Chapter 4 - THE SECRET HE HAD BEEN PROTECTING
My father's words followed me into the house.
Adrian watched my expression.
“What did he say?”
I put the phone down.
“He said you discovered something about Ethan nine years ago.”
Adrian's face went still.
Charles appeared in the doorway.
“Richard told her?”
Adrian nodded.
Charles sighed.
“Then the time has come.”
I looked between them.
“What happened nine years ago?”
Adrian sat down.
“I was twenty-two.”
“I know.”
“Ethan had just started Northbridge.”
I frowned.
“He was barely known.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian opened a drawer and removed a thin black folder.
He placed it on the table.
Inside were old financial records.
I recognized the Northbridge logo.
“What is this?”
“Your first investment.”
I stared at the pages.
“My savings.”
“Yes.”
“You told me Ethan used them to start the company.”
“He did.”
“Then what's wrong?”
Adrian turned another page.
“The money was never supposed to be his.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“The original agreement was different.”
He showed me a document.
My signature was there.
So was Ethan's.
But beneath the agreement was another page.
A handwritten amendment.
My investment was supposed to purchase thirty percent of the company.
I had received nothing.
I stared at the number.
“Thirty percent?”
“Yes.”
“I thought I owned ten.”
“You were told you owned ten.”
My heart began pounding.
“Who changed it?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Ethan.”
“But this is nine years old.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't have enough evidence.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You had this.”
“I had copies.”
“Why keep them?”
“Because when I confronted Ethan, he threatened to destroy the company.”
“Why would that matter to you?”
“It mattered because your father had introduced him to investors.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Ethan wasn't simply building Northbridge. He was building it with your family's credibility.”
I looked at the documents.
Suddenly, years of memories rearranged themselves.
Ethan always saying I was the emotional one.
Ethan insisting he understood business better.
Ethan telling me that ownership percentages were complicated.
Ethan promising to “clean up the paperwork later.”
I felt sick.
“What happened nine years ago?”
Adrian answered.
“I discovered that Ethan had copied your signature onto a revised agreement.”
“And?”
“I confronted him.”
“What did he say?”
“He said you had agreed.”
I shook my head.
“I hadn't.”
“I knew.”
“Then why didn't you expose him?”
Adrian's voice softened.
“Because he had one thing I didn't.”
“What?”
“Your trust.”
I stared at him.
“He told me you would never believe me.”
I said nothing.
“And he was right.”
That hurt.
But I couldn't deny it.
I had loved Ethan.
I had defended him.
I had called Adrian's concerns jealousy.
I had even told my father Adrian was being unfair.
Adrian looked down.
“I decided that if I couldn't prove it, I would stay out of your life.”
I whispered,
“You protected me without telling me.”
“Yes.”
“That's not fair.”
“I know.”
“Neither was marrying me today.”
“I know.”
I stood.
“I need to see Ethan.”
Adrian rose.
“I'll come.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“I need to do this myself.”
He nodded.
“Then I'll wait.”
---
Ethan was at Northbridge.
He looked exhausted.
When I entered his office, he stood immediately.
“Claire.”
I placed the folder on his desk.
He saw the first page.
His face changed.
“You shouldn't have that.”
“Why?”
Silence.
“Because it's mine?”
He sat down.
“Claire, listen.”
“No.”
I pulled out the agreement.
“Thirty percent.”
He looked away.
“You misunderstood the structure.”
“I understood perfectly.”
“You weren't involved in the company.”
“I invested in it.”
“You were my fiancée.”
“I was your investor.”
His jaw tightened.
“You think this is about money?”
“I think everything is about money to you.”
He flinched.
For once, he didn't have an answer.
Then he said quietly,
“I was terrified.”
I stopped.
“Of what?”
“Failing.”
He looked at the floor.
“I thought if Northbridge collapsed, you'd leave.”
“You changed my ownership because you were afraid?”
“I told myself I would fix it.”
“When?”
“When we went public.”
I stared at him.
“You've had nine years.”
“I know.”
“Where is my thirty percent?”
He looked at me.
“It's gone.”
The room became silent.
“Gone where?”
Ethan swallowed.
“Into the company.”
“That's not an answer.”
“I used it.”
“For what?”
“Acquisitions.”
“Without my permission?”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
Then another thought hit me.
“Maya.”
“What about her?”
“Did she know?”
“No.”
I believed him.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Adrian.
Do not sign anything Ethan gives you.
I looked at Ethan.
“How does Adrian know you're here?”
Ethan's expression changed.
Then he smiled bitterly.
“Because he has been watching me for nine years.”
“No.”
“He has.”
Ethan leaned back.
“Ask him what happened to the original Northbridge records.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
Ethan smiled.
“They disappeared.”
I stared at him.
“Who took them?”
He looked directly into my eyes.
May you like
“Your father.”
---
