23
Ethan’s guilt became the weapon I needed for my revenge. The police traced the kidnapping back to Bella using the vehicle’s GPS and nearby surveillance footage, revealing her guilt. While no cameras had captured the shoreline, a distant monitoring tower picked up a blurred image that looked more like Bella falling on her own than me pushing her.
Justice, though delayed, was inevitable. Bella was arrested on charges of kidnapping and defamation. At her trial, she wore a disheveled prison uniform, a far cry from her former glamour. She knelt before Adrian, begging him to help her one last time for the sake of their past.
Adrian agreed, using his connections to bail her out. No one knew where he took her, but Ethan made sure their story went public, posting all their misdeeds online. The public backlash was swift and brutal, sending Bennett Enterprises‘ stock into freefall. Under pressure, Adrian’s father stripped him of his shares and handed them to Ethan, who became the new CEO.
As for Adrian, he disappeared along with Jonah and Bella. Ethan searched everywhere but found no trace of them–until Jonah resurfaced.
When Ethan found him, Jonah was pale, thin, and digging through garbage cans for food. Taking him home, Ethan watched him devour five bowls of rice, only for Jonah to suffer from severe stomach pain later that night. Days of hunger had shrunk his stomach, and he spent two days recovering in the hospital.