Chapter 5: Shadows and Secrets
863 Words
The custody threat hit me like a truck. I spent the whole night reading legal papers with my lawyer on video call. Ethan’s mother was moving fast. She had powerful friends in the courts. Money could buy a lot of things — including lies about me being an “unstable single mother.”
“You need to be careful,” my lawyer said. “They might try to paint you as someone who hid the children on purpose.”
I looked over at the kids’ rooms. They were sleeping peacefully. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them.”
The next morning I went to the office early. Marcus was already there with coffee and bad news.
“Vance stock is dropping more, but Ethan is fighting back. He’s trying to get investors. And his mother is spreading rumors about TechEdge — saying we use dirty tactics.”
I slammed my hand on the desk. “Then we hit harder. Prepare the full buyout offer. I want to own his company by the end of the month.”
But inside, I was scared. Not just for the business. For my babies. What if they took them away? What if the kids started asking more questions about their dad?
That afternoon I took them to the park. Watching Alex chase a ball, Leo climbing the slide, and Mia picking flowers made me smile. They were my everything.
“Mommy, why do you look sad?” Mia asked, giving me a flower.
I hugged her tight. “Mommy’s just working hard so we can have a good life.”
Later that evening, while the nanny was with the kids, I met Marcus at a quiet restaurant to talk strategy. Halfway through dinner, my phone buzzed. A video call from an unknown number. I answered without thinking.
Ethan’s face appeared. He looked like he hadn’t slept.
“Zara, please don’t hang up,” he said quickly. “I know about the custody papers. That’s my mother, not me. I don’t want to take the kids from you. I just want to be in their lives.”
I wanted to believe him. The pain in his voice sounded real. But I remembered the rain. The divorce papers. The hundred dollars.
“Words are cheap, Ethan. You believed her before. Why should I trust you now?”
“Because I’ve been thinking about that night every day for five years,” he said. His voice cracked. “I was weak. Stupid. She told me you were only after money. That you’d trap me with a baby. I was scared of losing everything my grandfather built. But I lost the most important thing anyway. You. And now… our children.”
Tears burned my eyes. I hated that he could still affect me.
“Stay away,” I whispered. “For now.”
I ended the call.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Careful. He might be playing you.”
“I know,” I said. But doubt was creeping in.
The next day, things got worse.
I was in a meeting when my assistant ran in. “Miss Kane, there’s a problem at home. The nanny called. Someone tried to approach the kids at the park. A woman. She said she was their grandmother.”
I stood up so fast my chair fell over. I rushed home, heart pounding. The kids were safe inside, but the nanny was shaken.
“She offered them candy and asked questions about Mommy,” the nanny said. “I got them away quickly.”
I hugged my children tight, trying not to cry in front of them. Ethan’s mother was playing dirty. This wasn’t just business anymore.
That night, after the kids were asleep, I called Ethan.
“Control your mother,” I said coldly. “If she comes near my kids again, I won’t be nice.”
He sounded shocked. “I didn’t know she did that. Zara, let me help. Let me see them. Supervised. Anything.”
I was quiet for a long time. Part of me wanted the kids to know their father. But the angry part won.
“No. Not yet. First, you feel what I felt.”
I hung up.
But as I sat in the dark living room, I realized something. The revenge was getting complicated. My heart was getting complicated.
The next morning, Marcus brought shocking news.
“We found proof. Ethan’s mother paid someone to fake documents about your past. She was the one who pushed the divorce hard. She even knew about the pregnancy somehow — maybe a doctor she bribed.”
I stared at the papers. Everything was her doing.
Ethan had been manipulated too.
Did that change anything?
Before I could think more, my phone rang again. It was Ethan.
“Zara, I just found out what my mother did. I’m done with her games. I want to meet you. No lawyers. No tricks. Just us. Please.”
I looked at the papers again. Then at the photo of my triplets.
My revenge was close. But now there were new questions.
And I didn’t know if I was ready for the answers.
- Writer
