Chapter 2 - The Man Who Never Asked For Help
Twenty minutes later, black vehicles arrived.
Not one.
Not two.
Five.
They moved through the rain like they owned the street.
Audrey stood protectively in front of the boy.
She didn't know these people.
She didn't trust them.
The first door opened.
A tall man stepped out.
Black coat.
Dark hair.
Calm expression.
The kind of calm that made everyone else nervous.
Dorian Ashford.
Audrey immediately understood why people lowered their voices when they said his name.
He wasn't intimidating because he was angry.
He was intimidating because he never needed to be.
His eyes went straight to the boy.
“Ethan.”
The child's face changed.
“Dad.”
Dorian crossed the distance quickly.
For a moment, the powerful businessman disappeared.
There was only a father.
He touched his son's face.
“Are you hurt?”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Dorian looked at Audrey.
Only then did he seem to remember she was there.
“You pulled him out?”
Audrey nodded.
“Yes.”
“You jumped into the river?”
“Yes.”
Dorian stared at her.
“You could have died.”
Audrey shrugged.
“So could he.”
The guards behind Dorian exchanged looks.
Nobody spoke to him like that.
Nobody.
But Dorian only looked at her.
“What do you want?”
Audrey frowned.
“What?”
“Everyone wants something.”
“I don't.”
“That is usually what people say before asking.”
Audrey looked offended.
“I saved your son because he was drowning.”
Dorian studied her face.
Then Ethan spoke.
“She didn't ask for anything.”
The room became quiet.
Dorian looked at his son.
Ethan rarely defended strangers.
“Tell me what happened.”
The boy looked down.
His fingers tightened around Audrey’s sleeve.
“I was in my room.”
Dorian’s expression changed.
“You were?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you get outside?”
Ethan didn't answer.
Dorian lowered his voice.
“Ethan.”
The boy swallowed.
“I heard someone talking.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“What did they say?”
The child looked frightened.
“They said you would never find out.”
The rain continued falling.
Nobody moved.
Dorian's jaw tightened.
“Who said that?”
Ethan shook his head.
“I couldn't see.”
Audrey watched Dorian carefully.
The man who controlled companies, politicians, and millions of dollars suddenly looked like someone who had lost control of the one thing he cared about.
His son.
One of the guards approached.
“Mr. Ashford.”
Dorian turned.
“Speak.”
“We checked the security footage.”
“And?”
The guard hesitated.
“The cameras were disabled for seven minutes.”
Dorian’s eyes became colder.
“Inside my house?”
“Yes.”
A dangerous silence followed.
Audrey felt the atmosphere change.
This wasn't about a child sneaking outside.
Someone had helped him leave.
Someone inside the house.
Dorian looked at Ethan.
Then at Audrey.
“Bring them both to the house.”
Audrey immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“No?”
“I don't know you.”
Dorian raised an eyebrow.
“You know enough.”
“I know your name.”
“And?”
“And I know your son was locked inside your house and somehow ended up in a river.”
The guards became tense.
Audrey continued.
“So forgive me if I don't immediately follow a powerful stranger into a mansion.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then something unexpected happened.
Dorian smiled slightly.
Not happily.
More like he respected the answer.
“You're afraid of me.”
“Yes.”
“But you still argue with me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Audrey looked at Ethan.
“Because someone needs to.”
Dorian stared at her.
Then he opened the car door.
“Get in.”
Audrey hesitated.
“Why?”
His answer was quiet.
“Because whoever tried to take my son out of that house may try again.”
He looked toward Ethan.
“And right now, you're the only person he trusts.”
Audrey looked at the frightened boy holding onto her hand.
Then she looked back at Dorian.
She knew she was making a terrible decision.
But she opened the car door.
And stepped into the world of Dorian Ashford.
A world where nobody was trusted.
May you like
Not even family.
---
