Chapter 3 - Masks Off
I instantly shoved the documents back into my leather briefcase, snapped the brass locks closed, and slid the key into my pocket. I smoothed down my blouse, took a deep breath, and unlocked the door.
Ethan stood in the hallway, holding a glass of scotch. His collar was unbuttoned, his expression dark. "What are you doing locked in here? Cole needs to bring his luggage in."
"Cole isn't moving into my office, Ethan," I said, my voice completely flat and devoid of emotion.
Ethan let out an exasperated laugh and pushed past me into the room, looking around like a landlord inspecting a rental property. "Elena, drop the attitude. My brother lost his apartment lease. He needs a place to stay for a few months. You can easily set up your laptop downstairs."
"This room is my home office. I run client audits from here. It has sensitive financial records," I said. "And more importantly, this house is in my name."
Ethan turned around slowly, a smug, menacing smile creeping onto his lips. He took a sip of his scotch and stepped closer to me.
"Your name?" Ethan chuckled quietly. "Elena, sweetie... you really should pay more attention to the things you sign when you're tired."
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I kept my face an absolute mask of stone. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you don't know how the real world works," Ethan said, leaning against my desk. "Your mom gave us money. Great. But who managed the mortgage application? Who spoke to the lenders? Who set up the corporate holding structure? I did. My mother put up her investment portfolio as secondary collateral to get us approved."
"That's a lie," I said calmly. "Diane didn't put up a single cent."
"Paperwork says otherwise," Ethan sneered. "As far as the bank is concerned, this property is tied to Vance Holdings—my mother’s LLC. You’re just a co-signer, Elena. If you try to make a fuss, if you disrespect my mother again like you did tonight, I can have you legally removed from this deed before our wedding date even arrives."
The sheer audacity of his confession made me dizzy. He thought he had trapped me. He thought because he used his crooked notary friend Marcus to forge my signature, he held all the cards. He believed I was just a naive, weak woman who would cry, submit, and hand over her home to keep a man.
"You really think you've thought of everything, don't you?" I asked softly.
"I think about our future," Ethan corrected, straightening his jacket. "And in our future, my family comes first. Now, get your mom out of the guest room by tomorrow morning. My mother is staying the weekend, and she expects the master suite upstairs."
"And where are we supposed to sleep?" I asked.
"You can sleep in the basement guest bed with your mother," Ethan said casually, walking out the door. "Learn your boundaries, Elena. It’ll make being my wife a whole lot easier."
He walked away down the hall, laughing with his brother Cole.
I stood in the center of the dark office. My hands were no longer shaking. The sadness, the heartbreak of watching my six-year relationship crumble into dust, vanished completely. It was replaced by a icy, razor-sharp clarity.
May you like
I picked up my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.
"Hello? Sarah?" I said when the call connected. "It's Elena. I need you to pull up a deed registry file for me first thing tomorrow morning. And call Detective Miller at the Financial Crimes Division. I have a forgery to report."
