Chapter 4 - The Confrontation
Ethan returned to Rosewood Manor just as the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the Hudson River in shades of bruised purple. The wedding guests had dispersed, but Vanessa was still there, pacing the ballroom floor like a trapped animal.
When she saw him, her face lit up with a practiced, desperate warmth. “Ethan! Thank god. The staff is saying all sorts of things. We can still save this. We can fly to the Hamptons and forget this ever happened.”
Ethan stopped at the edge of the rose-covered arch. “I went through the portfolio, Vanessa. The marital asset provision? It’s very clever. But you made a mistake.”
Vanessa froze. “What are you talking about?”
“You forgot that my software logs every keystroke on my private terminal,” Ethan said, pulling out his tablet and displaying the screen. “I know about Christian. I know about the offshore accounts. And I know about the plan to dissolve Northstar the moment the ink was dry on the certificate.”
Vanessa’s expression shifted, the mask of the loving fiancée dissolving into something cold and jagged. “You stupid, arrogant man. You think you’re so smart because you build machines, but you’re just a pawn. You were always going to lose.”
“Maybe,” Ethan said, his voice chillingly calm. “But not tonight.”
He stepped aside as two men in dark suits entered the room. They weren't wedding guests; they were private investigators.
“You’re being served with a temporary restraining order and a demand for an accounting of all misappropriated funds,” Ethan said. “And the police are waiting at the front gate for the details regarding your attempt to defraud an international corporation.”
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Vanessa didn't scream. She didn't cry. She simply laughed, a cold, sharp sound that echoed in the empty, flower-filled room. “Do you really think you can stop me? My family has lawyers who eat men like you for breakfast.”
“I’m sure they do,” Ethan said. “But they don’t have the data I have.”
