The smirk still tilts his lips. “If I did, I wouldn’t have gone after his daughter. Interesting. Maybe he kept in hiding to see how I would’ve handled the existence of his only heir.”
I wouldn’t be surprised.
But unlike Jonathan, Ethan is affectionate towards Elsa. He wouldn’t erase himself from her life and make her believe he’s dead just for a game with Jonathan.
Besides, Ethan is a businessman. He wouldn’t have willingly left his empire for ten years without a reason.
I shove a hand in my pocket. “Ethan won’t waste time and will attack straightaway.”
“Then we attack first.” He stands and buttons his jacket. “Call Levi. We have a war to plot.”
3
Elsa
They say one second is all it takes for everything to be flipped upside down.
I had many seconds like those in my life.
When I erased my memories.
When I met Aiden for the first time in RES.
When I almost drowned in the pool.
When I recalled some of my dark, bloody past.
However, the second I set eyes on my supposedly dead father is, without a doubt, the highlight of all.
Since he walked through the door, all I could do was stare at him. I even stopped myself from blinking, too afraid he’ll disappear into thin air the moment I close my eyes.
Dad, Knox, and I ride in the back of a car. I haven’t paid attention to what type of car it is, but it must be luxurious considering the high-quality caramel leather seats. There’s even a driver who’s separated from us by a window.
Knox’s headphones rest around his neck as he sits beside my dad without a care in the world. He smiles like an idiot while scrolling through his phone.
Please tell me he’s not going through memes right now.
I’m over here, opposite them, my frozen hands tucked between my legs. Strands of my wet hair and clothes stick to my skin and a shiver shoots from my scalp to my toes despite the heat in the car.
None of it matters.
All my attention zeroes on the man in front of me.
Dad.
My dad is alive.
In the nightmare I had this morning, he was drowning in a pool of his own blood, shouting at me to run.
How can he be here now?
He’s watching me with warmth glinting in his eyes especially tailored for me.
Hazy memories filter back in.
Back then, Dad used to be stern and a control freak. The staff and Daddy’s friends who wore black — whom I now recognise as bodyguards — trembled at the sight of him. He was the type of man who commanded any room he stood in.
Ethan Steel — the emperor of Steel’s fortune. A ruthless businessman and an unforgiving enemy.