Chapter 3: The Document Ethan Hid From Me
The chairman did not raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
The room was already silent.
“Everyone leaves,” Victor said.
Executives immediately moved away. Investors who had been laughing minutes earlier suddenly found reasons to look elsewhere.
Within seconds, the glamorous annual gala became something else.
A crime scene without police tape.
A place where everyone knew they had witnessed something they would never forget.
Only four people remained near the stage.
Me.
Ethan.
Lauren.
And Victor.
Victor held Lauren’s phone carefully.
“Explain this message.””
Lauren’s face had lost all color.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.””
Victor looked at the screen.
“Someone sent you instructions to hide documents.””
“I didn’t write that.””
“No one said you did.””
Her lips parted.
She realized she had walked into her own trap.
Ethan stepped between us.
“Victor, enough.””
The chairman looked at him.
“Enough?””
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“This is a private matter.””
Victor’s expression turned cold.
“No, Ethan. The moment company shares, legal documents, and corporate control are involved, it stopped being private.””
I watched Ethan carefully.
He looked like a stranger.
This was the man who kissed my forehead every morning before leaving for work.
The man who told me we were partners.
The man who now stood between me and the truth.
“What agreement?”” I asked.
Ethan looked at me.
“Claire…”
“What agreement?””
His shoulders dropped slightly.
“It’s complicated.””
I smiled bitterly.
“That’s what people say when the truth sounds worse.””
Lauren suddenly spoke.
“Maybe she should know.””
Ethan turned sharply.
“Lauren.””
But she continued.
“You promised me.””
My eyes moved to her.
“Promised her what?””
Ethan grabbed his drink from the table and set it down harder than necessary.
“Not here.””
Lauren laughed quietly.
“No, Ethan. You don’t get to protect yourself anymore.””
Victor crossed his arms.
“Continue.””
Lauren looked at me.
“The agreement was supposed to make you leave the company.””
My chest tightened.
“What?””
She nodded.
“Ethan said after twelve years, you were becoming a problem.””
I looked at my husband.
He didn’t deny it.
That hurt more than anything.
“Problem?””
Ethan finally spoke.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then help me understand.””
He rubbed his forehead.
“The company was changing. Your father’s shares gave you too much influence.””
I stared at him.
“My father trusted you.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice cracked.
“He trusted you enough to make you family.””
Ethan looked away.
Lauren stepped closer.
“He wanted control, Claire.””
I looked at her.
“And you wanted my position.””
She didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t have to.
Victor walked toward me.
“Claire, your father placed conditions on those shares.””
I swallowed.
“What conditions?””
“That they could not be removed from your control without your signature.””
I looked at Ethan.
“So he needed me to sign.””
Victor nodded.
“And according to our legal department, there is a document submitted last month claiming you voluntarily surrendered those rights.””
My heart stopped.
“I never signed anything.””
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“Exactly.””
The room went silent.
Ethan finally looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Afraid.
I stepped closer.
“What did you do?””
He whispered my name.
“Claire…”
“What did you do?””
He looked at Lauren.
That tiny glance was enough.
He blamed her.
She noticed.
And suddenly, the woman who had been smiling all night looked furious.
“You’re really going to do that?””
Ethan said nothing.
Lauren laughed.
“After everything?””
Victor looked between them.
“You two have been working together.””
Ethan immediately denied it.
“No.””
Lauren’s eyes widened.
“Excuse me?””
“Lauren, stop.””
Her expression changed.
“You told me she would sign.””
“Lower your voice.””
“You told me once she lost her position, we could finally—”
“Lauren.””
The warning in Ethan’s voice was sharp.
But everyone heard.
Including me.
I felt something inside me break.
Not because I suspected an affair.
Not because of the bracelet.
Because I realized they had planned a future where I simply disappeared from my own life.
Victor turned to Ethan.
“Where is the original agreement?””
No one answered.
Then Ethan’s assistant from across the ballroom suddenly rushed toward us.
“Mr. Carter.””
Everyone turned.
He was holding a folder.
His face was pale.
“I found this in Ms. Lauren’s office.””
Lauren stepped back.
“What?””
The assistant looked at me.
“I think Mrs. Carter needs to see it.””
Ethan moved quickly.
“Give it to me.””
But Victor stopped him.
“No.””
The chairman took the folder first.
He opened it slowly.
Then he looked at the signature page.
His face changed.
“Claire.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
Victor turned the document around.
And my knees almost gave out.
Because at the bottom of the agreement was a signature.
My signature.
Except I had never signed it.
And beneath it was the date.
The date my mother died.
The date I was at the hospital all day.
The date Ethan had held my hand and promised he would never leave me alone.
Victor whispered:
“Someone forged your name.””
May you like
Then he looked directly at Ethan.
“And I think we know who had the most to gain.””
