THEN I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD WHY THOMAS NEEDED ME TO MARRY BRIANNA
Carter Development was nearly collapsing.
Thomas needed Ashcroft Capital.
But Marissa—
a working-class bookkeeper with no family money—
offered him nothing financially.
I did.
More precisely—
a divorced, heartbroken stepson who trusted Thomas completely and could be introduced to Brianna Ashcroft did.
Thomas had not merely destroyed my marriage.
He cleared an obstacle.
I sat at Pauline’s kitchen table staring at the evidence.
Then remembered the phrase Thomas had used for nearly twenty years.
I love you like my own son.
Maybe he did.
But apparently—
he loved his company more.
THREE DAYS LATER, I CONFRONTED HIM
I entered Thomas’s office.
Placed Pauline’s copies on his desk.
The same way he had once placed his manufactured evidence in front of me.
“Sit down, Ethan.”
“No.”
He reached for bourbon.
“You gambled company money.”
His hand stopped.
“You blamed the missing money on Marissa.”
Silence.
“You hired Curtis Doyle.”
Nothing.
“You manufactured an affair.”
His eyes hardened.
“You created fake texts.”
I stepped closer.
“And you destroyed my marriage so Ashcroft Capital would have a reason to connect itself to this family.”
Thomas slowly lowered the glass.
Then he said:
“You have no idea what it takes to keep a company alive.”
That was his defense.
Not denial.
