Chapter 6 - THE EX WHO KNEW TOO MUCHThe kiss changed everything.
Unfortunately, it didn't solve anything.
For twenty-four hours, the internet forgot to call me a gold digger because it was too busy analyzing Ethan’s hand placement.
People slowed down footage.
Body-language experts appeared.
Entertainment sites published headlines asking whether the “contract couple” had fallen in love.
My flower shop received two thousand orders in one day.
My mother called it “excellent advertising.”
Ethan pretended he hadn't noticed the viral videos.
He had.
I caught him watching one.
“You’re reading comments?”
“No.”
“You're literally reading comments.”
“It opened automatically.”
“On an article called ‘Ten Times Ethan Whitmore Looked Obsessed With His Wife’?”
He shut his laptop.
“Algorithm.”
I laughed for the first time that week.
Then things became dangerous.
Michael Cole, Ethan’s security director, found Matthew.
Not in Europe.
Not hiding in some offshore paradise.
In a private hospital in Connecticut.
He had been admitted under a false name after being found unconscious in a motel room.
Someone had drugged him.
The $250,000 account had been opened using stolen identity documents.
Matthew hadn’t sold the contract.
He had been framed.
Which meant whoever stole it remained inside Whitmore Global.
Ethan expanded the investigation.
Three executives had accessed archive-adjacent servers.
One was Alexander.
One was the chief legal officer.
The third was Ethan’s aunt Eleanor.
His own father's sister.
But another discovery was worse.
The anonymous messages sent to me had passed through encrypted services.
One originating device had briefly connected to Wi-Fi at Victoria Ashford’s Manhattan townhouse.
When Ethan told me, I wasn’t surprised.
“Bring her in,” I said.
He looked at me across his study.
“She isn't an employee.”
“I don't mean interrogate her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dinner.”
His eyebrows rose.
“You want to invite Victoria to dinner.”
“Yes.”
“I’m beginning to worry about you.”
“Invite Alexander too.”
Now he stared.
“Claire.”
“They both think I'm the stupid florist you bought because you needed a wife.”
“I've never thought you were stupid.”
“They do.”
I smiled.
“So let them.”
Three nights later, eight people sat around our dining table.
Ethan.
Me.
Victoria.
Alexander.
Ethan’s grandmother, Beatrice.
His attorney, Daniel Reed.
His aunt Eleanor.
And Whitmore board chairman Charles Monroe.
Officially, the dinner was an attempt to calm family tensions.
Unofficially, it was bait.
Victoria arrived in black.
Alexander arrived smiling.
Eleanor arrived irritated.
Beatrice arrived twenty minutes late and announced she had intentionally kept everyone waiting because “rich people need occasional reminders that clocks don't belong to them.”
I loved her.
Dinner began politely.
That lasted eleven minutes.
Alexander raised his wine.
“To Ethan and Claire.”
I smiled.
“How gracious.”
“I mean it.”
“That's almost disappointing.”
He laughed.
“You’ve handled the attention impressively.”
“My mother says humiliation builds character.”
“Does she?”
“No. But she does threaten reporters with gardening equipment.”
Beatrice choked on her wine.
Victoria remained quiet.
Too quiet.
Halfway through the entrée, I made my move.
“I've decided to leave Ethan.”
Silverware stopped.
Ethan knew I was lying.
Nobody else did.
Victoria's face barely changed.
Alexander’s did.
A tiny flash of satisfaction.
Eleanor said, “That may be wise.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened theatrically.
Excellent acting.
I continued.
“I never expected this level of public scrutiny.”
Victoria set down her fork.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
Alexander leaned back.
“Have attorneys discussed implications?”
There it was.
Not Are you okay?
Not Why?
The trust.
I smiled sadly.
“Ethan says it could cost him voting control.”
Alexander shrugged.
“Money isn't everything.”
Beatrice actually snorted.
I looked at Victoria.
“What do you think?”
She hesitated.
“I think marriage shouldn't feel like imprisonment.”
“Interesting choice of word.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I mean you should be free.”
“To leave Ethan?”
“If that's what you want.”
“And if I don't?”
Silence.
I took a sip of wine.
“Something strange happened this morning.”
I could feel Ethan watching me.
“I received another anonymous message.”
Alexander's hand paused for half a second.
Victoria didn't move.
Eleanor looked bored.
“The sender knew I planned to leave tomorrow.”
Alexander smiled.
“You just said that.”
“Yes.”
“But I hadn’t told anyone when the message arrived.”
Now Victoria moved.
A tiny shift.
“Perhaps Ethan told someone.”
“He didn't know.”
That wasn't part of our original plan.
I had invented this section thirty seconds earlier.
Ethan hid his surprise beautifully.
“I told my attorney,” I continued.
Daniel looked at me.
I kicked him beneath the table.
He coughed.
“Yes.”
“And Daniel deliberately told three different people three different dates.”
Understanding dawned on Ethan’s face.
God, I hoped he followed.
“Alexander,” I said, “you were told Friday.”
His smile disappeared.
“Eleanor, you were told Sunday.”
She straightened.
“And Victoria…”
Victoria looked at me.
“You were told tomorrow.”
Silence crashed across the room.
Beatrice slowly put down her fork.
Victoria became pale.
“That’s absurd.”
“Is it?”
“I never sent you a message.”
“I didn't say you did.”
“You implied it.”
“You reacted to it.”
She stood.
“I don't have to sit here and be accused.”
Ethan’s voice turned cold.
“Sit down.”
Victoria stared at him.
For once, charm failed her.
“Ethan.”
“Sit.”
She did.
I pulled out my phone.
“I lied.”
Alexander frowned.
“There was no message this morning.”
Victoria's face changed.
I smiled.
“But thank you.”
“You manipulative little—”
“Careful,” Beatrice said.
Everyone turned.
The elderly Whitmore matriarch looked delighted.
“She’s finally becoming one of us.”
I almost laughed.
Victoria shoved her chair back.
“I’m leaving.”
Ethan rose.
“No.”
She froze.
“You have spent weeks contacting my wife. You knew confidential information before publication. A device inside your home was used to send threats.”
“I was trying to warn her.”
“Who gave you the contract?”
“No one.”
“Victoria.”
“I didn't steal it.”
“Who?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
For the first time, I wondered whether they were real.
She looked across the table.
Not at Alexander.
At Eleanor.
Ethan followed her gaze.
His aunt went completely still.
And suddenly I understood.
“Oh my God.”
Eleanor stood.
“This is ridiculous.”
Victoria whispered, “I'm sorry.”
Ethan’s face became stone.
“What did she do?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“She gave me access.”
Eleanor headed toward the door.
Michael Cole appeared before she reached it.
Ethan hadn’t told anyone security was waiting outside.
Eleanor stopped.
Victoria began crying.
“She said the contract wasn't legitimate. She said Claire was destroying this family.”
“Why would you care?”
Victoria looked at Ethan.
“Because Eleanor promised me something.”
“What?”
“If Claire left, she said she could make sure the trust remained yours.”
Ethan frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
Victoria looked genuinely frightened now.
“I know that now.”
I felt dread crawl across my skin.
“What did she actually want?”
Victoria looked toward Eleanor.
“She said once the scandal began, Ethan would be distracted protecting Claire.”
Eleanor said nothing.
Victoria continued.
“And while everyone was watching the marriage…”
Her voice broke.
“…Alexander would trigger a board vote.”
Alexander shot to his feet.
“What?”
For the first time all night, his surprise looked real.
Ethan went very still.
Victoria shook her head.
“No. Not for you.”
She looked at Eleanor.
“For her.”
The table fell silent.
Eleanor Whitmore smiled.
And suddenly the elegant sixty-year-old woman we had dismissed as a bitter aunt looked more dangerous than anyone else in the room.
“My father left the company to boys,” she said.
May you like
Her gaze moved between Ethan and Alexander.
“I simply decided it was time a woman corrected his mistake.”
