Chapter 6 - The Real Father
The scandal broke like a tidal wave. The local news outlets and society columns feasted on the dramatic downfall of Ethan Hayes. The “Golden Couple” who had stolen my life were now front-page news for all the wrong reasons.
Back in the mansion, which was now under a lien and eerily quiet, Ethan cornered Madison for the final time. She had spent the last forty-eight hours frantically packing her designer clothes, trying to figure out a backup plan. There was none. She was a pariah.
“Who is it?” Ethan demanded, his voice deadened by exhaustion. He was sitting on the edge of the master bed, staring blankly at the wall. “Before you walk out that door, Madison. Tell me who the father is.”
Madison stopped zipping up her suitcase. She looked haggard, her youthful beauty stripped away by panic and sleeplessness. She realized she had absolutely nothing left to lose. Ethan was broke, publicly shamed, and hated her.
She let out a bitter, hollow laugh. “You want to know? You really want to know who was man enough to give me a child while you were shooting blanks?”
Ethan’s hands balled into fists, but he didn't move. “Say the name.”
“It’s Marcus,” she spat out, a twisted smile forming on her lips. “Marcus Thorne.”
Ethan felt the air leave his lungs. Marcus Thorne. His business partner. His supposed best friend. The man who had stood by his side during our divorce, patting Ethan on the back, offering him cigars and telling him he was better off without me.
“You... you slept with Marcus?” Ethan whispered, the ultimate betrayal slicing through whatever remained of his pride.
“Of course I did,” Madison sneered, her true, venomous nature fully exposed. “You think I wanted to be with you? I wanted your money, Ethan. I wanted the lifestyle. But when we realized we couldn't get pregnant, I knew my hold on you was weak. I needed an anchor. So I went to Marcus. He was more than happy to oblige. And when I got pregnant, I paid Dr. Miller from Marcus’s account to change Claire’s records. We set you up, Ethan. We made you think Claire was the problem, so you would dump her, marry me, and I would have access to the fortune.”
The sheer magnitude of the manipulation was staggering. Ethan had thought he was the mastermind, the one orchestrating the perfect life. In reality, he was nothing but a pawn, played by his best friend and his mistress.
“Get out,” Ethan rasped, pointing a trembling finger at the door. “Get out of my house before I kill you.”
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Madison grabbed her suitcase, hoisted the baby onto her hip, and walked out without looking back. She assumed Marcus would take her in. She didn't know that Marcus, upon hearing about the federal investigation and the frozen assets, had already boarded a private jet to a country without an extradition treaty, leaving her completely alone to face the fallout.
Ethan sat alone in the massive, empty mansion. He had no wife. He had no child. He had no money. He had no friends. His entire existence had been built on lies, and now, he was buried under the rubble.
