Chapter 10 - I STOPPED RUNNING
Police wanted me in protective custody.
Ethan wanted security around me twenty-four hours a day.
My father wanted me out of New York.
For once, I wanted something different.
“I want to fight.”
Ethan looked at me across his conference table.
“Then we fight.”
“No secret plans.”
“Agreed.”
“No making decisions because you think you know what’s best for me.”
“Agreed.”
“No revenge.”
His eyebrow moved.
“That one’s difficult.”
“Ethan.”
“Fine.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Lena had recovered enough to speak with investigators.
She gave them copies of recordings she had stored online.
But the biggest break came from Rachel Monroe’s sister.
Rachel had kept a journal.
One entry mentioned Mercer.
Another mentioned Andrew.
The last one read:
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, IT WASN’T BECAUSE I WANTED TO DIE.
Police reopened the case.
Andrew’s lawyers attacked immediately.
They called Rachel unstable.
They called Lena attention-seeking.
They called me manipulated.
Then Andrew went on television.
“I have never abused a woman.”
I watched from Ethan’s office.
My hands stopped shaking.
That surprised me.
Maybe fear eventually burns itself out.
Andrew continued.
“Ava is being exploited by Ethan Carter, a man with a personal obsession.”
I switched off the television.
“I want to make a statement.”
Ethan looked at me.
“You don’t owe the public anything.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because he’s counting on my silence.”
Two hours later, cameras filled the lobby of Carter Tower.
I walked to the microphone alone.
No Ethan beside me.
No lawyer speaking for me.
“My name is Ava Bennett.”
The room quieted.
“Dr. Andrew Vaughn hit me for the first time four months ago.”
Camera shutters exploded.
“He apologized afterward. He cried. He blamed stress. I believed him.”
I took a breath.
“The second time, he blamed me.”
My voice stayed steady.
“The third time, I blamed myself.”
I looked directly into the cameras.
“That’s how this works.”
Silence.
“He was not a monster every minute. That would’ve been easier. He could be funny. Brilliant. Gentle. Then cruel. Then sorry. Then cruel again.”
I swallowed.
“And I stayed.”
A reporter shouted, “Why?”
“Because leaving someone you’re afraid of is not simple.”
Another question.
“Do you love Ethan Carter?”
The room erupted.
I stared toward the back.
Ethan stood behind the cameras.
Watching.
I could lie.
Instead, I said:
“That has nothing to do with whether Andrew abused me.”
Then a police officer pushed through the crowd.
He whispered something to Marcus.
Marcus looked at me.
“What?”
His voice was low.
“They found Rachel Monroe’s missing phone.”
My heart stopped.
“And there’s a video on it.”
“Of what?”
May you like
Marcus looked toward Ethan.
“Andrew standing over her body.”
