Chapter 4 - The Signing
Ethan looked up at Grace. The bruised cheek was still visible, red and slightly swollen, but her posture was straight, her expression unyielding. There was no pity in her eyes. No warmth. The gentle woman who had ironed his shirts, made his favorite meals, and held his hand through his mother's illness was completely gone.
In her place stood a Vance.
"Grace," Ethan wept, tears finally spilling over his cheeks as the reality of his total ruin set in. "Please... don't do this to me. I love you. I swear I love you. I'll get therapy. I'll give you control of the accounts. Just don't destroy me..."
Grace looked down at him. "You didn't just hurt me, Ethan. You brought another woman into our home on our anniversary. You called me an anchor. And then you raised your hand against our child."
She stepped back, standing between her brothers.
"Sign the papers, Ethan," Grace said softly. "It's the only thing keeping Julian from breaking your arm."
Ethan stared at the white pages resting on his chest. His hand trembled uncontrollably as he reached for the fountain pen Gabriel had dropped beside him. He knew he had no choice. Gabriel Vance was not making idle threats; if he didn't sign, he would be in a county jail cell by sunrise, bankrupt and destroyed beyond recognition.
With a shaking hand, Ethan flipped to the final page and signed his name across the signature line. Ethan M. Walker.
Gabriel leaned down, snatched the folder off Ethan's chest, and inspected the signature with cold efficiency. He capped his pen and nodded once to Marcus.
"It's done," Gabriel said.
"Good," Marcus said. He looked down at Ethan. "You have thirty minutes to take your personal clothes and get off this property. If you are still on this street by 10:00 p.m., my security team will arrest you for criminal trespass."
"Where am I supposed to go?" Ethan cried out, sprawling on the floor. "You took my house! My accounts! My car!"
"I don't care if you sleep in a ditch," Marcus said flatly. "Julian, make sure he takes only what he walked in with."
Julian grabbed Ethan by the collar of his linen shirt, dragging him effortlessly to his feet and shoving him toward the stairs. "Move, garbage."
Grace turned away, walking slowly into the kitchen. Marcus and Gabriel followed her immediately, their towering frames casting long shadows over the white marble kitchen island.
"Are you okay, Gracie?" Marcus asked, his heavy voice softening as he placed a massive, warm hand on her shoulder.
Grace leaned against the counter, letting out a long, shuddering breath. For the first time all evening, her shoulders sagged, and she placed both hands over her stomach. "I will be, Marc. I just... I can't believe I let him fool me for five years."
"You didn't let him fool you," Gabriel said gently, pulling a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and pouring her a glass. "You trusted him because you have a good heart. He was the fool. He traded gold for painted glass, and now he's going to find out what the real world feels like without us holding him up."
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Grace took a small sip of water, looking out the kitchen window at the dark night sky. "What happens now?"
"Now," Marcus said, his steel-gray eyes hardening into cold iron, "we go to work on the people who helped him."
