Chapter 4 - The Los Angeles Charade
Across the country in Los Angeles, Ethan Mercer was living in a fool’s paradise.
Surrounded by paparazzi, talent agents, and flashbulbs, Ethan felt invincible. Sabrina Vale was the rising star of Hollywood, and standing beside her on red carpets elevated Ethan from a mere mid-tier hedge fund manager to a global celebrity figure.
"He doesn't miss her at all," Sabrina laughed during an exclusive interview with a top entertainment magazine, clinging tightly to Ethan’s arm at a Malibu beach house party. "Ethan spent years tied down to a woman who didn't understand his vision or his ambition. Now, he’s finally free."
When reporters asked about the rumored pregnancy, Ethan’s public relations team issued a sleek, icy statement: Mr. Mercer and his former spouse reached a mutual agreement regarding their separation. Claims regarding a high-risk pregnancy are exaggerated personal matters that have been settled amicably.
Ethan truly believed he had won. He had altered the narrative. He had paid off the building manager to keep quiet about the night he locked me out, and he had instructed his lawyer, Martin Keller, to stall the formal court proceedings until the media lost interest.
"She hasn't hired a lawyer, Ethan," Martin had assured him over a encrypted call from New York. "We haven't received a single filing from Claire in over two months. She has no money, no connections, and no family with the cash to fight us. She’s probably living off government assistance in some rural town. She won't bother you again."
"Good," Ethan had sneered, sipping expensive scotch on his balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. "Make sure the final default judgment goes through quietly next month. I want full control of all joint properties, including the Fifth Avenue penthouse."
What Ethan didn't know was that every phone call he made, every property transfer he attempted, and every dollar he spent on Sabrina Vale’s designer wardrobe was being meticulously logged by Julian’s intelligence team.
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In New York, I was no longer the frail, heartbroken woman who had collapsed on a public bus. As my babies grew stronger in the hospital nursery, I transformed. Guided by Victoria Sterling and funded by Vance Holdings, I quietly acquired a thirty-percent voting stake in Ethan’s own investment firm through a series of anonymous shell companies.
Ethan thought he was returning to Manhattan in November to close the deal of his life—a partnership with Vance Holdings that would cement his legacy. He had no idea that the trap had already sprung around his neck.
