage four cancer, eating him from the inside. When I found out, I... owed him. He saved me in the underground trials, pulled me from a blade meant for my throat. So I arranged for his legacy to live on. One of his doctors—a woman I trust, extracted his sperm during a chemo session, when he was delirious, unraveling. She convinced him it was for the Moretti name, to preserve his bloodline. We used it for artificial insemination while you were sedated on this boat, three months ago. A female doctor performed it, Charlotte. I wasn’t in the room. No one saw you but her.”
My stomach churned, rage and violation crashing through me like a tidal wave. “You used me,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face, hot against my chilled skin. “You and your doctor violated my body, my choice, for your twisted sense of debt.”
“I did what I think is right,” Ethan said, his voice steady but tinged with regret.
“Get out,” I screamed, my voice raw, my fists clenched so tight my nails drew fresh blood. “I hate you. I wish I’d never protected you from those bullies in school. You’re a monster.”
He nodded, as if he’d expected my hatred.
I stormed out, slamming the door behind me, my legs shaky but fueled by rage, emerging onto the deck of a yacht so vast it mocked the wordship.
Polished teak floors stretched endlessly, reflecting the starlight above.
