Chapter 2 - The Hospital Room Confrontation
Ethan stepped into the room two minutes later.
He looked like a broken man. His hair was messy, his eyes were bloodshot and swollen from crying, and his designer suit jacket was ruined from the pool water. He walked toward my bed with slow, hesitant steps, as if he believed he didn't have the right to breathe the same air in the room.
"Clara..." Ethan choked out, stopping three feet from the edge of my bed. He looked down at my IV line, then at my pale face, his chest heaving. "Dr. Patel told me... the baby has a heartbeat. Is it... is it really true?"
"It’s true, Ethan," I said, my voice completely devoid of the warmth I used to give him. "I’m seven weeks pregnant. I found out yesterday morning."
Ethan fell to his knees beside my bed, burying his face in his hands as heavy, violent sobs shook his shoulders.
"I’m so sorry..." he wept, reaching out to touch the edge of my blanket, but stopping himself before his fingers made contact. "Clara, I am so, so sorry. I didn't know. When my mother accused you... when she tore up that paper... I was so confused, but then I saw you fall—"
"She didn't fall, Ethan," I interrupted coldly, staring down at the top of his head. "Your mother looked me in the eye, raised both hands, and slammed them into my chest. She tried to hurt me. She tried to destroy this child because she thought it was a trick to touch 'Bennett money.'"
Ethan lifted his head, his face pale with horror. "She’s insane. I talked to the police officers in the waiting room, Clara. I told them everything I saw. I told them she pushed you."
"Did you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "For ten years, Ethan, your mother called me defective. She told your relatives at every Thanksgiving dinner that I was failing as a wife. She called me a financial leech, even though I brought $12 million from my father’s hotel liquidation into Bennett Hospitality to save your family from bankruptcy in 2018."
Ethan winced as if I had struck him across the face. "I was blind, Clara. I was an idiot. I let her poison my mind because I was frustrated about the fertility treatments. But I love you. I’ve always loved you! We can fix this. We can cancel the divorce hearing tomorrow. We can raise our child together, away from my mother—"
The door opened before he could finish his sentence.
Victoria Vance, my lead corporate litigator, walked into the room wearing a sleek grey pant suit, carrying a thick leather briefcase. Behind her stood two uniformed officers from the Charleston Police Department.
"Good evening, Clara," Victoria said, stepping up to the opposite side of my bed. "I’ve secured the preliminary injunctions. We have a busy night ahead of us."
Ethan stood up quickly, looking confused. "Victoria? Why are you here? This is a private family matter."
"It stopped being a family matter the moment your mother committed felony assault on my client, Mr. Bennett," Victoria replied, pulling a stack of legal documents from her briefcase. "And more importantly, it stopped being a family matter when we uncovered what your mother has been doing with Bennett Hospitality’s offshore accounts."
Ethan frowned. "What are you talking about? My mother is the honorary chairman. My father and I run the operations."
I sat up slightly against my pillows, ignoring the dull throb in my neck.
"Ethan," I said quietly. "Who owns the majority share of Bennett Hospitality?"
"We do," Ethan said, pointing between himself and his father. "The Bennett trust holds 51%."
"No," Victoria corrected him, laying a certified corporate share registry on my bedside table. "In 2018, when Clara injected her $12 million capital rescue package into Bennett Hospitality, she didn't issue a loan. She acquired 55% of the voting stock in Northstar Holding Group—the parent entity that owns every hotel, land lease, and brand trademark under the Bennett name."
Ethan stared at the document, his mouth opening in complete shock. "That... that can't be right. My mother said Clara’s money was a convertible grant!"
"Your mother lied to you, Ethan," I said flatly. "She let you believe you owned the company so she could maintain her social status in Charleston. But tomorrow at 10:00 AM, when we sit down in court for the final divorce decree, I am not asking for alimony. I don't need your money. I am exercising my right as majority owner to remove Lydia Bennett from the board of directors, freeze her corporate accounts, and initiate a forensic audit into $4.2 million in missing construction funds."
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Ethan took three steps back, grabbing the edge of the visitor chair to steady himself. "Four million dollars...?"
"Your mother didn't push me into that pool just because she hated me, Ethan," I said, looking him straight in the eyes. "She pushed me because she knew that if we divorced, the court discovery process would force an audit of the company accounts. She knew I was twenty-four hours away from discovering that she’s been stealing from the firm for five years."
