Lara stood at the head of the table, her fingers pressed lightly against the edge. The boardroom buzzed with low conversation, but every voice fell when she looked up.
"This won't take long," she said.
"I called for this meeting because I have something important to say".
Adrian sat two seats away, his arms crossed, Nina leaned against the far wall, her eyes fixed on her boss. The senior partners, financial consultants, and legal heads were seated across the table, all waiting for whatever speech she was about to give this time.
Lara clicked the remote, and the screen lit up behind her.
"A routine internal audit flagged a few irregularities in the merged accounts," she said calmly, her voice sharp. "What we found next wasn't just irregular....It was criminal."
There was a long silence, everyone was clearly eager to hear what it was about.
She clicked on the remote again, On the screen was a chart linking several transfers from Ethan's family company to unknown accounts one under Maya's middle name only she knew about.
"These transactions were hidden through offshore chains and shell companies. But we've traced enough to know this was deliberate, coordinated and it directly affects our partnership."
That was when the murmurs began.
One of the older execs spoke up. "Are you saying Ethan's family...?"
"Has been laundering money through our joint accounts? Yes," Lara answered coolly. "And as of this moment, our legal team has already prepared the severance terms. We're disengaging."
A few people looked stunned, Adrian sat up straighter now.
"But this is private information," another woman said. "Why bring it to the board like this?"
"Because it won't be private by tomorrow." Lara's eyes narrowed. "The press memo is ready. I'm giving Ethan one last chance to come clean before I go public."
"Isn't Mr Vale in the hospital"? A fellow colleague murmured.
She turned off the projector.
"Meeting dismissed. Thank you for your time. "
The Next morning
The city hospital
Ethan sat on the edge of the hospital bed, pulling his shirt over the fresh bandage at his side. The stitches tugged when he moved, but he didn't bother him, he couldn't afford to give in to the pain at least not now.
"You're not ready to be discharged Mr Ethan," the nurse insisted, hovering by the door.
"I'm not asking for permission," he said immediately, picking up his phone and ignoring the number of missed calls from his mother.
His only concern was that Lara hadn't responded and that silence hurt more than the wound. The nurse adjusted the brake on the wheelchair.
"You shouldn't be moving around yet, Please be careful sir."
Ethan ignored her, gritting his teeth as he tried to wheel himself out of the ward. Every movement was pain, but sitting was worst.
Just as he wheeled himself toward the door, Maya and Jenna appeared.
"You're really leaving?" she asked. "You're going to crawl back to her while you're in so much pain?"
Ethan didn't answer. He just looked at her and for once she disgusted him, he felt like he wanted to puke.
Maya stepped closer. "She's destroying your family, Ethan. She's going to burn everything you built just because she's angry."
"No," Ethan said sharply. "You and me… we made this mess and I'm going to fix it."
"I didn't force you to choose me at the altar."
He met her eyes. "Didn't you?"
Her expression faltered then twisted. "So you're going to pretend you didn't love me?"
"I didn't love you, Maya," he said, his voice low, calm, deadly honest. "I pitied you."
That moment she raised her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist mid-air and dropped it.
"I'm not that man anymore," Ethan murmured, wheeling past her. "And whatever game you're playing now… it's over."
Jenna quickly went behind him and pushed him out.
Ethan sat in the passenger seat silently, his head was resting against the headrest. His thoughts were locked on Lara and on the mess he'd made of everything.
Jenna started the car and the car radio hummed with background noise until a familiar name cut through:
"Alden Holdings set to release damning evidence in a press conference later today. Sources claim COO Lara Alden is prepared to..."
Ethan's head jerked up.
"Turn that up," he said quickly, voice sharp and she did.
"reveal long buried secrets involving the Vale family and their connections to illegal business activities...."
"Jesus Christ," Jenna muttered.
But Ethan said nothing, his hands clenched to the seat.
'She's really doing it'. He thought aloud.
Lara was about to take everything down. Including him.
His voice came out like a broken whisper. "She's going to ruin us all…"
Jenna glanced at him from the driver's seat. "Then tell her the truth, Ethan. Before she finds out in the worst way."
He didn't speak, because the truth wasn't simple. It was buried in the deal he'd made,
In the secret her parents had forced on him.
By the time Ethan and Jenna got to the company, the whole place was crowded with press, immediately Ethan was sighted some rushed to him questioning him about what lara had said concerning him and his family, they were laundering money and illegal business activities. The guards rushed over trying to protect Ethan from the crowd. They managed to get him to where Lara stood.
Some were whispering, while some just watched.
Jenna helped him to wheel his chair close to her, there were hate in her eyes, it was as if the love she had for Lara disappeared. How could someone destroy a whole family just because she was abandoned on her wedding day? For the first time she no longer cared about Lara. Was her brother the only man in the world that she couldn't just move on.
"Lara."
Her gaze was unreadable. "You're not supposed to be here."
"I know." He said.
"You're still healing." Lara said trying as much as possible to compose herself.
"Don't do this."
"You think I haven't already?" she said, stepping closer. Her voice was low and dangerous. "Do you have any idea what I've been sitting on? What I've seen?"
"Whatever you think you've found...."
"I didn't think," she snapped. "They're confirmed."
Ethan looked at her like she wasn't even human anymore.
"You're really going to destroy everything, aren't you?"
"I'm not destroying anything," she said. "I'm just... returning the favor."
He flinched. "All this is about the wedding? I know you were hurt but this isn't who you are."
She smiled faintly. "You don't know who I am."
"I wanted to give you a good life Lara....After everything I gave up for you… you still destroyed me."
"You didn't give up anything for me Ethan! You're just selfish and looking for a way to tell yourself you did something good".
She said and walked away as some guards cleared the way for her.
Lara's Penthouse
Lara sat behind her desk, her body stiffened, and her fingers were numb. The encrypted folder her secret detective sent to her had taken hours to unlock passwords, firewalls, layers upon layers of security. But now, it sat open on her laptop, just waiting to be played. She clicked the only audio file inside which was boldly written;
"Meeting_Confidential_L&A.mp3"
### 🎧 THE RECORDING: (Starts playing in mid-conversation)
ETHAN (desperate): "I love her. I've given up everything to be with Lara. Why can't you just help us? Help my family — for her. Isn't she your daughter?
ROBERT ALDEN (coldly): "She's my daughter, yes. But she doesn't make sound decisions. You? You on the other hand made one mistake, which is getting involved with Lara instead of Maya."
ETHAN (angry): "Maya? I never wanted Maya. She was never the one. You know that."
ROBERT: "She was interested in you before Lara ever was, you made your choice and now make another. Save your family, marry Maya. We'll bury the Vale scandal, we'll protect you. You just need to walk away from Lara."
ETHAN (cracking): "You're asking me to destroy her, you know how much Lara loves me... You know how she eventually won my heart and now you're asking me to do it?"
Mrs. ALDEN (Lara's mother): "Better you break her heart than the world break her future, If you marry her despite the scandal do you think she would have peace? She'll get dragged alongside with you and your family. So why don't you spare everyone the drama."
ETHAN (after a pause, voice shaking): "What if I told her everything?"
ROBERT: "Then we let the storm destroy you both."
ETHAN (whispers): "…She'll never forgive me. Our wedding is tomorrow"
Mrs. Alden: "She'll survive. You might not."
ROBERT: "So what will it be, Ethan? Love, or a future reputation"?
"Sir, please… I'm not asking for much. I'm just asking you to help my family, the debts are drowning us. I.....I love Lara. I want to marry her, I want to build a life with her. She's your daughter. Help us… please."
Lara's heart froze, her lips parted, but no sound came out. She leaned closer to the screen her body was trembling.
Then came her father's voice, calm but controlled.
"You want help? Then you'll do as I say. You marry Maya."
There was silence for a while.
"Maya's always loved you, long before you started chasing Lara, I'm sorry but that's the deal. I clean your family's mess, and you become part of ours. Properly, through Maya."
Lara blinked rapidly, Her lungs strained to hold in air, then her mother chimed in.
"It's for the best, Ethan. You're just a boy in love, you'll get over Lara. But your family? They won't survive this, but Lara will, She's strong, just like me."
Ethan's voice cracked, it was a raw, broken sound Lara hadn't heard in years.
"You're asking me to give her up? To destroy her? How can you ask that?"
"Because life isn't about love," her father replied coldly. "It's about sacrifice. You want to save your family? Pay the price."
"And don't even think of telling Lara. If she finds out, I'll make sure your family loses everything anyway."
The file ended, Lara just sat there still, her hands trembled on the mouse, her vision blurred.
Her sob ripped out before she could stop it, the kind that escapes from deep, private places no one's meant to touch.
She stood up but ended up, knocking her chair over. So her father, her mother...all of them knew.
The scandal she'd exposed, she thought it was about Ethan's family. All along, It was about her father, her family. And the deal he made was a blackmail her orchestrated.
Her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, clutching the edge of the desk as tears poured down her face.
"After everything I gave up for you… you still destroyed me."
His voice echoed in her mind and now she knew what he meant.
She had destroyed him, publicly, brutally without ever knowing what he gave up. She covered her mouth, sobbing harder.
She couldn't breathe, and she couldn't scream because the only thing worse than betrayal… is realizing you were the one who pulled the trigger.