Chapter 10 - Demanding answers from the pale maid about the forged documents that stripped her of custody and banished her from the family estate years ago today.
"Clara, tell me everything," Ethan pleaded softly, his hands resting gently on her shoulders through the burgundy uniform fabric.
"They told me if I didn't sign the relinquishment papers, you would be cut off from the board and ruined forever," Clara whispered.
"Who told you that? Was it my brother Julian?" Ethan demanded, his jaw clenching as anger surged through his veins.
"Julian and your father," Clara nodded, her voice steadying as she laid out the devastating truth of the past conspiracy.
"They forged your signature on the custody waiver and threatened to lock me away in a psychiatric facility if I resisted," she added.
Ethan closed his eyes, his breathing turning shallow as the puzzle pieces of his manufactured grief finally snapped into place.
His family hadn't just driven her away; they had executed a calculated, ruthless corporate operation to eliminate any obstacle to his inheritance.
"I spent five years believing you took a massive payoff and disappeared into Europe," Ethan confessed, his voice breaking.
"And I spent five years watching you on television, holding galas with women like Vanessa while we starved in cheap motels," Clara replied bitterly.
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The weight of her words hung heavily in the air, leaving Ethan with no defense against the immense suffering he had inadvertently caused.
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