The Price of a Perfect Engagement
Chapter 03 - The Price of a Perfect Engagement
Vanessa claimed the video had been altered, but Ethan’s security director, Marcus Lee, confirmed it was authentic.
Claire’s original letter had not been a breakup. It described the pregnancy, her fear, and her hope that Ethan would return early. Vanessa replaced it with a forgery, then redirected Claire’s calls through the company’s legal office.
The deception went further.
Marcus discovered that Vanessa’s firm had secretly partnered with Ethan’s uncle, Raymond Cole. The next day’s merger would let Raymond remove Ethan as chief executive and sell several housing projects. Vanessa would receive a seven-million-dollar fee after marrying Ethan and gaining access to his voting shares.
Their engagement had never been about love.
Ethan stood by the window, watching Claire rock Emily to sleep. For eighteen months, he had blamed her for abandoning him. Now he saw the truth: he accepted the easiest explanation because it protected his pride.
“I should have searched harder,” he said.
Claire’s eyes filled. “I needed you to trust what we had, not what one piece of paper told you.”
Vanessa tried to leave through the kitchen, but Marcus arrived with two company investigators. They recovered her laptop and found draft agreements, redirected emails, and payments to the man photographed boarding the plane with Claire.
He was not her lover.
He was an actor hired to create the appearance that she had left with someone else.
Vanessa’s confidence cracked.
“I gave you the life you were supposed to have,” she told Ethan. “A stable company. A respectable marriage.”
“You stole my children’s first eight months,” Ethan replied.
The engagement ended before dessert.
At the hospital the next morning, Ethan sat beside Claire while doctors prepared Emily for surgery. Noah slept against his chest, one tiny hand gripping Ethan’s tie.
A surgeon entered with a serious expression.
Emily’s latest scan showed a second complication. The planned procedure might not be enough. They needed an immediate blood match from a close relative, and the hospital did not have the rare type available.
Ethan offered his arm before the doctor finished speaking.
The test returned minutes later.
He was a perfect match.
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But as the nurse prepared the donation, Ethan received a message from Raymond:
COME TO THE BOARDROOM NOW, OR YOUR FATHER’S COMPANY WILL BE GONE BEFORE SHE WAKES UP.
