Chapter 13 - THE SEED OF DOUBT
The elevator doors closed, leaving Clara and Ethan standing in heavy, uncomfortable silence in the marble hallway.
Clara turned to face Ethan, searching his handsome face for any sign of deception or hidden guilt.
"Ethan... is what Julian said true? Did your father have something to do with my father's imprisonment?" Clara questioned directly.
Ethan closed his eyes for a brief second, letting out a heavy, tired breath before looking back into her pale blue eyes.
"My father was the Senior Deputy District Attorney who signed the indictment against your father in 1998, Clara," Ethan confessed quietly.
Clara stepped back slightly, her hand dropping from his arm as if she had been struck by an electric shock.
"You knew?" Clara whispered, her voice trembling with a sudden, painful mixture of confusion and hurt.
"All this time you were helping me build this case... you knew your father was the one who sent mine to prison?" Clara asked.
"My father was tricked by Eleanor, Clara!" Ethan explained urgently, taking a step toward her with desperate hands raised.
"He realized the evidence was forged six months after the trial, but Eleanor threatened to destroy our family if he spoke out," Ethan revealed.
"He spent the rest of his life regretting it... that’s why I came to help you, Clara! To fix what my father was forced to break!" Ethan pleaded.
May you like
Clara stared at him, tears welling in her eyes as the foundation of trust she had relied on began to tremble under her feet.
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