312 Chapter 312: We Have No Other Leads (1/2)

Finally, Dora stepped aside and allowed Ethan to leave. She knew that he had a car waiting, and she could sense him getting angrier and angrier by the second, so there was no longer any point in bothering him. She hadn't made any headway in convincing him that she was innocent anyways, and it didn't look like she would – not until Kylie showed up and exonerated her.

Once Ethan and Lucas were back at the hotel, they told Nate how things had gone at the studio, and he was furious. ”Dora Hilton is too bold,” he hissed. ”She never should have dared to kidnap Kylie. Once we find Kylie, I mean to snap Dora like a twig!”

”She is a bitch,” Lucas agreed. ”We should teach her a lesson!”

The two men had anticipated that Ethan would join them in their righteous indignation so, when he said nothing, they turned to him curiously and were surprised to see that he looked like he was in shock or something. Nate waved his hand in front of Ethan's eyes and said his name, but he didn't move an inch or say a single word.

Lucas put his hand on Ethan's shoulder and said, ”Ethan, don't worry. Dora may be shameless, but I am convinced that we will find Kylie and that she will be unharmed…”

Ever so slowly, Ethan's expression changed. He looked up at Nate and Lucas. ”It's not that simple,” He sighed. ”As long as Dora refuses to cooperate with us, we have no other leads…”

***

That night, Ethan had driven to the beach by himself. He liked to walk out onto the dock and feel the water's spray as the waves came up from the sea. He liked to look up at the sky and see the moon and the stars. This far from the city, they were brighter, and they helped him think.

There were a number of yachts tied up on the left side of the pier. He recognized the one at the end. It was Stephen's, and just the sight of it provoked emotions within him that he couldn't define. He strode towards the boat but, before he even got close, two big men stepped out and approached him. ”Who are you?” one of them demanded, ”And what do you want?”

”My name is Ethan Parker,” Ethan replied. ”Why are you harassing me?”

”The young master is on board,” the second man replied. ”He has asked not to be bothered. I will tell him that you are here, though. Perhaps he will see you…”

As soon as the man was done speaking, he ran back to the boat and left the first man to watch Ethan.

After a few minutes passed, Stephen hopped out of his boat and approached Ethan. ”It is late,” he said. ”Why are you here?”

”I suppose I was looking for you,” Ethan replied. ”I admit that I hadn't known why I was here until I saw your boat. Until then, I had been following my gut instinct. Now that I am here, why don't you invite me in? I am cold, and I could use a warm cup of coffee.”

Stephen nodded, and with a smile, he said, ”Mi casa su casa. You are welcome to come aboard.”

”And why is that?” Ethan wondered.

”I'd heard it through the grapevine that Kylie was missing,” Stephen explained. ”You know that I have feelings for her and that she has a feeling for me, so it doesn't surprise me that you would eventually point your finger in my direction.”

Ethan's face turned red with anger suddenly, and he flipped the table. ”Kylie does not have a feeling for you,” he roared. ”If she is with you now, it is because you kidnapped her!”

Luckily the coffee hadn't been served yet, so there was no damage done, and Stephen was able to calmly right it and act as though the event hadn't even happened. ”Temper, temper,” he laughed. ”Have you always been such a slave to your emotions?”

Ethan suddenly stood up. He walked over to Stephen, seized his collar, and pulled him up by it, and then he pressed him against the wall as hard as he could. ”Where's Kylie?” he snarled. ”If you tell me now, I will be lenient with you!”

Stephen remained smiling. He took a casual look over his shoulder to where his guards were at. ”I could snap my fingers,” he laughed, ”and my guards would be all over you, so go easy. I admit that I have Kylie. She is hidden, though. If you killed me now, you would never find her, and she would die of starvation.”

Ethan relaxed his grip slightly. ”I have a lot of resources,” he argued. ”Do you really think that I couldn't find her?”

”You would find her eventually,” Stephen replied, ”but she would have long since starved to death.”

”What do you want?” Ethan moaned as he let Stephen go. ”If you are looking for a ransom – whatever it is that you want – I will pay it!”