106 - Youre Not Taking Her
The low hum of a car engine rolled up the long driveway.
Scarlett froze.
For a second she thought she might be imagining it. The mansion was usually so quiet that even small sounds carried farther than they should.
But then the engine cut off.
A car door slammed.
Her chest tightened.
They were back.
Scarlett's fingers tightened around the zipper of her suitcase. She had been kneeling beside it on the bedroom floor, shoving clothes inside without much thought—just grabbing whatever was closest from the bed and folding badly. One sleeve from a gray sweater hung halfway out of the case.
She stared at it for a second.
Great packing job.
Footsteps echoed faintly downstairs.
Voices.
Two of them.
Scarlett stood up quickly, her knees stiff from crouching. She yanked the suitcase upright and dragged it toward the hallway just as the front door opened below.
Catherine's voice carried through the foyer.
Sharp. Familiar.
Scarlett barely made it halfway down the staircase before they appeared.
Catherine stopped mid-step when she saw her.
Her eyes dropped immediately to the suitcase.
Then to the scattered clothes Scarlett had dumped earlier on the console table beside the stairs—two shirts and a pair of jeans she'd meant to fold but never did.
For a brief second Catherine's expression went completely still.
Then it hardened.
"You're still here?" she snapped.
Scarlett straightened automatically, forcing her shoulders back even though her heart was beating too fast.
Catherine's heels clicked against the marble as she walked forward.
"We need to leave now, Scarlett."
Her tone carried that tight impatience Scarlett had heard a hundred times before.
Scarlett didn't move.
Catherine stopped a few feet away, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Did you hear me?"
Scarlett stayed where she was.
The silence stretched long enough to become uncomfortable.
Then Catherine lost patience.
She strode forward and grabbed Scarlett's arm, fingers digging into the thin sleeve of her blouse.
"I said we're leaving."
She pulled hard.
Scarlett staggered half a step.
The marble floor was cold through the thin soles of her shoes.
But she planted her feet.
Catherine tugged again, harder.
Scarlett held her ground.
Something in Catherine's expression sharpened.
"Stop being difficult."
Scarlett twisted slightly, trying to pull her arm free.
"Let go."
Catherine's grip tightened instead.
"You're only making this harder for yourself."
Scarlett tried again to pull away, but Catherine yanked her forward.
"I said stop," Catherine snapped, irritation creeping into her voice.
Then she lifted her phone and shoved it inches from Scarlett's face.
The bright screen made Scarlett flinch.
She recognized the document instantly.
Even just the first few lines were enough.
The contract.
Her stomach turned.
"If you don't walk out that door in the next sixty seconds," Catherine said calmly, "I send this to the press. Every major outlet. The contract, your name, Ethan's involvement."
She tilted her head slightly.
"It'll spread faster than wildfire."
Scarlett's breath came uneven.
"You wouldn't—"
"Oh, I would," Catherine interrupted smoothly. "Don't confuse me with someone who hesitates."
She tugged Scarlett toward the front door again.
The suitcase scraped loudly across the marble as it dragged behind her.
Scarlett stumbled.
"Wait—stop," she said, her voice shaking now. "Catherine, just listen for a second—"
"Listening time is over."
Before Catherine could pull her another step, a hand clamped down on her wrist.
Andrian.
"That's enough."
His voice cut across the foyer, sharper than Scarlett had ever heard it.
Catherine turned to him with clear annoyance.
"What are you doing?"
"Stopping you."
His grip didn't loosen.
"You said you weren't going to hurt her."
Catherine scoffed.
"This isn't hurting her. This is saving all of us from a disaster."
While they argued, Scarlett quickly stepped back and pulled her arm free. She grabbed the suitcase handle before it tipped over and dragged it closer to her again.
Her hands were shaking.
She looked at Andrian.
For a moment she barely recognized the man standing there.
"I trusted you," she said quietly.
Andrian's gaze flickered toward her.
Scarlett shook her head slowly.
"You stood there while all of this happened," she continued. "You watched Catherine threaten me. You knew about the contract."
Her voice wavered but she forced the words out anyway.
"And you didn't say a word."
Andrian shifted uncomfortably.
"I was trying to help," he muttered.
Scarlett let out a small, disbelieving breath.
"Help who?"
He opened his mouth.
Closed it again.
"That's not fair," he said finally.
"Not fair?" Scarlett repeated. "You let her manipulate everything around me."
"I didn't let her," he said defensively. "I just—"
"You just what?"
He dragged a hand through his hair.
"I thought it might work out."
Scarlett stared at him.
"Work out," she repeated slowly.
Catherine groaned loudly beside them.
"Oh, for God's sake."
She waved a dismissive hand.
"This emotional breakdown is exhausting."
Her heels clicked against the marble as she stepped forward again.
"Andrian, take her outside. Now."
Scarlett stiffened.
"If Ethan walks in here before she's gone," Catherine added sharply, "everything we did is pointless."
Andrian didn't move.
Catherine narrowed her eyes.
"Did you hear me?"
"I heard you."
"Then move."
"I'm not dragging her anywhere."
Scarlett blinked in surprise.
Catherine's lips curled slightly.
"You've got to be kidding."
She turned back to Scarlett and grabbed her arm again.
This time Scarlett jerked away immediately.
"Stop touching me."
The firmness in her own voice startled her a little.
Catherine blinked once.
Then a slow smile spread across her face.
"Well," she said, "that's new."
Scarlett's heart hammered, but she didn't step back.
Catherine raised her phone again.
"Last warning. Walk out or I send it."
Scarlett looked at the glowing screen.
Then back at Catherine.
"You're bluffing."
Her voice wasn't nearly as confident as she wanted it to be.
Catherine's smile widened.
"Sweetheart," she said softly, "I never bluff."
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Scarlett's stomach dropped.
Andrian stepped forward quickly and grabbed Catherine's wrist again.
"Enough."
Catherine snapped toward him.
"You should be thanking me!"
Her voice echoed up toward the high ceilings.
"Everything I did was to give you a chance with her."
Scarlett blinked.
"What?"
Andrian looked like someone had shoved him into a spotlight he never asked for.
"That's not—"
"Oh, don't pretend now," Catherine cut in. "You've been hovering around her for months."
Scarlett slowly turned toward him.
"Andrian...?"
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It wasn't like that."
Catherine laughed sharply.
"Of course it was."
Something heavy settled in Scarlett's chest.
"So the plan was what?" she asked quietly. "Break Ethan and me apart so you could... what? Comfort me afterward?"
Andrian winced.
"That's not how I saw it."
"How did you see it then?"
He hesitated.
"I thought... maybe if you weren't tied to him anymore, you might actually have a choice."
Scarlett stared at him.
"That's the most twisted version of help I've ever heard."
Catherine clapped once, slow and sarcastic.
"Wonderful. Now that everyone's feelings are out in the open, can we finish this?"
She stepped forward again.
"You're leaving, Scarlett."
Andrian shook his head.
"No."
Catherine turned slowly toward him.
"What did you say?"
"I said no," he repeated. "If Scarlett doesn't want to go, she doesn't go."
Catherine looked at him like he'd grown a second head.
"You idiot."
She leaned closer to him, lowering her voice slightly.
"Do you really think I plotted all of this for you?"
Andrian frowned.
Catherine smiled coldly.
"You were useful. That's it."
His expression hardened.
"I needed someone she trusted," Catherine continued casually. "Someone close enough to keep an eye on her."
The words landed heavily.
Andrian exhaled slowly.
"That's... great."
"Now you're no longer useful," Catherine finished.
She reached toward Scarlett again.
And that was when the voice came.
Low.
Controlled.
Right behind her.
"Do you really think you can take Scarlett away from me?"
The entire foyer went still.
Catherine's hand froze midair.
Slowly, she turned.
Ethan stood near the entrance hall.
His coat was still on, dark against the pale walls. One hand rested in his pocket, the other hung loosely at his side.
His posture looked almost casual.
His eyes were not.
They swept across the room once.
Catherine.
Andrian.
Then Scarlett.
They stayed there.
Scarlett felt her chest tighten.
For a moment no one spoke.
Then Ethan stepped forward slowly.
His gaze never left Catherine.
"You seem very comfortable giving orders in my house," he said calmly.
Catherine forced a small laugh.
"Ethan, you're misunderstanding—"
"No," he interrupted quietly. "I'm not."
His eyes flicked briefly to Scarlett's arm where Catherine had grabbed her earlier.
A faint line appeared in his jaw.
"Take your hand off her."
Catherine hesitated.
"Now."
Something in his tone made her drop it immediately.
Scarlett didn't realize she had been holding her breath until it left her in a shaky exhale.
Ethan finally looked directly at her.
"Scarlett."
Her name sounded softer than everything else he'd said.
Not a command.
Not anger.
Just her name.
And somehow that made her chest tighten even more.
Scarlett stared at him as if the words had come from someone else's mouth.