CHAPTER 4 — The Empire Starts to Crack
Three days after the hearing, Ethan Carter’s face was everywhere.
Not on magazine covers praising his genius.
Not beside headlines calling him “the future of American technology.”
This time, the world saw him standing in court while a six-year-old girl pointed at him with tears in her eyes.
The photo went viral before sunset.
By midnight, Carter Technologies had lost billions in market value.
Investors panicked.
Board members demanded answers.
And Vanessa Hale deleted every picture she had ever posted with Ethan.
But Olivia did not celebrate.
She sat alone in her apartment, staring at the court documents spread across her kitchen table.
Lily Brooks was now the legal heir to Emily’s shares.
A child.
A grieving child.
And Ethan’s enemies were already circling.
At 1:17 a.m., Olivia received an anonymous message.
Protect the girl. Ethan isn’t the only one who buried Emily’s truth.
Olivia’s blood went cold.
Because attached to the message was a photo.
Emily Brooks standing outside Carter Technologies five years ago…
alive…
pregnant…
and arguing with Ethan’s most trusted attorney.
The same attorney who had written Olivia’s prenup.
The same attorney sitting beside Ethan in divorce court.
His name was Richard Vale.
And suddenly, Olivia understood.
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Ethan had not built his empire on one lie.
He had built it on many.
