“Five minutes,” he begged. “Please.”
Leo moved to block him.
I raised my hand.
“Let him speak.”
Ethan stepped inside.
His eyes were red. His suit was wrinkled. He smelled like rain and panic.
“I signed whatever Mom told me to sign,” he said. “I didn’t understand the contract. I didn’t know they misused the money.”
“You knew about Vanessa.”
He closed his eyes.
“That was a mistake.”
“No,” I said. “A mistake is spilling wine. Planning to rob your wife is a strategy.”
His jaw trembled.
“I loved you at first.”
That hurt more than I expected.
Not because I believed him.
Because a small, foolish part of me had once needed it to be true.
I walked to the window. Below, the city moved on, bright and indifferent.
“You know what the worst part is?” I asked.
He said nothing.
“I would have helped you. If you had told me the truth, I would have helped rebuild the company. If your family had treated people with decency, I would have protected them. If you had loved me honestly, Ethan, I would have given you a life most men only dream about.”
He started crying.
