Chapter 4 - The Marriage Was Scheduled
I wanted Ethan to be innocent.
That realization made me furious.
After everything.
After Barbara’s humiliation.
After the secret transfers.
After his signature on the contract.
Some part of me was still searching for a version of my husband I could save.
Samuel placed a calendar on the desk.
It belonged to my father.
A date was circled.
October 12.
The exact night Ethan and I first met.
Beside it, my father had written:
E.W. refuses.
I looked at Samuel.
“What did Ethan refuse?”
Samuel rubbed his forehead.
“The original plan was for Ethan to meet you through a business foundation.”
“Your father knew Barbara wanted access to you.”
“So he tried to turn Ethan?”
“Yes.”
I laughed bitterly.
“My father used my future husband as a spy?”
“He offered Ethan protection from his family.”
“In exchange for getting close to me?”
Samuel hesitated.
“That was the initial proposal.”
The air left my lungs.
“So Ethan did marry me because of my money.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to.”
Samuel opened another file.
“Ethan refused Jonathan’s arrangement.”
“Then why did he meet me?”
“That’s what I never understood.”
My phone suddenly rang again.
This time, I answered without speaking.
Ethan sounded breathless.
“Are you with Samuel?”
“Yes.”
“Get away from him.”
Samuel’s head snapped toward me.
“Why?”
“Because he left something out.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“Put it on speaker.”
I did.
Ethan said, “Samuel told you Dad wanted me to protect you, didn’t he?”
“He said my father approached you.”
“He did.”
“But Samuel was the one who brought my name to him.”
Samuel went still.
Ethan continued.
“Your father didn’t discover me.”
“Samuel recruited me.”
I looked at Samuel.
His face had gone pale.
“Is that true?”
Samuel whispered, “It’s complicated.”
“No.”
I slammed my palm against the desk.
“I am done with complicated.”
Ethan continued through the phone.
“Ask him about the $250,000.”
I looked at the payment agreement.
“Barbara received it.”
“No.”
Ethan said.
“She received it last.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the money first went to Samuel.”
Samuel closed his eyes.
The betrayal landed differently because I had trusted him for less than an hour.
That was enough.
Samuel finally spoke.
“Yes.”
My stomach twisted.
“You took money?”
“From your father.”
“For what?”
“To identify someone Barbara could control.”
I stared at him.
Samuel’s voice broke.
“I chose Ethan.”
My husband had not entered the plan by accident.
Samuel had selected him.
Barbara had groomed him.
My father had tried to turn him.
And somewhere inside that triangle stood me.
A woman everyone apparently believed could be maneuvered like a piece on a board.
Then Ethan said, “Claire, there’s something else.”
“What?”
“That contract you found?”
“Yes.”
“I never signed it.”
I looked at the unmistakable signature.
“Your name is on it.”
“I know.”
“But I didn’t put it there.”
Samuel’s eyes widened.
Ethan spoke more slowly.
“And if Barbara has reached the point where she’s willing to forge my signature, she doesn’t need me anymore.”
A loud crash sounded through the phone.
Then Barbara’s voice came faintly from Ethan’s side.
“Give me the phone.”
Ethan shouted.
The call ended.
I stared at the blank screen.
Samuel reached for his coat.
“We need to go.”
“Where?”
“To Ethan.”
I blocked the door.
“No.”
Samuel frowned.
“If Barbara has him—”
“I’m not walking into another house because a man tells me I have to.”
I picked up my suitcase.
“This time, they come to me.”
And I already knew exactly where I wanted them to come.
May you like
My father’s abandoned headquarters.
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