Chapter 5 - The Trap is Sprung
The morning after the gala, my phone rang. It wasn't a text or an email through a lawyer. It was Ethan, calling directly.
"We need to talk," he said, his voice stripped of all its usual arrogance. He sounded breathless. Desperate.
"Marcus's office. Noon," I replied, and hung up.
When I walked into the conference room, Ethan and Victoria were already there. They looked entirely different from the glittering, untouchable aristocrats they had played the night before. Ethan had dark circles under his eyes, and Victoria was nervously twisting a diamond bracelet on her wrist.
They hadn't brought a lawyer. They were too terrified to let anyone else hear what I had to say.
"Lena, please," Ethan started, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "Whatever you think you saw—"
I didn't let him finish. I opened a manila folder and slid an 8x10 glossy photograph across the polished conference table. It was the picture of them in the bed, perfectly lit, perfectly clear.
Victoria let out a muffled sob and covered her mouth. Ethan stared at the photo, his chest heaving as he realized his entire life was sitting in that manila folder.
"How much?" Ethan croaked, looking up at me with panicked eyes. "How much do you want? I'll give you two million. Five million. Just name your price and give me the photos."
"You don't have five million dollars, Ethan," I said calmly, taking a seat at the head of the table. "You don't have anything until your thirtieth birthday next week. And even then, you only get it if your father doesn't find out you've been sleeping with his wife."
Victoria slammed her hands on the table, her eyes venomous. "You little gold-digging rat. If you show this to Richard, he will destroy us both. We'll have nothing!"
"I know," I said, leaning forward. "That’s the point."
"Lena, I'm begging you," Ethan pleaded, tears actually forming in his eyes. "I'll do anything. I'll sign the divorce papers. I'll give you whatever you want. Please, don't ruin my life."
"You ruined your own life the moment you walked into my bedroom with her," I said, my voice turning to ice. "For three years, I let your family treat me like I was less than human. You demanded I stay quiet to keep the peace. You told me to be an 'understanding wife'." I stood up, looking down at both of them. "Well, I understand everything now."
I pushed a document toward Ethan. It wasn't a blackmail demand. It was a complete waiver of my right to any of his assets, a clean, immediate divorce decree.
"Sign it," I commanded.
Ethan frowned, confused. "If I sign this... you'll destroy the photos?"
"I said sign it, Ethan."
He scrambled for a pen and hastily scrawled his signature, pushing the paper back to me like it was his salvation. He thought he had won. He thought I was just cutting ties.
I picked up the signed paper, handed it to Marcus, and smiled.
"Thank you, Ethan. Now that we are officially no longer legally bound, I don't have to worry about the fallout of what happens next."
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"What do you mean?" Victoria whispered, her face pale.
I looked at my watch. "My meeting with your father started five minutes ago. My courier should be delivering a duplicate manila folder to his desk right about... now."
