Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO WANTED MY PLACE
Victoria called Ethan that evening.
He answered on speaker.
“Ethan, we need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Claire.”
I stood beside him.
Victoria sighed.
“She doesn't understand what she's getting involved in.”
Ethan's voice hardened.
“Then explain it.”
Silence.
Finally, Victoria said:
“My father and Charles have been planning the merger for years.”
“We know.”
She inhaled sharply.
“What?”
“We know about the foundation. The property transfers. The shell companies.”
Victoria went quiet.
Then she whispered:
“You shouldn't have gone looking.”
Ethan stared at the phone.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian wasn't bluffing.”
Adrian Bellamy, Victoria's former husband, had been a European property developer with extensive financial connections.
According to Victoria, he had discovered irregularities involving Ashford investments.
Their marriage collapsed after he threatened to expose them.
“He kept copies,” Victoria said.
“Where?” Ethan asked.
“I don't know.”
“Victoria.”
“I swear.”
Then her voice changed.
“Ethan, I didn't come back just because I wanted you.”
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
“I came back because my father told me that if you married someone else, Charles would lose control of the trust.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“So you were supposed to stop me.”
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
Victoria continued.
“Then I met Claire.”
I swallowed.
“And?”
“She reminded me of everything I hated about myself.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Victoria said quietly:
“She was kind to people who couldn't help her. She didn't care about status. She looked at you like you were enough.”
My eyes filled.
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“I thought if I could make her leave, I could have my old life back.”
Ethan's voice was cold.
“You tried to destroy my marriage.”
“I know.”
Then she whispered:
“But there's something you need to understand.”
“What?”
“Your father has a copy of your marriage agreement.”
Ethan went still.
“How?”
Victoria hesitated.
“Someone in your legal team gave it to him.”
Ethan looked toward the study.
His expression changed.
He knew immediately who might have had access.
And when he ended the call, he said a name I had heard dozens of times.
“Richard Hale.”
May you like
His closest legal adviser.
The man who had drafted our marriage agreement.
