CHAPTER 3: HER TRUTH, HER PAIN
“I was a child,” she said through tears.
Ethan turned.
Her eyes weren’t filled with manipulation.
They were filled with grief.
“You took everything from us,” she whispered, looking at his father. “My parents… our home… everything. We didn’t even understand why.”
The room felt heavier.
“I didn’t come here to destroy him,” she said, looking back at Ethan. “I came here to understand. To see the man behind the empire that ruined my life.”
“And then?” Ethan asked quietly.
Her voice broke.
“And then I fell in love with you.”
Silence.
Raw. Unfiltered. Real.
“But your father found out,” she continued. “And he thought I was here to expose him.”
The father scoffed. “You expect us to believe this is a coincidence?”
“No,” she said. “I expect you to believe I chose not to destroy you… even when I could have.”
That’s when Ethan realized something terrifying.
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His father wasn’t protecting the family.
He was protecting his secrets.
