Seeing Blood

Ethan’s steps stopped across from us.

Tara and I were tied to opposite ends of the railing, with the roaring ocean behind us.

The moment Tara saw Ethan, she started crying, her face was a picture of delicate misery.

It was so perfect that if I was not stuck in the same situation, I might have applauded. I could not imagine how she managed such excellent emotional control.

"Ethan, it's Lana. She did this! They're all in it together. Please save me!"

Ethan's expression was grave as his eyes landed on Tara. His voice softened as he comforted her.

"Tara, don't be afraid. I'll save you. I promise you'll be okay."

I could not hold back a mocking laugh. "What are you going to promise her with? Your words? If you think you're credible, pigs would fly. It's that laughable."

Ethan turned toward Amber as his eyes narrowed dangerously, his voice dropping as he questioned, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Amber, perched casually on a chair with one foot up, was entirely covered, her voice was distorted through a voice modulator. Even if Ethan suspected her later, there would be no evidence.

"What do I want? Simple."

Amber raised a hand, gestured toward us, and uttered a sentence that shocked everyone.

"What did you say?"

For the first time, I saw Ethan lose his composure. Unfortunately, it had to be in a situation like that.

"I said, you can save one of them, or you can take someone's place. Such a simple statement, yet you need me to repeat it? For a so-called business genius, you're surprisingly slow."

I bit my lip as the sound of waves crashing behind us echoed in my ears. My body shook uncontrollably—a reflex I could not suppress.

Ethan looked at me, and I tried to find something, anything, in his gaze. I was too focused, catching a flicker of hesitation in his eyes.

"Still can't decide? Is it that hard? Need a push?" Amber asked.

"Wait. Whatever you want, I can give it to you. Money, anything. I'm taking both of them with me."

Ethan steadied himself and regained his composure as he locked his sharp eyes onto Amber.

Anyone else might have been intimidated, but Amber was not one to scare easily. She did not even lift her gaze before waving her hand.

Tara panicked as her tears spilled uncontrollably while Ethan's eyes stayed on her, filled with nothing but heartache and tenderness.

At that moment, I probably looked like the greatest villain of all. It was as if I was someone who had torn apart the fated love story of two star-crossed lovers.

Ethan's voice trembled with anger as he looked at me.

"Lana, have you had enough? Do you even realize what you're doing? Just because I haven't said anything doesn't mean I don't know that you teamed up with someone else to do this.

"Is this still you? Stop this already. This is life and death. Is there anything you wouldn't do?"

He paused and added, "Don't make me lose respect for you."

How ridiculous.

Did he truly believe, from beginning to end, that I, Lana Branch, was a woman who could not survive without him?

I never thought that. I just wanted an answer, a reason to let my current self kill the past Ethan.

"Ethan, I asked you to choose. Why are you wasting time?"

"Ms. Shaw, I know you won't listen to anything I say, but I'll say it anyway. You still have time to stop this."

Ethan seemed to snap back into his usual composed self—calm and unshakable no matter the situation. The wind howled violently, scratching at my throat until I felt an itch that seemed to make me want to cough.

"Enough talking. Choose, or I'll let them both go."

At Amber's signal, the men next to us hoisted both me and Tara up. The salty sea breeze hit me in the face, and the sharp smell of ocean water churned my stomach.

However, nothing compared to the screaming in my ears. Before I could even draw a breath, Ethan had already made his choice.

At that moment, everything went silent.

Amber instinctively turned to look at me. My vision flickered and spots of black clouded my sight, but I did not know why.

It could not be grief, could it? That would be too humiliating.

'Lana Branch, you really misjudged him, didn't you?'