Page 96 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

I needed to move, to get Victor and myself out of here before Colin returned.

Before I could get to my feet, heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs. I scrambled to pick up the gun I'd just used to shoot Andrew. I pointed it to the door as it flew open.

Thankfully, I didn't pull the trigger, because it was Ethan.

Relief flooded through me as I lowered my weapon and let out a breath, feeling safe for the first time since I'd arrived at the lighthouse. "I shot Andrew."

"I can see that."

"Do you think he's going to die?"

"It looks like you hit him in the shoulder." Ethan put his weapon away.

"You might need that, Ethan. Colin is around here somewhere."

"I already took care of him. He's tied up on the deck with Bennett. Bennett begged me to release him, but I wasn't sure what was going on, so I left him where he was."

"Good. Because Bennett tried to kill me."

"I want to hear everything, but first…" He squatted down beside me, giving me a concerned look. "Are you all right, Lauren?"

I nodded, fighting back tears that seemed ready to fall now that the fight was over. "I am now."

"The sheriff's deputies are on the way. Demora will also be here shortly."

"What about Jay?"

"He was arrested on a boat in the harbor with Victor's treasures. No one else is coming to hurt you, Lauren."

I blew out a breath. "Thank God."

Ethan stood up, then held out his hand to me. I appreciated the warmth of his fingers as they wrapped around mine, and he pulled me to my feet.

Once I was standing, Ethan grabbed Andrew's gun and checked on Victor, who was slowly returning to consciousness. Then he returned to me, his gaze moving to my arm, to the one cuff still on my wrist, the other dangling. There were long scratches on my arm that had puffed up and some were bleeding, but my injuries were minor, and I was grateful for that.

"Now tell me what happened," he said.

"Bennett lured me here so he could kill me."

Ethan's eyes widened. "Why would Bennett want to hurt you?"

"He found out I'm Victor's secret daughter. The evidence is there on the desk." I tipped my head toward the file. "Andrew stole those papers from Victor's office the night of the hotel fire. He didn't know I was the woman mentioned in the addendum to Victor's will until later. He just happened to rescue me because I was there, and I was trapped. That part of our relationship wasn't planned. Everything else was."

Ethan shook his head in amazement. "That is not what I expected you to say."

"I know, right? It's unbelievable. Anyway, at some point, Allison found the file. She thought Andrew was cutting her out, so she tried to make her own deal with Bennett. Once Bennett knew about me, he wanted me dead and told Allison to get rid of me. She got her opportunity on the yacht, but she failed."

"And then Bennett killed Allison," Ethan murmured.

"Yes. And like Allison, I was going to have a tragic fall that would look like an accident." I paused, thinking about everything I had learned. "Bennett didn't want to share his inheritance with me. There's a document in that file that shows Victor wants to give me half his estate upon his death."

"That's wild. And you said Andrew saved you from Bennett?"

"Yes. When he came to my aid, I thought I was wrong about Andrew, that he was saving my life again. But then, Andrew brought me in here and cuffed me to the chair. He told me he'd discovered the diamond he'd stolen from Victor last night was a fake, but he had one last card to play."

"You," Ethan said, meeting my gaze.

I nodded. "Andrew told Victor he would trade me for the diamond. Otherwise, I would die. But…" My voice trailed away as I realized the truth. "But Victor didn't bring the real Heart of Eternity; he brought another fake. Andrew threw it against the wall when he realized it wasn't the real thing." I tipped my head to the blue glass on the floor. "The fake diamond shattered, and Andrew flipped out. He went after Victor. I thought he was going to kill him. I knew had to stop it, but I was cuffed to the chair. Fortunately, I could see the old wood was giving way, so I did everything I could to break free, and I was just in time. I used the arm of the chair to hit the gun out of Andrew's hands, but I still had to fight him for Bennett's weapon, which he also had. I don’t know how I got the best of him, but I was filled with a strength I didn't know I had. I found the trigger, and I pulled it."

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