30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 259: Ethan’s Suspicions

"Fine, I’ll do as you say, Mr. Blackwood." Lily Anderson set the USB drive down and stepped forward to take Ethan Blackwood’s hand.

"You still trust him and not me?!" Ethan’s frustration was evident, and her seemingly dismissive attitude worsened his mood.

Her blind faith in Alex... she wouldfn’t even realize it if she got sold out by him!

"The USB drive is clean, isn’t it?" Lily said, holding his hand. "If nothing happens when I deliver the USB drive today, can we stop arguing about this, please?"

"That just proves you don’t trust me!"

"I’m not stopping you from investigating Alex, am I?" Lily conceded, taking a step back. "But you can’t hurt him unless you have solid evidence."

"Alex, Alex—listen to how affectionate you sound when you call his name!"

Ethan pulled his hand away and slammed his fist on the table, then turned and stormed off.

"He’s Alice Johnson’s husband..." Lily muttered, unsure how often she’d have to say this before he’d let it go. This jealous man...

But Ethan didn’t look back as he left.

Pregnant and unable to chase after him, Lily sighed and sat in the CEO’s chair. She picked up the scattered photos on the desk. Each image had been treated with a unique chemical solution to ensure they hadn’t been tampered with.

She didn’t quite understand—could tracking devices even be embedded in physical photographs?

Flipping through the photos, she saw images of Alex and Alice on their honeymoon. Alice looked radiant with her cheerful smile, while Alex remained his usual gentle self, his features soft and kind.

Suddenly, the photos slipped from her hands and scattered onto the desk.

Her arms felt wholly drained of strength. This sudden wave of weakness had become so frequent that Lily grew accustomed to it. As long as it wasn’t sharp, unbearable pain, she could endure it calmly.

Was this what it meant to grow numb to pain over time?

Lily stared at her hands, her head lowering slightly as she bit her lip to endure the dull ache.

"What’s wrong with you?!"

Ethan’s voice suddenly rang out near her ear. Before Lily could react, his hand gently lifted her face.

Ethan had returned unexpectedly and now stood in front of her.

Her pained expression, with her features scrunched up to fight through the discomfort, fell squarely into his line of sight.

Lily froze for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Why did you come back?"

Hadn’t he just stormed out a moment ago?

"You wouldn’t come looking for me if I left?!" Ethan snorted, his fingers brushing against her face. The conference room’s air conditioning wasn’t particularly warm, yet a thin layer of sweat had formed on her skin.

"You promised you wouldn’t abandon me," Lily said, frowning as more sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Why are you sweating so much?" Ethan asked, noticing something was off.

"Maybe the air conditioning is too warm," Lily said, grasping for an excuse. Her hands were still weak, resting limply on the desk.

This air conditioning could make her sweat? Really?

"What’s wrong with your hands?" Ethan’s sharp eyes caught the issue, and he reached out to grab her arm.

"Ah—"

Lily cried out softly in pain. When he gripped her arm, the soreness became unbearable, and she couldn’t hold back.

Realizing what was happening, worry darkened Ethan’s eyes. "Is the AuroraVirus acting up again?!"

Lily could only nod weakly. "Yeah, my hands lost their strength..."

"Does it hurt badly?" The late-stage symptoms of the AuroraVirus included widespread body pain.

"Just a little," Lily said, forcing a faint smile.

Ethan didn’t say another word. He scooped her up and strode out of the conference room.

Ethan laid Lily on the bed in the bedroom attached to the CEO’s office. He used a tissue to wipe the sweat off her face before gently pulling her into his arms. "Stay home and rest."

"There’s only a little bit of filming left. I don’t want to leave it unfinished," Lily said with a smile. "Besides, these episodes only happen occasionally. It’s not a big deal."

Ethan didn’t respond. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, careful not to touch her hands. "I’ll have the doctor set up an IV to boost your strength."

"Nanny has been making me tonic soups every day. I’m stronger than ever—probably gained a couple of pounds," Lily said, leaning against him. Talking about trivial things seemed to distract her from the pain.

She was so tired of the tonics that she didn’t even want to think about an IV.

"Does it still hurt?" Ethan asked, his voice low and cautious as he avoided her hands.

"No," Lily replied, shaking her head.

Leaning into Ethan’s embrace, she realized that with him by her side, the pain from the AuroraVirus flare-ups didn’t seem so bad... she could almost forget it entirely.

Lily delivered Alex’s wedding video and photos to Ethan’s designated location the following day. She waited there for two hours, but nothing happened...

The small wooden cabin was clean and tidy. Bodyguards stood expressionless around her, adding a layer of tension to the atmosphere.

Sitting at the table, Lily, bored out of her mind, video-called Ethan on her phone. "Ethan, can I go back to the set now? I have scenes to shoot today."

Alex hadn’t shown up, nor had anyone from the central government or military.

How much longer was she supposed to stay here?

Ethan was sitting in his car, writing something. Hearing her complaint, he glanced at the screen to see her face, spinning a pen between his fingers. "Be patient."

She had an entire crew waiting for her back at the set. Was it fair to keep everyone waiting just because of her?

The USB drive had already proven to be clean. If Alex honestly had ulterior motives and had been monitoring her 24/7, he would’ve made a move by now. There was no way he would still be holding back.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked out of boredom. If she’d known she’d be stuck here for so long, she would’ve brought the script to work on. Now, all she had was her phone to pass the time.

"Working," Ethan replied, lowering his head to continue writing.

Through the screen, Lily could see his long eyelashes, like curtains framing his eyes. He looked incredibly handsome.

He had been so busy lately. He’d mentioned wanting to get surgery to fix the scar on his brow but hadn’t found the time. The scar remained, marring his otherwise perfect face.

"What are you working on?" Lily pressed, still bored.

"Just sit tight. I’ll cook for you tonight," Ethan replied, lifting his gaze to meet hers.

"Really?!" Lily’s eyes lit up instantly. "I want black pepper steak and duck blood vermicelli soup."

"..." Ethan looked at her like she was an alien. "Steak and duck blood vermicelli soup?!"

How did she even come up with such a bizarre combination?

Pregnancy cravings could indeed be inexplicable.

"Yes," Lily nodded, about to say more when a voice from Ethan’s car interrupted. "Mr. Blackwood, a black sedan, has passed the cabin twice."

A black sedan?

Lily’s heart skipped a beat. She watched as Ethan’s expression darkened. His voice turned icy. "Capture them."

"Yes, sir!"

The cabin was in a remote location. It was highly unusual for a car to pass by twice in such a short time. Even Lily understood the oddity.

Not long after, a few bodyguards dragged a middle-aged man into the cabin. Lily had never seen him before.

She adjusted her phone to aim its camera at the man to show Ethan.

It wasn’t Alex, nor did the man look like someone from the military.

"Who sent you?!" Ethan demanded coldly.

The middle-aged man was clearly terrified by the situation. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he stammered incoherently until the bodyguards intimidated him into speaking. "I’m... I’m just a driver. Someone hired me to come here and pick them up, but I couldn’t find the address..."

"Phone number!"

Ethan barked. A bodyguard immediately confiscated the man’s phone. The man pointed to the most recent call, but it had already been disconnected when they dialed back.

"Let him go."

Ethan snorted derisively. After the man was escorted out, Ethan issued another cold command. "Follow him."

"Yes, sir."

Lily turned the phone back toward herself and blinked. "Can I leave now?"

"Do you see now that Alex is suspicious?" Ethan asked, staring at her through the screen.

They had only caught a driver. Did that really count as evidence against Alex?

Not wanting to argue with Ethan, Lily chose silence.

"You don’t believe me, do you?" Ethan’s brows furrowed slightly, his dark eyes deep and intense.

"I just think it’s too much of a coincidence. The driver’s number being disconnected so quickly... Someone is clearly monitoring us," Lily said after a moment. "Whoever it is, you need to be extra careful from now on."

She suspected it was the military keeping an eye on them.

If they ever found concrete evidence, Ethan would be in deep trouble.

Ethan stared at her coldly. She hadn’t mentioned Alex once.

Fine.

He would provide the evidence himself.

"Can you take me back to the set now?" Lily asked again, growing anxious. She hated making an entire crew wait for her. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Then get in the car," Ethan said with a cold snort, though his eyes carried a glint of thoughtfulness.

The more Alex avoided leaving traces, the more suspicious he became. Every move Alex made was calculated.

Ethan hadn’t misjudged him. He could see the hatred and provocation in Alex’s eyes every time they crossed paths.

Alex Carter...

A flash of killing intent crossed Ethan’s gaze.

Lily exited the cabin and climbed into Ethan’s car, handing him the USB drive and photos. "Have someone deliver these to Bill Carter. Neither of us should make direct contact with him."

She believed someone was tracking them, but it wasn’t Alex—the military or central government.

She was Ethan’s woman. With how publicly he had announced their relationship at the press conference, it was confident the military was also keeping tabs on her.

Ethan looked about to toss the items aside, but Lily quickly grabbed his hand. "Please, I promised Alex I’d deliver them for him."

Bang—

Ethan let out a harsh snort through his nose and tossed the bag onto the seat beside him.

"Thank you." Seeing his reaction, Lily knew he had agreed. Everything would have been fine if they hadn’t directly contacted Bill Carter.

After dropping off Lily, Ethan received a call. The voice on the other end said only one thing:

"Mr. Blackwood, Aiko Nakamura doesn’t look like she will make it."

Ethan’s hand clenched into a fist. Speaking into the phone, he gave a cold order. "Take her to the restaurant next door."

"Yes, Mr. Blackwood."

The military had been keeping a close watch on him. To avoid unnecessary risks, Ethan had yet to meet the hostages in person.

But if Aiko Nakamura died now, the antidote would be lost forever...