Chapter 5 - Secrets Behind the Thornton Empire
Ethan watched the footage six times.
On the seventh, I took the tablet from him.
"Enough."
"Give it back."
"You've memorized every pixel."
"Natalie."
"Watching it again won't change what's on it."
His jaw tightened.
"That's my father."
"I know."
"Standing beside Victor three hours before my accident."
"I know."
"And neither of them told the police."
That was the important part.
The footage didn't show anyone sabotaging Ethan's car.
It showed Victor crouching beside it.
It showed Gregory nearby.
Then both men left.
Suspicious wasn't proof.
But it was enough to change everything.
Claire arranged a private meeting with Gregory.
Ethan insisted I attend.
His father arrived furious.
"You've lost perspective."
Ethan placed the tablet in front of him.
"Explain."
Gregory watched the footage.
For several seconds, his face revealed nothing.
Then he sat.
"Where did you get this?"
"Explain."
Gregory looked at me.
"This is family business."
Ethan's voice hardened.
"She's family."
The words landed differently than either of us expected.
Gregory noticed.
So did I.
He turned back toward his son.
"Victor called me that night."
"Why?"
"He said you were behaving irrationally."
"Meaning I was investigating him."
"He said you were preparing accusations that could destroy the company."
"Did you meet him in the garage?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To stop you from making a catastrophic mistake."
Ethan leaned forward.
"What was Victor doing beside my car?"
Gregory's silence lasted too long.
"I don't know."
"Wrong answer."
"It's the truth."
"Then why didn't you tell police?"
Gregory looked older suddenly.
"Because after the accident, I panicked."
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"You?"
"You're my son."
"That's convenient."
"I thought Victor might be involved."
"Yet you kept him as COO."
"I needed him close."
Ethan stared at his father.
"Or you needed him quiet."
Gregory stood.
"Be careful."
"No. You be careful."
For the first time, I saw Gregory Thornton lose control.
"I spent months watching machines breathe beside you," he snapped. "Every doctor told me something different. Every morning I walked into that room wondering whether my son would ever open his eyes again."
Ethan's anger faltered.
Gregory continued.
"Did I manipulate the voting structure? Yes. Did I arrange your marriage? Yes. Because while you were unconscious, trustees were preparing to tear apart everything our family built."
"You married me without my consent."
"I kept your company alive."
"You don't get to decide those are the same thing."
Gregory looked at me.
"And you."
I stood straighter.
"What about me?"
"You were supposed to complete a simple agreement."
I felt Ethan move beside me.
I answered first.
"I did."
"Then take what you were promised and leave."
Ethan's voice became ice.
"Don't speak to my wife that way."
Gregory stared at him.
My heart stumbled.
Again.
My wife.
Not contract wife.
Not Natalie Brooks.
My wife.
Gregory walked out.
That evening, Ethan found me on the balcony.
"You can still leave."
"You keep saying that."
"Because you keep getting deeper into this."
"So are you."
"It's my family."
I looked at him.
"And technically?"
He sighed.
"You're going to use the wife argument again."
"Absolutely."
He smiled.
Then silence settled between us.
The city lights glittered beyond the estate.
"Why did you defend me?"
I asked.
"Against my father?"
"Yes."
"Because he was wrong."
"That's it?"
Ethan looked at me.
"No."
My heartbeat changed.
He stepped closer.
He was walking without assistance now, although slowly.
"I don't know what this is," he said.
"Neither do I."
"I woke up married to you."
"Not exactly a traditional first date."
"You kissed me before introducing yourself."
"You were unconscious."
"Still rude."
I laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
"You saved me."
"I kissed you."
"I woke up."
"Doctors would probably object to your medical interpretation."
"I don't care."
He lifted his hand.
Slowly.
Giving me every opportunity to move away.
His fingers touched my cheek.
Unlike our first kiss, this moment belonged to both of us.
He leaned closer.
Then his phone rang.
We both froze.
Ethan closed his eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me."
I laughed.
"Answer it."
He did.
Claire.
Her voice was urgent enough that I could hear it.
"Ethan, Victor is gone."
"What?"
"He emptied his office."
"When?"
"Tonight."
Ethan's expression changed.
"Find him."
"We're trying."
Then Claire added something else.
"There's more."
"What?"
"Victor accessed the company's private legal archive before leaving."
Ethan looked at me.
"What did he open?"
Claire answered.
"Your marriage contract."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"We don't know."
Ethan ended the call.
An hour later, security found Victor's company car abandoned near the airport.
Victor wasn't there.
But inside the car was a flash drive.
The files on it changed the investigation.
There were bank transfers.
Emails.
Shell corporations.
Millions of dollars moved from Thornton subsidiaries.
Victor had been stealing.
But he wasn't working alone.
One message referred repeatedly to someone identified only as G.T.
Gregory Thornton?
Ethan refused to believe it without proof.
Then we found another document.
A revised version of our marriage contract.
Not the one I signed.
This version contained additional provisions.
If Ethan died while legally married, control of certain shares would transfer through a trust arrangement before eventually returning to Thornton family control.
I stared at the page.
"What does this mean?"
Ethan looked sick.
"It means my marriage wasn't only useful while I was unconscious."
I understood.
"It would also be useful if you died."
He nodded.
A cold fear settled over me.
Then Claire discovered something else.
The metadata showed who created the revised document.
Victor Hale.
But the approval field contained another name.
Gregory Thornton.
I looked at Ethan.
He stared at his father's name.
Then his phone vibrated.
A text.
Unknown number.
Your wife should have taken the warning.
A second message appeared.
This one contained a photograph.
My mother.
Through the window of her hospital room.
And beneath it:
May you like
Now the price goes up.
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