He Lost His Memory In A Crash, Then A Small-Town American Woman’s Kindness Changed His Life
Chapter 7
The bullet shattered the glass above Ethan’s head.
Clara screamed.
Victoria dropped to the floor.
Ethan pulled Clara down.
Another shot struck the wall.
“Stay down!”
They crawled toward the hallway.
Victoria grabbed the hidden documents.
“Back door!”
They escaped through the kitchen and ran into the woods.
Rain began falling.
Branches scratched their faces.
Behind them, tires screeched.
They kept running until they reached an abandoned barn.
Clara leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
“Ethan.”
“I’m here.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Victoria checked the road.
“They know we have the evidence.”
“Who?”
“Jonathan.”
Ethan stared at her.
“How?”
“Because he’s been watching you since the crash.”
Clara’s face went pale.
“Then why didn’t he kill me?”
Victoria looked at her.
“Because he needs Ethan alive.”
“Why?”
“To sign something.”
Ethan understood.
“The company.”
Victoria nodded.
“Your board is preparing to remove you. Jonathan plans to force you to authorize a transfer of controlling shares.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“So all of this is about money.”
“No.”
Victoria shook her head.
“It’s about power.”
She handed him the final file.
Inside was a contract.
Jonathan planned to transfer Cole Meridian into a private holding company.
Once Ethan signed, Jonathan would control everything.
“But why the crash?”
Victoria hesitated.
“You had already discovered the fraud.”
Ethan remembered.
A dark road.
Headlights.
A vehicle following him.
Then impact.
He whispered:
“They tried to kill me.”
“Yes.”
Clara looked at him.
“But they failed.”
Victoria nodded.
“They thought you would die.”
Ethan stared into the rain.
“If I hadn’t crashed here…”
“You would have.”
He looked at Clara.
She was watching him.
“What?”
“You saved my life.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“You found me.”
“Anyone would have stopped.”
“Would they?”
She looked away.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Clara.”
She finally looked at him.
“You don’t know me.”
“I know enough.”
“You knew me before the crash.”
“Maybe.”
“But I knew you after.”
He reached for her hand.
“And that’s the version of me that matters.”
She squeezed his fingers.
Victoria quietly looked away.
The next morning, they returned to Mercy Creek.
But the town had changed.
Black SUVs surrounded the diner.
Police cars blocked the street.
Nathan had arrived.
David Mercer was there too.
He approached Ethan.
“Thank God you’re safe.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You lied to me.”
David’s face changed.
“What?”
“I know about Northstar.”
David stepped backward.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
Jonathan appeared behind him.
He smiled.
“Then let’s stop pretending.”
Police surrounded the building.
Jonathan raised his hands.
“I’m not here to fight.”
Ethan stared at him.
“What do you want?”
“The same thing I’ve always wanted.”
“Your company.”
“No.”
Jonathan smiled.
“I want what your father promised me.”
Ethan froze.
“My father?”
Jonathan’s expression darkened.
“That’s the part you still don’t remember.”
