Chương 6
Another pause.
“I know.”
He sounded tired.
“I am trying to help you.”
“Then help me.”
The line went quiet.
I could hear breathing.
Then Daniel said, “Your husband did not leave you because he wanted a new life.”
I closed my eyes.
“I heard that already.”
“No.”
His voice became sharper.
“You heard the emotional version.”
“What is the difference?”
“The difference is that Ethan Mercer was not running away from a marriage.”
I waited.
“He was trying to control what happened after his company discovered a financial problem.”
I looked at Adrian.
He was watching me carefully.
“What kind of problem?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Money that disappeared.”
The words felt too heavy.
“How much?”
“I do not know the final amount.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because I found the accounts.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“And Ethan fired you.”
“Yes.”
“Why call me now?”
The silence that followed felt different.
Not hesitation.
Fear.
“Because yesterday I saw your name attached to a document.”
“What document?”
“I cannot explain over the phone.”
“Then explain in person.”
“I cannot.”
The frustration in his voice surprised me.
“Why?”
“Because I do not know who is listening.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Adrian remained silent.
I looked at him.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
He did not answer.
That was answer enough.
“How long?”
“Claire.”
“How long have you known something was wrong?”
He stood still.
“Before you met Ethan.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
I looked away.
“You knew.”
“I knew there were questions.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I did not know you.”
“That is not an excuse.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“It is not.”
The fact that he did not defend himself bothered me more than if he had.
“You and Ethan were partners.”
“Yes.”
“You trusted him.”
“Yes.”
“And then he betrayed you.”
Adrian looked toward the hallway.
“That is not the whole story.”
“Then tell me.”
He stayed quiet.
For the first time, he looked less like a billionaire who controlled every room he entered.
He looked like someone who had spent years avoiding a memory.
“I was twenty-nine.”
I listened.
“Ethan was twenty-seven.”
The numbers surprised me.
“He was the first person who made me think I could build something with someone else.”
His mouth tightened slightly.
“I had money.”
“He had ideas.”
“And that was enough?”
“For a while.”
The room stayed quiet except for the machines beside me.
“We created Mercer Vale Technologies.”
I frowned.
“The name?”
“Yes.”
I thought about it.
“Your names.”
He nodded.
“People forget that.”
“What happened?”
Adrian looked down.
“Ethan wanted control.”
“That is vague.”
“Because the truth is embarrassing.”
He looked at me.
“I ignored what was obvious.”
That sounded familiar.
Maybe because I had done the same thing.
“Ethan started making decisions without telling me.”
“What kind?”
“Financial ones.”
“Illegal?”
He hesitated.
“I do not know.”
That answer was more frightening than yes.
“Then why hate him?”
“I do not hate him.”
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying some version of that.”
“Because it is true.”
“Then what do you feel?”
Adrian looked at the floor.
“Regret.”
The word was quiet.
“He was my friend.”
The sentence surprised me.
Not because it existed.
Because of how much it seemed to hurt.
“I spent years being angry because anger was easier.”
I looked at him.
“Easier than what?”
“Admitting I trusted the wrong person.”
Nobody said anything for a while.
Then my door opened.
Ethan walked in.
He stopped when he saw Adrian.
The air changed immediately.
Two people entered the room carrying years neither of them wanted to explain.
“You.”
Ethan’s voice was low.
Adrian did not move.
“Ethan.”
I looked between them.
The familiarity was obvious.
Not business familiarity.
Personal.
The kind that came from knowing someone before they became who they were.
“You should leave,” Ethan said.
Adrian looked at me.
Not Ethan.
That small detail mattered.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“You are still doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Pretending you care.”
Adrian’s expression changed slightly.
“I do care.”
“No.”
Ethan stepped farther into the room.
“You care because you finally found a way to make yourself the hero.”
The accusation landed.
I expected Adrian to defend himself.
He did not.
Instead, he looked at Ethan.
“You still believe that?”
Ethan looked away.
That was the first crack.
A small one.
But I saw it.
Because I had spent five years learning every version of Ethan’s face.
“You know what happens if she finds out,” Ethan said.
The words were quiet.
Almost a warning.
My heart started beating faster.
“If I find out what?” I asked.
Neither man answered.
That was when I understood.
The secret was not just between them.
It was about me.
The room became too quiet.
Not peaceful.
The kind of quiet that came when everyone knew something important had been said but nobody wanted to be the first person to admit it.
I looked at Ethan.
His face had changed.
The confidence was gone.
The controlled expression he wore during business meetings, interviews, and arguments had disappeared.
For the first time since I met him, he looked like someone who did not know what came next.
“What does that mean?” I asked again.
Ethan swallowed.
“Claire.”
“No.”
My voice came out stronger than I expected.
“You do not get to say my name like that and expect me to forget the question.”
Adrian remained still.
He did not interrupt.
That made me trust him slightly more.
Because a person who wanted control would have stepped in.
He would have explained.
He would have shaped the story.
He would have decided what I was allowed to know.
Adrian did not.
Ethan looked toward him.
“You told her.”
“No,” Adrian said.
The answer was immediate.
“She found out.”
Something about that response made Ethan angry.
“You always do this.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Do what?”
“Act like you are different.”
May you like
The words hung there.
I looked between them.
