Chapter 6 - The Unopened File
The next morning, I stood in my father’s private study, overlooking the city from the top floor of the Carter Tower. The room was cold, smelling of old leather and expensive tobacco.
My father, Richard Carter, stood by the window. He was a man of sixty, with hair like silver wire and eyes that had seen through the lies of half the fortune 500. He didn't turn around when I entered. He knew the weight of my footsteps.
"You married a snake," he said, his voice flat.
"I married an architect," I replied. "I just didn't realize he was designing my prison."
He turned then. His face was etched with a deep, weary sorrow. "I begged you not to go through with it. I told you that you didn't have to marry anyone to be happy."
"I know, Dad," I whispered. "I was a fool."
"No," he corrected, walking toward the desk. "You were in love. It’s not a sin. But you are a Carter. And Carters are not victims."
He picked up a heavy, black leather-bound folder. "I have had men watching Ethan Grant since the day he proposed. I didn't want to interfere, but I needed to know who he was."
My hands felt cold. "You had a file on him?"
"I have a file on everyone you meet, Emma. It is the only way to keep the wolves away from the door."
He slid the folder across the desk. "He didn't just want the house. He is currently six million dollars in debt to a group of investors in Dubai. If he didn't secure your assets today, he would have been killed by the end of the week."
I stared at the folder. He wasn't just a cheat. He was a desperate, drowning man who had chosen me as his life raft.
May you like
"What do we do?" I asked.
"We don't destroy him," my father said, his eyes turning hard. "We turn him into a lesson."
