The morning the nightmare unfolded, the sky was too bright.
Too cheerful.
Like the universe was mocking me.
I walked into Clark Group, exhausted, drained, barely standing after the night Ava left. My chest still ached where she slammed the door shut. But I pushed through, telling myself today had to be better.
I was wrong.
So wrong.
"Ethan Clark."
My father's voice boomed across the conference room the second I walked in.
Robert Clark.
The man whose blood ran through my veins—
but whose heart had never once belonged to me.
He tossed a sheet of paper across the table.
It slid to a stop right in front of me.
A bank transfer receipt.
My bank account.
My signature.
My transfer.
A large sum sent directly to the competitor we'd lost the project to.
The same competitor Leo had sabotaged my work for.
My blood froze.
"What… what is this?" I whispered.
Robert's face was a mask of disappointment.
Cold.
Stony.
Disgusted.
"You tell us," he said.
A room full of executives stared at me like I was filth.
My knees almost buckled.
"I didn't make this transfer," I said, voice trembling. "I swear—I didn't!"
But the projector screen showed my bank details, my account, my authorization code.
"Don't lie," one director hissed.
"We saw you meeting the competitor last week."
My heart lurched.
I had met them.
For a partnership proposal.
A legitimate meeting.
A meeting Ava knew about.
A meeting Leo used against me.
"No," I said, voice cracking. "It was a business meeting. I have proof. Emails. Documents—"
Robert slammed his hand on the table.
"Enough!"
My ears rang.
I stood there trembling, swallowing the taste of betrayal and humiliation.
"I would never betray this company," I whispered.
But the room had already judged me.
The door swung open.
Leo rushed in—
breathless, dramatic, eyes red like he'd been crying.
The perfect actor.
"Dad… I just heard."
He looked at me, devastated.
"How could you do this?"
The words stabbed deep into my stomach.
"Leo—don't," I begged quietly.
He stepped closer, voice trembling with fake sorrow.
"They trusted you, Ethan. Mom trusted you. I trusted you."
Each sentence killed me a little more.
"You promised me we'd build this family together," he choked,
"and now you're destroying everything?"
Destroying?
He sabotaged my project.
He framed me.
And now he was acting like the victim.
My hands shook with rage.
"You did this," I whispered.
"You hacked my files. You framed me. You—"
Robert slammed the table again.
"ENOUGH!"
I swallowed the scream rising in my chest.
It was useless.
No one in this room was on my side.
Not even—
The door opened.
Ava stepped in.
My heart lifted—
just for a second.
Maybe she'd tell the truth.
Maybe she'd stand beside me.
Maybe she'd finally choose me.
She rushed forward, eyes wide.
"Ethan!"
She placed a stack of printed papers on the table.
"These are his bank statements from the past month. He didn't have time to make that transfer."
For one blessed heartbeat—
hope flickered back to life inside me.
She believed me.
She defended me.
But then—
She spoke again.
And that hope died instantly.
"But…" she continued, voice softening, shifting,
"Ethan only recently joined the company. He's still adjusting. It's possible someone… took advantage of him."
My blood turned to ice.
She wasn't proving my innocence.
She was softening the accusation.
Turning it into a "misunderstanding".
Protecting everyone else.
But not me.
She glanced at Leo.
"Leo, you work closely with him," she said gently.
"Did you see anything unusual lately?"
My vision blurred.
"Ava…" I whispered.
"Why are you asking him?"
Leo looked remorseful.
Perfectly remorseful.
"Actually… Dad… I did see Ethan having dinner with someone from the competitor's company last week."
He bowed his head.
Fake guilt dripping off him like cheap perfume.
"I thought it was just coincidence—but if he was already in contact with them—"
My father exploded.
"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!"
Executives murmured in disgust.
I stared at Ava.
She didn't defend me.
Didn't argue.
Didn't stand in front of me like she used to.
She didn't even look at me.
She just lowered her eyes.
As if ashamed.
Ashamed of me.
Ashamed to be my wife.
Tears burned behind my eyelids.
"Dad," Leo said softly, "don't fire him. He just made a mistake."
Mistake?
A mistake would have been spilling coffee.
This was treason.
He wanted me gone.
Broken.
Erased.
And Ava?
She let him.
Robert looked at me like I was nothing.
Like trash.
Like a disappointment.
"You're suspended," he said coldly.
"Effective immediately. Leave your badge at the door."
Something shattered inside my chest.
As I turned to leave—
shaking, humiliated, destroyed—
I heard Ava's voice behind me.
Soft.
Comforting.
The voice she used to use for me.
"Leo… don't worry. You did the right thing."
It was that moment.
Right then.
When the last remaining piece of my heart—
finally died.