For the longest Ethan swallowed nervously and then forced himself to stay calm and keep a poker face on. However, the chief didn't seem amused by his calm demeanor, and when Ethan met his gaze, he saw him glaring at him coldly. "Your father wants to speak with you. Let's hope he can talk sense into your head." Then without saying another word, he exited the room.With the door shutting behind him, Ethan let out the breath as his eyebrows knitted together slightly, wondering what his father wanted.A couple of minutes later, the door opened again and Mr. Rider entered the room alone, walking straight towards him and taking a seat on the other side."I have played it your way, and now it's time for you to play it mine," he said and looked at Ethan with an angry scowl. "You have to let the girl go. That's the only way I can make this right and save your own damn life."When Ethan just watched him from the corner of his eyes, Mr. Rider continued talking, “You may think that the Walkers a

When Mr. Hester finally entered the office, he saw a very intimidating man sitting behind the desk and he instantly felt his chest constricting in fear.The moment Chief Rasch raised his gaze and their eyes connected, Mr. Hester felt a rush of nervousness and blurted out, "I am here concerning Ethan Rider's bill."Chief Rasch's face turned into a dark scowl and said, "Sit."When he pointed to the chair, Mr. Hester hesitated, but he did as he was told and sat down quickly.Then Chief Rasch's eyes locked on him again and he asked with deadly intent dripping from every syllable he spat out, "Who are you to the prisoner?""I just want to know how much his bond is and what's the process of billing him out." Mr. Hester said, knowing that he had Nina living with him, and he didn't want to give out too much of his information before they started digging into him too.Suddenly, Chief Rasch dropped his pen and clasped his hands together, and his expression softened. He leaned toward Mr. Hester

The van came to a stop in front a white building that looked too clean and isolated for Ethan's comfort the moment he stepped out of the car and into the light. His eyelids squeezed shut as he breathed deeply, feeling the air fill his lungs as he exhaled slowly, before opening his eyes again and adjusting his gaze onto the building before him, as he noticed that it resembled some sort of warehouse... or facility to be more precise. As he walked further inside the large structure with the officers, he couldn't help but notice how quiet it seemed to be, aside from the occasional chirping bird somewhere in the distance and the sound of his own footsteps echoing in the hallway.The guards led him to an elevator, pressing the button a few times, and when the metal doors parted open, he was pushed into the elevator and the officers joined him before one of them punched codes on the panel beside the lift door and the elevator started moving downwards. It was silent for the entire ride do

News about Ethan's situation had reached the others, and the next morning, Drak and his men were sitting around the table, frustrated that Ethan had not even taught them a thing and there was a possibility that he could die. "How about we stage a prison break." One of them said while drinking coffee from the steaming mug. As his brows arched, Drak slapped the back of his head and said, "We are just common thugs. Do you think we have the skill for a prison break? Huh!" They grew silence at his words, and Drak was about to speak again when Mr. Hester walked into the room, and they all turned their focus on him with this look of expectation. But the old man joined them at the table with a sigh, and they all just sat wallowing in the awkwardness. "Where is Nina?" Mr. Hester asked them, ignoring the looks. "She hasn't left her room since yesterday," Drak answered. Sadness washed over him and his brows lowered as he said, "That poor girl. I should make some bowl of hot ramen to mak

When Ethan heard keys jiggling at his cell door, he squeezed his eyelids even tighter, blocking his face with his arm."Ethan Rider! Get up!" An officer commanded."What do they want at this ungodly hour?" Ethan mumbled under his breath.In annoyance, Ethan slowly lifted his head, looking toward the officer and seeing him push open the cell door."Get up," The officer said angrily again.Saying nothing, Ethan sat on the bed and rubbed his face. His eyes were swollen from lack of sleep, and the pain in his shoulder, leg, and back was excruciating as well. But still, he forced himself to get up.Standing up unsteadily, he walked over to the door, asking the officer when he reached him, "What now?""You are on bathroom cleaning duty." The officer said coldly, slapping cuffs on Ethan's wrist.Too exhausted to argue, Ethan calmly followed him down the corridor to the far west of the building.Finally, they arrived at the very end of the hall, and he uncuffed Ethan's hand before saying, "Ge