Chapter 4 - The Imperial Collapse
The line clicked, and Ethan’s voice burst through the room. But the venom and arrogance were entirely gone. He sounded breathless, frantic, and broken.
"Madison? Madison, please listen to me!" he sobbed. "I didn't know! I swear to God I didn't know who you were! Vivian Brooks told me everything. Why didn't you tell me you owned the company?!"
"Would it have mattered, Ethan?" I asked, my voice calm and steady. "If you knew I was the owner, would you have asked if I was alive when my leg was shattered? Or would you have only cared because of the money?"
"I was stressed, Madison! My mom—"
"Your mother is a grown woman who perfectly managed to steal $8,000 a month from my company while calling my home-cooked meals garbage," I interrupted. "You didn't love a wife, Ethan. You wanted a free servant who also funded your delusions of grandeur."
"Madison, please! If the firm presses charges, I'll go to prison for five years! My career is over! We can fix this, we can go to counseling—"
"The time for counseling was when I was lying in a pool of blood outside my bakery, waiting for an ambulance, while you called forty-seven times to demand a sandwich," I said, the final traces of affection evaporating from my heart. "Mr. Harrison is sending over the divorce papers to your cell. Sign them, waive all rights to my properties, and I might ask the board to mitigate the criminal charges to a misdemeanor. Refuse, and I will ensure you serve every single day of the maximum sentence."
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There was a long, suffocating silence on the other end of the line. For the first time in his life, Ethan realized he had absolutely zero leverage. He was a puppet whose strings had just been cut by the puppeteer.
"I'll sign," he whispered, his voice completely defeated. "I'll sign everything."
