"LOVE IN A LONG SUSPENSE

CHAPTER SIX — A Beast with a Heart

The next morning, the golden light of dawn filtered through Ethan's grand windows, but it did little to warm the chill that lingered in his chest. As he stirred from restless sleep, he found his assistant already waiting outside his door, holding a thick document in hand—his expression unreadable.

Ethan frowned. "What's this?"

"Your request, sir," the assistant said crisply. "The background investigation on Haera."

Ethan's brows knitted for a moment. The name echoed louder in his head than he expected. Haera. So ordinary, yet so haunting. He took the file and sat on the edge of his bed, flipping through it silently.

Her academic records. Her birth certificate. Medical history. Old photos from school. On paper, she was no one special. But Ethan's instincts told him otherwise—he could feel it. Something in her past was hidden, perhaps even from herself. Her innocence was a veil. But behind that softness, there was a silence that screamed.

After several minutes, he closed the folder and muttered, "Good."

He rose to head toward his private bathhouse, but his assistant's voice stopped him.

"Sir," the man said carefully, "should I… take care of her? Ensure she stays silent—permanently?"

Ethan paused mid-step.

He didn't turn around, but his silence sent a ripple through the room. For a moment, his eyes closed—only for a second.

"No," he said. "I'll handle her myself."

His voice was firm, but low. Almost reluctant.

The assistant nodded with a respectful bow. "Understood."

Ethan walked off in silence, but his thoughts were anything but quiet. The idea of silencing Haera for good… It should have been an easy decision. Yet something about it turned his stomach in a way he didn't understand.

---

Meanwhile, at the Park residence, everything was falling apart.

The mansion, once a place of peace, now buzzed with tension. Mrs. Park hadn't changed her clothes in two days. Her hair was undone, her face pale, lips cracked. She stood in the middle of the living room, surrounded by law enforcement officers, trembling.

"It's been two days!" she cried, her voice raw with grief. "And you still haven't found my daughter!"

The officers shifted uncomfortably under her glare, unable to meet her eyes.

"What kind of incompetence is this? And you call yourselves policemen?" Her voice broke. "Do you expect me to go looking for her myself? Is that it?"

Silence.

Mrs. Park's fury snapped like a whip.

"Don't worry," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I will do it myself."

She sank into the couch, hugging a framed photo of Haera to her chest. Her fingers traced the edges of her daughter's smile like it was a lifeline.

"I just asked for one thing," she whispered. "Bring her back to me. Please—bring me my daughter."

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, soaking the photograph. Then her grief turned to fire once more.

"You have thirty-six hours," she said sharply. "If she's not found by then, I'll make sure every single one of you loses your job. I swear it."

The officers exchanged glances—some filled with pity, others with fear.

Mrs. Park stood tall, her voice hoarse but unwavering. "Now get out."

As they filed out, she collapsed again, alone in the silence. Her hands trembled as she clutched her chest, feeling like her heart would burst from the pain.

---

That night, she didn't sleep.

The house was quiet, except for the sound of her breathing—shallow, ragged—and the ticking clock on the wall, reminding her with every second that her daughter was still gone.

Then, suddenly, her phone rang.

She froze.

Unknown number.

Her hand trembled as she picked it up. She hesitated. How many cruel prank calls had she answered in the last 48 hours? How many liars pretending they had her daughter just to demand a ransom?

She finally answered with a tired voice. "Hello… What prank is this now?"

But this time, it wasn't a scammer.

"Hello, Mrs. Park," a cold, composed male voice said. "Your daughter is with me. She's safe—for now. She wants to speak to you."

Mrs. Park's heart stopped.

Then came the shuffle of the phone changing hands—and Haera's voice burst through the receiver.

"Mom! Mom! Please come get me!" Haera sobbed. "I don't want to stay here anymore! Please come for me! I'm scared—Mommy, I'm so scared!"

Mrs. Park clutched the phone with both hands, her heart splitting.

"Baby, it's okay. I'm coming. I'll get you out, I promise. Just tell me where you are—who has you? Tell me, sweetheart."

"I…" Haera started to say, her voice trembling.

But the line suddenly shifted. A new voice.

Ethan.

"She's with me," he said. "Don't worry. She's in safe hands."

Click.

The line went dead.

Mrs. Park let out a scream, dropping the phone. Then she snatched it back up and redialed furiously.

This time, Ethan answered again.

"You bastard!" she screamed. "How dare you? You kidnap my daughter and have the nerve to tell me she's safe?! Are you out of your mind?"

Ethan calmly held the phone away from his ear, expression unreadable. He waited until her rant died down, then spoke coolly.

"You really are her mother," he said. "Instead of begging, you threaten me. You do realize I hold your daughter's life in my hands, don't you?"

He leaned in toward the phone, voice dropping into something dark and final.

"If you want her alive, don't ever confront me again. And stop the search. No one's going to find her unless I let them. And if I decide she disappears… she will."

Then he ended the call.

---

Haera stared at him with wide, furious eyes. "Why?" she whispered. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Her voice shook with heartbreak. "I told you—I wasn't going to tell anyone. Why won't you just let me go?"

She stood, trembling, tears trailing down her cheeks.

"You're a beast," she said through clenched teeth. "You don't deserve to live."

Ethan didn't respond. He turned to leave, but just before exiting, he paused—and glanced at her. There, in his eyes, for only a heartbeat, was something unexplainable.

Pity.

He left without a word.

Haera collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She had expected hatred, violence, indifference—but not that look. That flicker of something human.

And Ethan, now back in his study, was equally shaken.

Why didn't I kill her? he wondered. Why didn't I explode when she cursed me? Why did I feel… sorry for her?

He gripped the edge of his desk, knuckles white.

"No," he muttered. "I can't feel. I won't."

He opened his laptop and drowned himself in his work.

"She called me a beast. Then that's what I'll be. I'll be her nightmare. I'll never be weak again."

And yet, somewhere deep inside, her tears still echoed.

---

End of Chapter Six

Next: Chapter Seven – A Rose in the Shadows

Can a cold-hearted captor survive the warmth of the girl he's caged—or will he lose himself trying? Please don't forget to drop your comments and gift .