THE PRESS CONFERENCE
1267 Words
CHAPTER:7
I want something added.”
All eyes shifted to her.
“If at any point Liam’s safety is compromised because of corporate retaliation, I have the right to relocate him immediately. No legal interference.”
The lawyer hesitated.
Ethan didn’t.
“Add it.”
The pen moved quickly.
Sophia met Ethan’s gaze.
“You’re not arguing.”
“I told you,” he said quietly. “I don’t gamble with him.”
Her chest tightened again.
The DNA results were scheduled for morning.
Twelve hours.
Twelve hours until confirmation changed everything.
Her phone buzzed suddenly.
Unknown number.
She hesitated, then answered.
“Yes?”
A smooth, familiar voice filled her ear.
“You move quickly,” Olivia Harrington said pleasantly.
Sophia’s spine stiffened.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think you do.”
Across the table, Ethan noticed the change in her expression.
“What do you want?” Sophia asked calmly.
“I want you to understand something,” Olivia continued. “You may have secured a press moment, but you are stepping into a world that devours women like you.”
Sophia’s grip tightened on the phone.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.”
The line went dead.
Sophia lowered the phone slowly.
“Olivia?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“That I don’t belong in your world.”
His eyes darkened.
“She’s wrong.”
“Is she?”
Silence lingered.
The lawyers discreetly stepped out, sensing the shift in tension.
Ethan moved around the table until he stood directly in front of her.
“This world is brutal,” he admitted.
“I can see that.”
“It will test you.”
“It already has.”
His hand came up slowly—hesitating before brushing a strand of hair from her face.
The touch was light.
Careful.
“Then let it test us,” he said quietly.
Us.
That word again.
Before she could respond, his assistant rushed back into the room.
“Sir, the board has begun the vote early.”
Ethan’s gaze hardened instantly.
“Without me?”
“Yes.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“That’s illegal.”
“They’re citing instability.”
Sophia felt the room tighten around them.
“This is because of me,” she whispered.
“No,” he said sharply. “This is because my father has been waiting for weakness.”
“And I’m the weakness.”
He stepped closer, voice low and intense.
“You are not weakness.”
“Then what am I?”
His eyes held hers—unfiltered now.
“You’re the reason I’m fighting.”
The words hung between them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Real.
Outside the glass walls of the skyscraper, Manhattan glittered like a battlefield of light.
Inside, the boardroom.
The Callaway building had never felt this electric.
Cameras flooded the entrance. Reporters shouted over one another. Financial analysts speculated in rapid whispers. Every major network was live.
Inside the private elevator, silence pressed tightly between them.
Sophia stared at her reflection in the mirrored wall.
She didn’t look like a woman about to declare war on Manhattan’s most powerful families.
She looked calm.
Too calm.
Ethan stood beside her, adjusting his cufflinks with infuriating composure.
“You can still step back,” he said quietly.
She didn’t look at him.
“If I step back now, Olivia controls the narrative.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Yes.”
The elevator doors opened.
The hallway leading to the press room was lined with security.
This wasn’t damage control.
This was domination.
As they stepped forward, Ethan’s hand moved to the small of her back.
Not possessive.
Protective.
The contact sent a sharp awareness through her.
The doors opened.
Flashes exploded instantly.
The noise was deafening.
They walked toward the podium together.
United.
Calculated.
Unbreakable.
Ethan stepped forward first.
“The engagement between Olivia Harrington and myself has been terminated,” he stated calmly.
Gasps rippled through the room.
A reporter shouted, “Because of the child?”
Ethan didn’t blink.
“My personal life is not a shareholder discussion.”
Another voice yelled, “Is the child yours?”
Sophia felt every camera turn toward her.
This was it.
Ethan’s voice remained steady.
“The DNA results are private. What matters is responsibility.”
Responsibility.
Strong. Strategic. Protective.
“And Miss Bennett?” another reporter pushed. “Who is she to you?”
Silence fell.
Ethan turned slightly toward Sophia.
For half a second, the room disappeared.
It wasn’t strategy.
It wasn’t shareholders.
It was history.
Pain.
Unfinished love.
He extended his hand toward her.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Sophia stepped forward.
She didn’t hesitate this time.
“I am not a scandal,” she said clearly into the microphone.
The room quieted instantly.
“I am not a distraction. And my son is not a headline.”
Her voice did not shake.
“If you want a story,” she continued, “write this one correctly. Ethan Callaway takes responsibility. That is all.”
Murmurs filled the room.
Strong.
Controlled.
Unexpected.
Ethan watched her with something dangerously close to admiration.
A financial reporter stood.
“Mr. Callaway, is this a reconciliation?”
Ethan’s gaze sharpened.
“Yes.”
The word hit like a bomb.
Sophia’s breath caught slightly.
He continued.
“We will be married.”
The room erupted.
Questions flew.
“When?”
“Was there an affair?”
“What about Olivia Harrington?”
“Is this damage control?”
Ethan’s hand tightened around hers.
“This is my decision,” he said firmly. “And any further speculation regarding my family will be met legally.”
Family.
The word shifted something inside her.
Another reporter pushed forward.
“Is this about protecting your CEO position?”
Ethan didn’t flinch.
“No.”
The lie was smooth.
Professional.
Necessary.
Sophia understood it.
He was protecting the board.
But also protecting her.
The press conference ended abruptly after that.
Security moved in.
Questions were cut off.
But the damage had already been done.
Or the power play had.
Back inside the elevator, the silence was different now.
Charged.
Ethan turned to her slowly.
“You were fearless.”
She let out a shaky breath.
“I was terrified.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“Good. That means you understand the stakes.”
The elevator reached the top floor.
As the doors opened, his assistant rushed toward them.
“Sir, the board wants you immediately.”
“Of course they do,” Ethan replied coolly.
Sophia looked at him.
“This is where it gets ugly.”
“Yes.”
“And if they force you to choose?”
His gaze locked onto hers.
“I already did.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Before she could respond, his phone buzzed again.
A message from an unknown number.
He opened it.
His expression changed instantly.
Dark.
Dangerous.
“What?” she asked quietly.
He turned the phone toward her.
A photograph.
Liam.
Leaving school.
Taken minutes ago.
Sophia’s blood ran cold.
Below the photo was a single message:
This isn’t over.
The air shifted.
This was no longer about stock prices.
No longer about press conferences.
This was personal.
Ethan’s entire body went still.
Then his voice dropped into something lethal.
“Get security on Liam. Now.”
Sophia’s hands trembled.
“They’re targeting him.”
“Yes.”
His eyes hardened.
“And that was their first mistake.”
The war had officially moved beyond headlines.
- Writer
