Chapter 9 - The Man Who Blamed Everyone
Three days later, Clara saw Ethan for the first time since his trip to Vegas.
The meeting took place in a courthouse conference room.
Natalie sat beside Clara. Ethan sat across the table with a criminal-defense attorney and a separate divorce lawyer.
He looked older.
His expensive suit was wrinkled. His eyes were red. The confident smile from the wedding photograph had disappeared.
The marriage to Madison had been declared invalid because Ethan was still legally married to Clara.
Madison had moved out of the hotel and returned to her sister’s apartment.
She had provided police with messages showing that Ethan planned the loan, selected the stolen court order, and created the altered property documents.
In exchange for her cooperation, prosecutors were considering reduced charges, though she still faced consequences for accessing the file and signing as a witness.
Diane had hired her own attorney.
Ethan was alone.
He stared at Clara as though loneliness were another injury she had caused him.
“This has gone far enough,” he said.
Natalie placed one hand on Clara’s arm, but Clara did not need restraint.
She felt no urge to shout.
The man across from her seemed smaller than the one who had controlled the atmosphere of their home.
“You reported me for stealing my own cards,” she said.
“I panicked.”
“You forged a divorce.”
“Madison prepared the document.”
“She gave the police your messages.”
“She’s lying to save herself.”
“You forged my name on a deed.”
“I was trying to secure our financial future.”
“You married another woman.”
“Our marriage had been dead for years.”
“Then you could have filed for divorce.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“You would have kept everything.”
“The house was mine.”
“I lived there too.”
“You tried to sell it.”
“I deserved compensation.”
Clara studied him.
There was no apology in his face.
Only resentment that the plan had failed.
“You believed being my husband entitled you to everything I owned,” she said. “And when the law didn’t agree, you invented new paperwork.”
His attorney quietly advised him not to respond.
Ethan ignored him.
“You think you’re innocent? You froze the cards. You locked me out. You humiliated me in front of my company.”
“You married your coworker in a public chapel and posted photographs.”
“Madison posted them.”
“Of course. Everything was Madison. Or your mother. Or me.”
Ethan’s face darkened.
“You destroyed my life.”
Clara shook her head.
“No. I opened an envelope.”
The room became silent.
The criminal case would continue separately, but the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the real divorce.
Ethan’s lawyer proposed that Clara pay temporary support and give Ethan a percentage of Haven & Pine.
Natalie rejected both demands.
Records showed Ethan had hidden income, accumulated secret debt, and used company cards for personal expenses. He had also signed a lease for an apartment with Madison three months before the Vegas wedding.
The lease proved his affair and departure had been planned long before his message to Clara.
Ethan’s lawyer asked for a private conversation with him.
Clara and Natalie stepped into the hallway.
Through the conference-room window, Clara watched Ethan argue with both attorneys.
He pointed toward her.
He struck the table with his palm.
His attorney remained seated and waited for him to finish.
Five minutes later, they returned.
Ethan agreed to withdraw his claim against Clara’s business, waive any interest he claimed in the house, accept responsibility for his personal debts, and communicate only through attorneys.
Before signing, he looked at Clara.
“Madison never loved me,” he said.
Clara picked up her pen.
“That isn’t my problem.”
“I gave up everything for her.”
“No,” Clara replied. “You risked everything because you thought you could take mine.”
She signed the agreement.
Ethan stared at the page.
For the first time, Clara saw something like understanding in his face.
May you like
Not remorse.
Just the realization that she was no longer afraid of him.
