Chapter 12 - I SET THE TRAP
Fear had controlled me long enough.
So I gave Ethan what he wanted.
Or at least, I made him think I did.
Ramirez hated the idea at first.
“No.”
“He keeps calling.”
“That doesn’t mean you meet him.”
“He won’t surrender.”
“We’ll find him.”
“When?”
She didn’t answer.
I looked through the NICU glass at Sophie.
“I’m not spending the next six months wondering whether he’s outside every door.”
Rebecca understood first.
“What are you suggesting?”
“I tell him I’m willing to negotiate.”
Ramirez shook her head.
“He’ll know it’s a trap.”
“Not if I offer him something he believes I care about more than revenge.”
“What?”
“The trust.”
That got everyone’s attention.
I sent Ethan one message.
I’ll withdraw my statement if you sign away parental rights and leave Sophie alone. You get enough money to save your company. I keep my daughter.
He replied four minutes later.
How much?
Not:
How is Sophie?
Not:
Are you okay?
How much?
That message killed whatever grief remained for the man I thought I married.
We arranged the meeting at a vacant lakeside property owned by the trust.
Police placed cameras everywhere.
Ramirez’s team waited nearby.
I wore a microphone.
Rebecca prepared fake transfer documents.
At 8:02 p.m., Ethan arrived.
He looked terrible.
Unshaven.
Gray hoodie.
Bruise along his jaw.
He sat across from me at the dining table.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he whispered:
“You look different.”
“I fell down a staircase.”
He winced.
“Claire.”
“Don’t.”
“I never wanted you hurt.”
“You nodded.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“I thought I could control it.”
“You planned it.”
“I was desperate.”
“You planned to make your pregnant wife look mentally unstable.”
“My company was dying.”
“So you decided I should pay for it.”
“I was going to replace everything.”
I actually laughed.
“With whose money?”
He looked away.
I pushed the fake contract toward him.
“Sign.”
He picked up the pen.
Then stopped.
“Where’s Sophie?”
“Safe.”
“I need to see her.”
“No.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“You tried to steal her from the NICU.”
His expression hardened.
“I tried to protect her.”
“From me?”
“From Mom.”
That surprised me.
Then he leaned closer.
“You still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Mom isn’t in jail.”
I stared at him.
“She made bail two hours ago.”
My phone buzzed immediately.
Hospital security.
I answered.
A screaming nurse was on the line.
“Claire, someone just triggered the fire alarm in the NICU.”
I stood so fast my chair fell backward.
Ethan whispered:
“Oh God.”
And for the first time, I believed his fear.
May you like
Because Margaret had gone for Sophie without him.
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