Ethan's pov.
The air in the room shifted the moment his Theodore's words landed.
I knew he'd like it. The Beaumont's only chase value.
Color drained from Aiden's face. His lips parted and nothing came out. Just the particular silence of regret.
I barely held back a scoff.
Thirty years as his son, and he still didn't know what his father was capable of?
Interesting.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Aiden's throat moved. His gaze slid to Celine for a second, quietly asking her to intervene. She looked away.
He was on his own.
"Yes."
I smirked. Kate sure gave him balls.
Now we're getting somewhere.
Theodore's gaze hardened into a glare. "You should have thought of it before getting her pregnant." His voice was low but filled the room.
"You made that decision alone, and you'll be bound by it. There is no world in which a Beaumont child lives outside the Beaumont name. That is a problem we are not equipped for, not now, not ever. You already dissolved one marriage. Sort yourself out and make this one successful. You have a name to uphold."
I knew it.
He'd never be able to protect her.
He'd never even try.
Aiden's jaw tightened. "It was a mistake. I never planned for it to happen." A beat. "Ellen planned it all. The story about Kate hitting the child was a lie."
Gasps broke the silence around the table. His mother glanced sharply at him. She must have wanted it buried.
Theodore was unmoved.
"You didn't know?" He scoffed, "You found it in yourself to believe that Kate could actually hurt a child?"
Aiden said nothing.
His father shook his head slowly. "You are worse than I thought. None of that matters now. She has given you a child, and that is what stands. You will protect the Beaumont name. That is not a request."
My jaw locked.
The Beaumont name. That's all that matters. That's why my parents' lives didn't.
"A child?" Aiden's voice climbed before he could pull it back. "That's all that matters to you? That's why I should bind myself to the woman who tore my family apart?"
I watched him. I almost couldn't believe he hadn't seen this coming.
"And whose fault is that?" Theodore's voice cracked. "You made the choice. You went to her knowing there was a woman waiting for you at home. And now you want to sit here and be the victim?" He leaned forward. "Don't test me, Aiden. Do as I've said, or you'll find out exactly how much worse this can get."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Then Aiden's hands came down flat on the table.
He pushed back his chair, stood and his eyes found mine for just a moment before he turned and walked out.
The rest exchanged glances, still caught in the weight of the confession. Vivian's eyes were wide. Considering what she'd done to Kate at the hospital, the shock is valid.
Then his gaze found mine.
My turn.
"What have you been up to?" His voice was deep, deliberate.
"Nothing much."
A sharp exhale left his lips. "We discussed moving into the oil and gas sector. Was dragging up the past necessary?"
A dry sound escaped me. "The past?" I tilted my head slightly. "Because I'm out of jail, or because Aiden got away with it?"
Celine's hand came down on the table.
"He had nothing to do with it. You went to jail for your own incompetence and nothing else. You should be grateful we got you out at all—"
"That's enough."
One look from him and she went quiet.
His gaze returned to me, steady and unhurried. "You will hold a press conference, Ethan. Introduce our interest in the sector and address the accusations publicly. Aiden is innocent of what you've implied."
A short, humorless sound left my throat.
"Is that why you made him my partner?" I said quietly. "Told the world I was working alone while he dismantled everything from the inside."
His lips parted. I didn't give him the privilege.
"You knew he was the one in charge of construction. Every permit, every inspection, every decision that led to the explosion, he made them. You knew. And yet you lied. You lied to the press. To the state. To the families burying their dead."
I drew in a sharp breath.
"You called him your son. You called me Ethan. Not once did that change, even when you knew the truth."
My jaw tightened.
"I'll never forget that."
A low chuckle drifted from somewhere to my left. "Three years and you're still sulking, Ethan—"
"Same three years you've spent managing Beaumont infrastructure with nothing to show for it." My gaze moved to William. "Don't start."
He said nothing.
"You've made your point." Theodore's voice was measured. "But refusing the truth doesn't stop it from being the truth. The patriarch of this empire cannot afford to carry a personal grudge unless you are willing to let go."
My fists tightened.
"You've already chosen him." Vivian's voice came out unsteady, barely holding.
"No." Celine's response was immediate. "He's simply putting him on a leash."
My gaze was still fixated on him.
She's right.
The perfect leash. He must have had none for my parents so he ended them instead.
"It's all Father's fault." Henry shifted forward like the thought had only just arrived. "He brought an outsider into this family and handed him power."
I scoffed. "This outsider built the power your family runs on." My gaze moved to Theodore. "If you want to dispute that, start by explaining why my parents' deaths were necessary."
Gasps. Sophie's hand came down flat on the table.
"Are you accusing my father of having your parents killed?"
I held her gaze. "He hasn't done much to convince me otherwise."
The room went very still.
Theodore smirked.
"Ethan." His voice dropped. "Defy me on this, and you won't like the follow up."