Chapter 2 - My Ex-Husband Arrived at My Door
I hadn't told Ethan my new address.
That was the first thing that terrified me.
The second was how quickly my body reacted to seeing his SUV outside.
My heart started pounding.
My palms became cold.
The same man I had sworn never to see again was somehow standing downstairs.
Nora looked out the window.
“Oh, hell.”
“What?”
“He's getting out.”
I stood perfectly still.
Ethan was wearing a charcoal coat over a black suit.
He looked like the man on every business magazine cover.
Cold.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Except I knew the difference between his public expression and the one he wore when something was truly wrong.
His jaw was tight.
He wasn't calm.
He was furious.
Or scared.
Maybe both.
A knock came at the door.
Nora looked at me.
“Want me to answer?”
“No.”
Another knock.
“Emma.”
His voice came through the wood.
My stomach twisted.
I opened the door only a few inches.
“What are you doing here?”
His eyes immediately dropped to my face.
He looked tired.
“I told you I was coming.”
“I told you not to.”
“You also told me you were fine.”
“I am.”
He stared at me.
“No.”
I hated how easily he saw through me.
“I don't owe you an explanation anymore.”
“I know.”
“Then leave.”
He didn't move.
“Why did your doctor's office send a prescription to an address that doesn't exist in our records?”
My heart stopped.
“You had my prescription tracked?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
“My assistant noticed a pharmacy charge.”
I said nothing.
Ethan looked at me.
“Emma.”
I stepped farther into the apartment.
“Stop.”
He followed me inside.
“Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Then what's happening?”
“Nothing.”
His eyes searched my face.
Then they dropped to the kitchen counter.
On it sat the prenatal vitamins I'd bought that morning.
I forgot to hide them.
Ethan saw the bottle.
The room went silent.
His expression changed.
He picked up the bottle.
“What is this?”
I reached for it.
He didn't give it back.
His eyes moved to the label.
Then to me.
“Prenatal vitamins?”
I couldn't speak.
He looked stunned.
“Emma.”
I closed my eyes.
He whispered:
“Are you pregnant?”
I finally looked at him.
“Yes.”
He dropped the bottle.
It hit the floor.
The sound was absurdly loud.
Ethan didn't react.
“How long?”
“About five weeks.”
His face became unreadable.
“The last night.”
“Yes.”
He sat down.
For the first time in years, Ethan Blackwood looked completely lost.
“Our baby?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“You were going to tell me?”
“I didn't know.”
“You weren't going to tell me.”
I looked away.
“I didn't think you wanted to hear.”
His voice became quiet.
“That's not true.”
“Then what is true?”
“I don't know.”
“That's the problem.”
He stood.
“You think I don't care?”
“Do you?”
He stared at me.
“I didn't know how to save our marriage.”
“And so you killed it?”
His face tightened.
“Emma.”
“You forgot my birthday.”
“I know.”
“You disappeared for months.”
“I know.”
“You came home smelling like another woman.”
His eyes closed briefly.
“That wasn't what you thought.”
“Then explain it.”
“Not yet.”
I laughed.
“Not yet?”
“I need to show you something first.”
“No.”
“Please.”
That word stopped me.
Ethan rarely said please.
He pulled an envelope from his coat.
He placed it on the table.
“What is it?”
“Something I should have shown you three years ago.”
I didn't touch it.
He looked at me.
“You deserved the truth.”
I stared at the envelope.
Then he said the sentence that changed everything.
“The woman whose perfume you smelled was my lawyer.”
I laughed.
“That's your explanation?”
“No.”
He opened the envelope.
Inside were photographs.
Financial documents.
Emails.
A list of names.
I recognized one immediately.
Victor Blackwood.
Ethan's father.
My dead father-in-law.
I frowned.
“What does your father have to do with this?”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“He wasn't sick when he died.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He was investigating fraud inside Blackwood Holdings.”
“And?”
“Someone wanted him silenced.”
I stared at the papers.
“Who?”
“I didn't know.”
“That's why you were traveling?”
“Yes.”
“London?”
“Investigating a bank account.”
“San Francisco?”
“Meeting a forensic accountant.”
“Singapore?”
“Tracking a shell corporation.”
I looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the moment I told you, you became involved.”
“So instead you made me feel unwanted.”
“Yes.”
His honesty hurt.
“I thought if you hated me, you'd stay away from my enemies.”
My eyes filled.
“That was your plan?”
“It was the only plan I had.”
“It was a terrible plan.”
“I know.”
He looked at my stomach.
“I thought the marriage was already gone.”
“It was.”
He nodded.
“But I never stopped loving you.”
I shook my head.
“You don't get to say that now.”
“I know.”
“Not after I spent three years thinking I wasn't enough.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“You were never the problem.”
“Then why did you let me believe I was?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
“You don't protect someone by breaking them.”
He lowered his eyes.
“You're right.”
Silence settled between us.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes?”
His expression changed.
“What?”
I watched him.
“Send everything to my office.”
A pause.
“No. Don't involve security.”
Another pause.
His face went pale.
“What address?”
He looked at me.
Then said:
“Emma's.”
My blood turned cold.
“What happened?”
He hung up.
“One of the accountants helping me was found dead.”
I stared at him.
“Ethan…”
“The police believe it was suicide.”
“You don't.”
“No.”
May you like
He took a breath.
“And the last file he accessed contained your name.”
