Chapter 7 - Ethan's Offer
I put Ethan on speaker.
Rachel began recording.
Agent Brooks listened without expression.
"What do you want?" I asked.
Ethan laughed softly.
"I want my wife."
Emily flinched.
I looked at her.
"She doesn't want you."
"You don't get to decide that."
"Neither do you."
His voice hardened.
"This is a marriage."
"No."
Emily spoke before I could answer.
Everyone turned toward her.
She stared at the phone.
"This was a hostage situation with wedding pictures."
Silence followed.
For once, Ethan had no immediate response.
Then he chuckled.
"There you are."
Emily's face changed.
Not fear this time.
Anger.
"You thought I would stay scared forever."
"I think you're confused."
"You broke my phone."
"You took my keys."
"You locked doors."
"You watched me through cameras."
"You told people I was unstable."
"And you hurt me when I tried to leave."
Ethan's voice became cold.
"Be very careful."
Emily looked at Agent Brooks.
Then at Rachel.
Then at me.
"I was careful for two years."
"I'm done."
She ended the call herself.
Agent Brooks almost smiled.
Then Ethan called again.
Rachel answered.
"This is counsel for Emily Prescott."
"I don't care who you are."
"You should."
Ethan breathed heavily.
"I want Victoria."
Rachel looked at me.
I nodded.
She put him on speaker again.
Ethan spoke quickly.
"The Crown folder is useless without the password."
"What is inside it?"
"Insurance."
"Against whom?"
"Everyone."
"What do you want?"
"Bring me the original card."
"No."
"Then you'll never open Crown."
I looked toward Calvin.
He silently shook his head.
He had not broken the encryption.
Ethan continued.
"Card for password."
"And Emily comes home."
Emily laughed.
It surprised everyone.
"That part wasn't funny, Ethan."
His breathing changed.
"Emily."
"You don't own me."
"Your family doesn't own me."
"And my mother is not the reason I left."
"You are."
She ended the call again.
This time Ethan did not immediately call back.
Rachel looked proud.
Agent Brooks looked concerned.
"He'll escalate."
"I know," I said.
Calvin kept working.
Two hours later, a news van appeared outside Mercy General.
Then another.
The story had spread.
Television commentators questioned my judgment.
Anonymous sources described Emily as unstable.
A photograph from college showed her holding a drink at a party.
A ten-year-old social media post was suddenly presented as proof of emotional problems.
Margaret understood something simple.
Truth took time.
Humiliation moved instantly.
But Margaret made another mistake.
She attacked publicly.
That gave Rachel an opportunity.
Rachel arranged a short statement from Emily.
No interview.
No questions.
No accusations beyond what she could document.
Emily sat upright in the hospital bed.
Her bruises were visible.
A camera belonging to Rachel's investigator recorded her.
"My name is Emily Hart Prescott."
"I am not missing."
"I am not mentally incompetent."
"I am not asking anyone to believe rumors."
"I am asking investigators to examine evidence."
She paused.
"I tried to leave my marriage."
"I was prevented from leaving."
"My injuries have been medically documented."
"My attorneys have preserved evidence."
"And if anyone hears claims that I voluntarily returned to the Prescott residence, those claims are false."
Rachel published the recording through her law firm's verified channels.
Within thirty minutes, the conversation changed.
Not completely.
But enough.
People started asking why a wealthy family needed anonymous sources to attack an injured woman.
Then Calvin shouted.
"I got something."
He had found a weakness in Crown's encryption.
The folder opened.
Hundreds of subfolders appeared.
At the top was one marked SUCCESSION.
Calvin clicked it.
A scanned document appeared.
It was Charles Prescott's handwritten plan for transferring control of the family's companies.
Ethan was not the heir.
Brandon was not the heir.
Margaret was not the final authority.
The listed successor was someone else.
Someone Emily recognized immediately.
May you like
She whispered the name.
"Samantha Reed."
