Part 3: What the Contract Didn't Say
Ethan still hadn't let go of Genevieve's arm. He looked up at her like a man realizing the ground beneath him had always been a stage.
"You knew," he said quietly. "This whole time. You watched them treat you like—"
"I watched you," Genevieve corrected. "I needed to know if the man I funded was the man I thought he was. Whether he'd kneel for power, or kneel for what's right."
Victoria found her spine again, the way cornered people do. "This is my house. My son's name is on that empire, not yours. Whatever paper you think you have—"
"Check your phone, Victoria."
She did. A notification. A single line from her own attorney: Emergency loan recall filed. Estate assets frozen pending audit.
The color left her face for the second time that night.
Chloe grabbed for Ethan's sleeve instead, pivoting fast. "Ethan, baby, this doesn't change us. Whatever she's holding over your family, we can fix it. Together."
May you like
Ethan finally stood. He didn't look at Chloe. He looked at his mother, then at the maid's cloth still lying on the marble like evidence at a crime scene.
"There is no us, Chloe," he said. "There never really was. I think you were always marrying my name. Turns out the name was never mine to give."
