Chapter 7: The Woman Who Warned Me
I stared at Victoria Harrington’s name glowing on my phone screen.
For several seconds, I didn’t move.
The woman who had thrown wine in my face.
The woman who had demanded $100,000 just to “enter” her family.
The woman who had spent years protecting Ethan.
Now she was warning me.
That made no sense.
Rachel noticed my expression.
“Who is it?””
I turned the screen toward her.
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Victoria?””
I nodded.
“She wants me to leave the city.””
Rachel immediately became serious.
“Don’t answer.””
I looked at the message again.
There was something strange about it.
It wasn’t arrogant.
It wasn’t threatening.
It was afraid.
I typed slowly.
*Why?*
The reply came almost instantly.
*Because Ethan doesn’t know when to stop.*
I stared at those words.
Rachel stepped closer.
“What did she say?””
I showed her.
“She’s trying to manipulate you.””
“Maybe.””
But my instincts told me something was different.
People like Victoria didn’t apologize.
They didn’t ask for help.
They protected themselves.
And fear was the one emotion they couldn’t fake.
I called.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then Victoria answered.
Her voice was completely different from the woman I met at dinner.
No confidence.
No laughter.
Just exhaustion.
“Olivia.””
I didn’t bother with greetings.
“What is happening?””
A long silence.
Then she said:
“You released the documents.””
“Yes.””
“You shouldn’t have.””
I frowned.
“You’re the one who warned me.””
“I warned you because I know what my son is capable of.””
The word “son” sounded painful.
Not proud.
Painful.
I walked toward the window.
“You protected him.””
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“I protected him for too long.””
I didn’t respond.
Victoria continued.
“Ethan has always been able to make people believe he is the victim.””
“And you helped him.””
“Yes.””
Again.
No excuses.
No denial.
Just acceptance.
“Why now?””
Her breathing became uneven.
“Because I saw what he did to you.””
I almost laughed.
“Only now?””
“No.””
Her voice softened.
“I saw myself.””
That caught my attention.
“What?””
“I was just like him.””
The city lights reflected across the glass.
Victoria continued.
“I spent my entire life believing the Harrington name mattered more than anything else.””
A pause.
“I taught Ethan that reputation was more important than honesty.””
For the first time, I heard something I never expected from her.
Regret.
“Then why warn me?””
“Because he is planning something bigger.””
My expression hardened.
“What?””
“I don’t know all the details.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
She sighed.
“But I know my son.””
The silence between us grew.
“He has nothing left.””
I looked at Rachel.
She was already listening.
“When people like Ethan lose control, they don’t surrender.””
Victoria lowered her voice.
“They attack.””
After the call ended, Rachel immediately opened her laptop.
“We need to increase security.””
I nodded.
But my thoughts were somewhere else.
Ethan had spent months building a plan.
A fake relationship.
A fake future.
A fake version of himself.
And now everything had collapsed in less than forty-eight hours.
People like him didn’t handle losing well.
Three hours later, Daniel arrived at my office.
His expression told me he already knew.
“Victoria contacted you.””
I looked at him.
“How?””
“She contacted me first.””
I narrowed my eyes.
“She knew?””
Daniel nodded.
“She knew Ethan was going too far.””
“And she still helped him.””
“Yes.””
He looked down.
“She thought she could control him.””
I walked back to my desk.
“That’s the mistake everyone around Ethan makes.””
Daniel looked at me.
“What?””
“They think he’s weak because he needs them.””
I picked up the documents.
“But he doesn’t need anyone.””
I looked at Ethan’s signature on the merger agreement.
“He only needs what they can give him.””
Daniel was quiet.
Then he said:
“There’s something else.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“The merger agreement.””
“What about it?””
“It wasn’t Ethan’s final plan.””
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?””
Daniel opened his laptop.
“He created a second agreement.””
A new document appeared.
My eyes moved across the screen.
Then stopped.
The name at the bottom made my blood run cold.
Because the person who approved Ethan’s final plan wasn’t Victoria.
It wasn’t Ethan.
It was someone I trusted.
Someone who had worked beside me for years.
Rachel saw my expression.
“What is it?””
I looked at the signature.
And whispered:
“No…”
Daniel frowned.
“Olivia?””
May you like
I slowly turned the laptop toward them.
“The betrayal came from inside my company.””
