The Wife He Lost

PART 3 — THE MAN WHO CAME TOO LATE

Two days later, I attended my first Bennett Holdings board meeting.

I wore a tailored black suit, my father’s wristwatch, and the small diamond earrings he had given me on my twenty-first birthday.

When I entered the conference room, every conversation stopped.

Richard stood beside the chairman’s seat.

“Everyone, I’d like to introduce our new majority shareholder and chairwoman, Claire Bennett.”

I walked forward.

For two years, I had sat quietly beside Ethan at business dinners, smiling while men discussed things I was never invited to understand.

Today, those same kinds of men were waiting for me to speak.

I placed my father’s watch on the table.

“Thank you for welcoming me. I know my father trusted this company, and I intend to protect everything he built.”

One of the directors raised his hand.

“There’s an urgent matter. Blackwood International has submitted another acquisition proposal.”

I looked at the document.

Ethan’s signature was on the final page.

He was offering an enormous amount of money for a controlling stake in a subsidiary.

I slowly closed the folder.

“Reject it.”

The director looked surprised.

“Mrs. Blackwood, their offer is financially attractive.”

“Then perhaps you should remember that I’m no longer Mrs. Blackwood in business matters.”

I met his eyes.

“My name is Claire Bennett. And I won’t sell my father’s legacy to the man who abandoned him.”

The room fell silent.

Richard gave a small approving nod.

Then another director spoke.

“There’s something else. Mr. Blackwood has requested a private meeting with you.”

I smiled faintly.

“Tell him I’m unavailable.”

That evening, I was leaving the building when I saw a familiar black car parked near the entrance.

Ethan stepped out.

He wore a charcoal suit, his dark hair perfectly styled. Two bodyguards stood several feet behind him.

His expression changed when he saw me.

“Claire.”

I kept walking.

“Excuse me.”

He caught up with me.

“Since when do you own this building?”

I turned around.

“Since my father died.”

His jaw tightened.

“What are you talking about?”

I looked directly at him.

“Bennett Holdings. My father left it to me.”

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his eyes narrowed.

“Your father owned Bennett Holdings?”

“You seem surprised.”

He glanced toward the building, then back at me.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I almost laughed.

“Why? So you could add his company to your collection?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We could have discussed this as husband and wife.”

“We’re getting divorced, Ethan.”

His expression hardened.

“You can’t just walk away from a two-year marriage because you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry anymore.”

“Then come home. We’ll talk about everything.”

I looked at him carefully.

The man standing before me was the same man who had refused to come to the hospital when my father was dying.

The same man who had laughed when I asked for a divorce.

And now that I had inherited a fortune, he suddenly wanted to save our marriage.

“No, Ethan.”

He stepped closer.

“Claire, I made mistakes. I know I wasn’t there when your father died, but you have to understand—”

“Stop.”

My voice was quiet, but firm.

“You weren’t there because you didn’t care. Don’t rewrite the past now that you know my name comes with money.”

His face darkened.

“Vanessa means nothing to me.”

“That’s between you and Vanessa.”

I turned to leave.

Then he said something that made me stop.

“Your father was investigating me, wasn’t he?”

I slowly turned back.

“Why would you think that?”

For the first time, Ethan looked uncertain.

“Because Richard Hayes has been lying to both of us.”

Before I could respond, a familiar voice came from behind him.

“That’s enough, Ethan.”

Richard had just stepped out of the building.

He walked toward us, holding a brown envelope.

Ethan’s expression turned cold.

“You should have stayed out of this, Richard.”

Richard ignored him and handed me the envelope.

“Claire, there’s something your father wanted you to see before you made any decisions about your marriage.”

I opened it.

Inside was a photograph of my father, Ethan, and another man standing together outside a private club.

The photograph was dated three years before Ethan and I got married.

But it was the handwritten note on the back that made my heart stop.

Ethan knows what happened to Claire’s mother. Don’t let him get close to her until you understand why.

I looked up at Richard.

“My mother?”

He nodded slowly.

“Your father never told you the truth about her death.”

I turned toward Ethan.

For the first time, he wasn’t looking at me with anger.

He was looking at me with fear.

And I finally understood that my father’s secret was much bigger than Bennett Holdings.

It was connected to the man I had once loved.

And the truth about my mother might destroy everything Ethan Blackwood had built.