Chapter 3

The hospital waiting room is almost silent.

Ryan has been pacing for nearly an hour when the doctor finally comes out of the operating room.

“He survived the surgery,” the doctor says. “But his condition is still critical. We've had severe blood loss, and there's a possibility he may not regain consciousness.”

Ryan exhales and runs a hand over his face.

“Can I see him?”

“Briefly.”

I wait until the doctor walks away before following Ryan toward the ICU.

Ethan looks nothing like the man who walked into the hotel tonight. The monitors beside his bed beep steadily, and tubes run from his arms and mouth.

I stand beside him for a moment before taking his hand.

There is a faint pale mark around his ring finger.

I stare at it.

Six months ago, Ethan stopped wearing his wedding ring. When I asked why, he told me he hated wearing jewelry.

I believed him.

Now I know where his attention was going.

I glance at my own hand.

My ring is still there.

I haven't taken it off.

Not until tonight.

“Ethan.”

His fingers move.

I freeze.

His eyelids slowly lift.

“Mia…”

“I'm here.”

His eyes move around the room before settling on me.

“The business…”

Even half-conscious, he is still worried about Blackwell.

I lean closer. “What about it?”

“The Blackwell…”

His voice is barely audible.

“Mine.”

I almost smile.

“You still think it is?”

His expression changes.

For the first time, he looks at me carefully, as though he's seeing someone he has never met before.

“You…”

“I know.”

“You knew?”

“For a long time.”

His breathing becomes uneven.

“You were pretending?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to see how far you'd go.”

He stares at me in disbelief.

“But I built—”

“No.”

I keep my voice quiet.

“You took the credit. You signed the papers. You stood in front of the cameras and told everyone you built the Blackwell empire.”

His eyes widen.

“But you never built the foundation.”

I squeeze his hand once before letting go.

“I did.”

The monitor suddenly starts beeping faster.

Doctors rush into the room and order me outside.

I walk into the hallway without looking back.

A few hours later, the doctor comes out.

I know from his expression before he says anything.

“He didn't make it.”

I nod.

“Thank you.”

Ethan spent his whole life believing he owned everything.

In the end, all he left behind was a death certificate.

And a company that was never really his to begin with.