CHAPTER 7: THE CONFRONTATION
942 Words
Ava arrived at Ethan's office at six fifty-five Wednesday morning. The executive floor was empty except for the hum of fluorescent lights and the distant sound of cleaning crew vacuums.
She knocked twice on his door.
"Come in."
Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his back to her, hands in his pockets. He wore a charcoal suit that fit perfectly, but his tie was missing. His hair looked like he'd been running his hands through it.
He didn't turn around when she entered.
"Close the door," he said quietly.
Ava obeyed, her heart hammering. Something felt different. Wrong. The air in the office crackled with tension.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Blackwood?"
"Stop calling me that."
The words were soft but edged with something dangerous.
"It's your name."
"It's a wall you're hiding behind." He finally turned to face her. His eyes were red-rimmed like he hadn't slept. "How long were you planning to keep lying to me, Ava?"
Her blood turned to ice. "I don't know what you mean."
"Don't." His voice cracked like a whip. "Don't insult my intelligence. Not now. Not about this."
He picked up his phone from the desk and tapped the screen, then held it out to her.
Ava's legs nearly gave out.
On the screen was a birth certificate. Noah's birth certificate.
"How did you—" Her voice broke. "That's sealed. Those records are private."
"Money can unseal anything." Ethan set the phone down. "Noah Alexander Monroe. Born March 15, 2019, in Geneva. Mother, Ava Elizabeth Monroe. Father, unknown."
Each word landed like a physical blow.
"But we both know who his father is, don't we?" Ethan's voice was deadly quiet. "We know because he has a genetic blood disorder that runs in my family. The same condition that killed my father. The same gene I carry."
Ava's hands were shaking. She pressed them against her sides. "Ethan—"
"Four years old. He's four years old." Ethan's control was cracking. Real emotion bleeding through. "You were pregnant when you left. You gave birth alone. You raised our son for four years without telling me he existed."
"I had reasons—"
"What reasons could possibly justify this?" His voice rose for the first time. "What reasons could make you keep my child from me?"
"You married my sister!" The words exploded out of her. "Twenty-four hours after I left town, you married her. You chose her. You chose duty and obligation over everything we had."
"Because I thought she was pregnant with my child!"
"But she wasn't!" Ava shouted back. "She was never pregnant, Ethan. It was all a lie. Everything was a lie."
Silence crashed between them.
Ethan stared at her. "What are you saying?"
Ava realized she'd gone too far. But there was no taking it back now.
"I'm saying Chloe faked her pregnancy. I'm saying she drugged you that night and staged everything. I'm saying you were trapped in a marriage based on fraud."
"You have proof of this?"
"Not yet. But I will."
Ethan moved closer, his eyes searching hers. "If you believed this five years ago, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you fight?"
"Because my entire family turned against me!" Ava's voice cracked. "My mother, my father, Chloe. They all said I was lying. They said I was jealous and delusional. Your grandmother tried to help but your board insisted you marry her. I was twenty-three and pregnant and completely alone."
"So you ran."
"I survived."
"You kept my son from me."
"I protected my son from a world that had already destroyed me once." Tears were streaming down Ava's face now. "I protected him from people who threw me away like garbage. From a family that chose lies over truth."
Ethan was close enough to touch now. His jaw was clenched, his hands fisted at his sides.
"He's dying," Ethan said hoarsely. "The medical records say he needs a bone marrow transplant within months. That's why you came back."
Ava nodded, unable to speak.
"You weren't going to tell me he was mine. You were just going to ask for the marrow and disappear again."
"I was going to tell you," she whispered. "Eventually."
"When? When he was eighteen? When I'd missed his entire childhood?"
"When I was sure you wouldn't take him from me!"
The admission hung between them.
Ethan's expression shifted. Understanding replacing anger. "You thought I'd take him away."
"You're a billionaire with unlimited resources. I'm a single mother with a design company. In a custody battle, I'd lose everything."
"So you were going to keep lying."
"I was going to save my son." Ava wiped her tears. "Whatever it took."
Ethan turned away, his shoulders rigid. When he spoke again, his voice was controlled. Too controlled.
"I want to meet him. Tomorrow. You'll arrange it."
"Ethan—"
"That wasn't a request." He looked at her, and the pain in his eyes nearly broke her. "You stole four years from me. You don't get to steal another day."
"He's in Geneva."
"Then we're going to Geneva. Tonight."
"I have responsibilities—"
"Nothing is more important than this." Ethan's voice was absolute. "Book two tickets. We leave at six."
Ava knew she had no choice.
"Okay."
Ethan nodded once, then walked to his desk and sat down, effectively dismissing her.
Ava walked to the door on shaking legs.
"Ava."
She turned back.
"For what it's worth," Ethan said quietly, "I would never take him from you. Whatever else I am, I'm not a monster."
He looked back at his computer screen.
Ava left before he could see her cry again.
- Writer
