- 6.
The rioters had been captured, but the city
was still scarred.
Our house had been burned to the ground.
Ben, leaving the Governor’s mansion, sent
someone to take us to his place.
After a few days, Paisley finally started to
come out of her shell.
Ben, under orders from the Governor, was
preparing to interrogate the rioters, hoping to
find the people behind the attack.
Besides the rioters, everyone who’d tried to
flee the city that day had been thrown in jail.
Ben asked me if I knew whether Ethan had
been in contact with the Governor’s rival.
“He left the city with Brenda and Tiffany, like
he knew the riots were coming.”
<
mmy.
I nodded, thinking hard.
I remembered Ethan always exchanging
letters with someone.
He’d said it was a friend from the Governor’s
office, just talking about poetry.
Now, it didn’t seem right..
That night, I went to our old house.
Searching through the rubble, I found a
locked box and gave it to Ben.
“There might be some evidence in here.”
Ben broke the lock, and inside were letters
that made his face darken.
“Are these really connected to the Governor’s
rival?”
My heart sank.
If Ethan had been working with the rival,
orchestrating the riots, he could be sentenced
to death.
As his wife and daughter, Paisley and I
wouldn’t be safe
wouldn’t be safe.
Ben saw my fear and reassured me,
“Don’t worry, Chloe. I’ll get to the bottom of
this. I’ll protect you and Paisley.”
“I believe you, but I can’t deny my relationship
with Ethan…”
Looking at Paisley, I was terrified.
I couldn’t let her be thrown in jail.
Ben took the letters and left to question
Ethan, and I started planning how to break
free from that relationship.
Later that night, Ben returned, looking
troubled.
“Chloe, he said he won’t say a thing unless he
can see you and Paisley.”
“Okay. I have some questions for him
anyway.”
Whether he or Brenda had worked with the
Governor’s rival, I needed to know.
Ben took Paisley and me to the jail, ordering
く
the guards to avoid any violent interrogation
tactics so as not to frighten Paisley.
I looked at him gratefully, taking Paisley’s
hand.
Paisley seemed uneasy.
“Mommy, why are we here? Is he…”
She trailed off, seeing Ethan locked in a cell.
He was bruised and bloody.
Seeing Paisley and me, he stirred, slowly
struggling to his feet and leaning against the
bars.
“Paisley, you came to see your father… You
and your mother are the only ones who care.
You’re the only ones who came to see me.”
“Chloe, I was wrong about you that day at the
gate. It took this to realize how precious my
wife and daughter are to me.”
His voice was hoarse, his hands battered.
“Come here, let me get a good look at you.
Have you been eating well?”
<
The bars kept him from touching Paisley.
Paisley hid behind me, glaring at him.
“You’re not my father! You’re Tiffany’s
father!”
Ethan looked hurt.
“You’re still mad about that day. That day
when I was saving everyone on our lives. I just
learned that Brenda has been working against
us, pushing the blame on me.”
“Now I see that you’re the only family I truly
have.”
His voice was full of despair.
I didn’t have the patience to listen to his
regrets.
“How did you know about the riots? What
about the letters in the box?”
“Ethan, this affects the safety of the entire
family. Tell me the truth.”
My coldness seemed to shock him.
“Is that all we have left to say to each other?
<
You don’t want to know how I’ve been? If I’ve
been thinking of you and Paisley?”
The jail was filled with torture devices.
I could see what he’d been through just by
looking at him.
I ignored his expression, saying,
“Don’t play games! You sent Paisley to those
thugs! There’s nothing between us anymore!”
“You refused to give me a divorce! How dare
you ask for my concern now?!”
My words hit him hard. He slumped to the
ground, defeated.
“Chloe, we’ve been married for five years.
You know what kind of man I am. I would
never work with that maniac!”
I stared at him, still not sure what to believe.
“Then why did you tell Ben that you’d only tell
the truth if Paisley and I came to see you?”
He looked at Paisley and me, his face twisting
in pain.
<
He clutched his wound, his voice breaking.
“I just wanted to know… if you and Ben had
gotten back together!”
“I just wanted to know if you still cared…”
He struggled closer, reaching out to touch
Paisley’s head.
“Paisley, I was wrong to be so strict with you. I know it drove us apart…”
“I think about you every minute of every day,
worry about whether you’ve been caught up in
this. Please, let me see you.”
Paisley stood her ground, refusing to show
him any sympathy.
She took my hand, pulling me away.
“You’re not my father!”
I looked down at Ethan, asking one last
question.
“If you ever want to see Paisley again, tell me
the truth. Were you working with that
psychopath or not?!”
<
He looked at me, tears in his eyes, and shook
his head.
But his words weren’t about the attack.
“You still don’t believe me… How did we end
up like this?”
