Chapter 5 - The First Lie Collapsed
Margaret spun toward her son.
“Shut your mouth.”
The command echoed through the living room.
Ethan blinked.
For the first time, Ava saw the balance of power between them clearly.
Margaret planned.
Ethan obeyed.
But obedience did not make him innocent.
Detective Morales turned to him.
“What statement did you believe Ms. Delgado had signed?”
Ethan looked at the floor.
“I don’t know. My mother handles the wedding finances.”
“You just said you knew the statement concerned Ava’s authorization.”
“I was confused.”
Ava spoke quietly.
“No, you weren’t.”
He looked at her.
“You told me last week that the hotel required a new authorization form.”
“That was different.”
“Was it?”
Rosa stepped forward, rubbing her wrist.
“They wanted me to say Miss Ava personally approved the payments to Parker Event Holdings.”
Margaret lifted her chin.
“She did approve them.”
“No,” Rosa replied. “I was in the hotel office when Mr. Parker called. He said to divide the charges so the bank would not flag them.”
Ava’s eyes moved to Ethan.
He stopped breathing.
Detective Morales did not react, but her gaze sharpened.
“Which Mr. Parker?”
Rosa pointed at Ethan.
The room went silent.
Ethan shook his head.
“She’s lying.”
“Why would she lie?” Ava asked.
“Because my mother probably threatened her into saying this.”
Margaret stared at her son in disbelief.
“You coward.”
Ava almost expected Ethan to defend her.
Instead, he stepped farther away.
“This was your company. Your invoices. Your idea.”
Margaret’s expression changed from panic to fury.
“My idea? You were the one drowning in debt.”
Ethan went pale.
Ava felt the room tilt beneath her.
“What debt?”
Neither answered.
Detective Morales opened a folder.
“We found no legitimate wedding-related reason for several transfers. We did, however, find payments to a private lender.”
Ava looked at Ethan.
“How much?”
He swallowed.
Margaret answered for him.
“Enough that canceling this wedding was never an option.”
Ava placed one hand over her belly.
The wedding had not been a celebration to them.
It had been a financial deadline.
May you like
And she had been the asset they intended to use.
👉 Ava was about to learn why Ethan needed to marry her before anyone discovered the true size of his debt.
