Chapter 5 - My Father Finally Told Me Why He Sold Me to Ethan
The old Carter chapel had been abandoned for years.
The stained glass windows were cracked.
Dust covered the pews.
My father sat in the front row.
Alive.
Older.
Thin.
I stopped when I saw him.
He stood slowly.
“Jane.”
I ran to him.
He hugged me.
And I hated him while holding him.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me grieve you.”
“Yes.”
“You let me marry him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at Ethan.
“Because I knew he would keep you alive.”
Ethan said nothing.
My father pointed toward the back room.
“There's something you both need to see.”
We followed him.
Inside was a wall covered with photographs.
My mother.
Ethan's parents.
Henry Vale.
Derek.
Me.
Ethan.
There were dates.
Connections.
Money transfers.
The entire history of our families.
I stared.
“When did this start?”
“Long before you were born.”
My father explained that the Carter and Vale families had once been partners.
But Ethan's father had wanted complete control.
Henry had built the financial system.
My father discovered that the network was not merely moving illegal goods.
It was manipulating elections, judges, police appointments, unions, and property markets.
He wanted out.
Ethan's father threatened him.
My mother disappeared.
My father faked his death.
And Ethan inherited the empire.
“You knew Ethan would become powerful.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he would need our territory.”
“Yes.”
“So you offered me.”
My father looked broken.
“I offered you as leverage.”
I stepped back.
“How could you?”
“Because it was the only way to keep Henry from taking you.”
Ethan spoke.
“You should have told me.”
“I knew you wouldn't marry her if you knew the whole truth.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“My son had already started destroying Henry's network.”
Ethan stared.
“Why didn't you tell me about Henry?”
“Because there was a traitor in your organization.”
“Derek.”
My father nodded.
“You couldn't trust anyone.”
I looked at the wall.
“Then why did you trust me with nothing?”
My father lowered his head.
“Because I wanted you to have one thing.”
“What?”
“A life without this.”
He pointed to the photographs.
“I thought if you hated Ethan, you would stay distant from his world.”
I laughed through tears.
“You made me marry it.”
“I know.”
Ethan approached me.
“Jane.”
I stepped away.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“I need time.”
“I know.”
I almost smiled.
“You really need another sentence.”
He looked down.
Then my father said:
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Henry doesn't want the territory.”
“What does he want?”
He looked at Ethan.
“He wants Ethan dead.”
Ethan frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you are the only person who knows how to dismantle his system.”
My father handed him a flash drive.
“Everything is on this.”
Ethan took it.
“What happens now?”
“Henry attacks tonight.”
The chapel doors burst open.
Gunfire erupted.
Ethan pulled me behind the altar.
My father fell.
“Dad!”
He was hit in the side.
Ethan returned fire.
Brian and his men entered through the rear doors.
The room became chaos.
Then a voice came over the speakers.
“Ethan.”
Henry.
“You finally understand.”
Ethan shouted:
“Where are you?”
“Watching.”
A screen lowered from the ceiling.
Henry appeared.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
“You think your father can save you.”
He looked at me.
“He sold his daughter to a man who never wanted her.”
Ethan stiffened.
Henry smiled.
“And now that man loves her.”
My heart stopped.
Ethan looked at me.
Henry continued.
“That is your weakness, Ethan.”
The screen went black.
A gas canister rolled into the chapel.
Brian shouted:
“Down!”
Smoke filled the room.
Ethan wrapped his jacket around my face.
He lifted me.
“Hold your breath.”
I clung to him.
We stumbled outside.
Behind us, the chapel burned.
My father was carried to safety.
And as Ethan set me down, I realized his hand was bleeding.
“You're hurt.”
“It doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
He looked at me.
For the first time, neither of us pretended.
“I love you,” he said.
The words were quiet.
Almost broken.
“I loved you before I understood what it meant.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You said you didn't want me.”
“I lied.”
“You said I was business.”
“I lied.”
“You said you wanted an heir.”
“I lied.”
“Then what was true?”
May you like
His eyes filled with something I had spent months believing he couldn't feel.
“You were the only thing I never planned for.”
