My Husband Had to Choose
Chapter 05 - My Husband Had to Choose
Two detectives arrived at Nora's house that afternoon.
Claire answered every question.
She allowed them to examine the laptop she had used while working occasionally from Cross Development's offices.
The company records showed three unauthorized transfers.
Each had been approved using Claire's credentials.
There was only one problem.
Claire had never been given company credentials.
Someone had created them in her name.
The detectives didn't arrest her.
But they didn't clear her either.
When Ethan arrived, Claire stood on Nora's porch.
"Did you believe her?"
He looked confused.
"Who?"
"Your mother."
"No."
"Did you believe me?"
"Claire—"
"Those aren't the same answer."
Ethan lowered his eyes.
For three years, Claire had defended him.
When friends said Vivian controlled too much of his life, Claire insisted Ethan was simply loyal to his mother.
When Vivian insulted Claire's family, Ethan asked Claire to be patient.
When Vivian entered their home without calling, rearranged their holidays, and questioned every financial decision, Ethan said she meant well.
Now patience had become something uglier.
Permission.
"You have to choose," Claire said.
Ethan looked at her.
"I choose you."
"Then prove it."
That night, Ethan did something he had never done before.
He publicly challenged his mother.
At an emergency meeting of the Cross Development board, Vivian demanded Claire's removal from any connection to the company.
Ethan voted against her.
Then he resigned as acting president.
The room erupted.
Vivian stared at him.
"You would throw away your grandfather's company for her?"
Ethan stood.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"I'm walking away because I finally understand what you've turned me into."
Vivian's composure cracked.
"I raised you alone."
"And I've spent thirty-six years paying you back for it."
He walked out.
But Vivian wasn't finished.
The following morning, every account Ethan personally controlled was frozen.
The penthouse locks were changed.
His company car was taken.
By lunchtime, the man who had grown up with everything owned almost nothing.
Claire found him sitting outside Nora's house with one suitcase.
He gave her a tired smile.
"I think my mother just disowned me."
Claire sat beside him.
For the first time in months, Ethan reached for her hand without hesitation.
She let him hold it.
But forgiveness wasn't the same as repair.
Then Nora opened the front door.
"Claire?"
She was holding the flash drive Daniel had given her.
"You two need to see this."
On the screen was a recording.
Arthur Cross sat behind his old desk.
The date showed it had been filmed twelve days before his death.
May you like
He looked directly into the camera.
"Claire, if you're watching this, then Vivian has done exactly what I was afraid she would do."
