Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Was Paid to Destroy a MarriageFor several seconds, nobody spoke.
The message on Daniel's phone remained visible.
Ask Ethan why Lauren was paid to enter his life.
One sentence.
Sixteen words.
But those words changed the entire story.
Because an affair was painful.
A betrayal was devastating.
But a planned betrayal?
That was something else.
That meant Grace had not just been hurt.
She had been targeted.
Grace looked at Ethan.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if she was seeing him for the first time.
"Paid?"
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
Ethan immediately shook his head.
"Grace, don't jump to conclusions."
James looked at him.
"That is exactly what a guilty person says when they don't want someone asking questions."
"I'm not guilty."
"Then explain."
Ethan opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Nothing.
And that silence was becoming unbearable.
Grace placed both hands on the kitchen counter.
"Tell me the truth."
Ethan looked at her.
"I can explain."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You've been explaining for months."
Her eyes filled.
"Every late night."
"Every missed dinner."
"Every time I asked if something was wrong."
She swallowed.
"Every time you told me I was imagining things."
A pause.
"I don't want another explanation."
She looked directly at him.
"I want the truth."
Ethan sat down.
For the first time since the brothers arrived, he looked less like a successful businessman.
Less like the confident CEO who walked into rooms expecting people to listen.
He looked like a man trapped by his own choices.
"I met Lauren almost a year ago."
Grace closed her eyes briefly.
Hearing him say it aloud hurt more than discovering it.
Almost a year.
"I wasn't having an affair then."
James crossed his arms.
"But you were hiding her."
Ethan didn't deny it.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ethan looked down.
"Because Walker Development was already in trouble."
Michael nodded slowly.
"Keep going."
Ethan took a breath.
"Two years ago, I took on a major expansion project."
"The Southgate development?"
"Yes."
Grace listened silently.
She knew the name.
She had heard Ethan mention it countless times.
The project that would make Walker Development a national company.
The project that would finally prove Ethan had made it.
"The costs kept increasing."
Ethan continued.
"Materials went up. Contractors demanded more money. Investors started pulling away."
"And you hid it," James said.
Ethan looked at him.
"I thought I could fix it."
James laughed quietly.
"Everyone who destroys their own life says that."
Ethan ignored him.
"Lauren approached me."
Grace looked up.
"Approached you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ethan hesitated.
And that hesitation told Grace everything.
"Because her father wanted access to the project."
Michael frowned.
"Wait."
He leaned forward.
"Her father?"
Ethan nodded.
"Richard Pierce."
The room changed.
Even James looked surprised.
Richard Pierce wasn't just wealthy.
He was one of the most powerful real estate investors in the state.
A man known for buying struggling companies and turning them around.
Or destroying them.
Depending on who you asked.
"So Lauren didn't randomly enter your life," Michael said.
"No."
Ethan looked miserable.
"She was assigned to work with me."
Grace stared.
"Assigned?"
"Her father believed if I trusted her, I would accept his investment offer."
James narrowed his eyes.
"And did you?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Again.
The silence.
Grace stood.
"I need to understand something."
Everyone looked at her.
"Was anything real?"
Ethan looked confused.
"What?"
"Our marriage."
Her voice broke slightly.
"Was any of it real?"
Ethan immediately stood.
"Yes."
"Then why?"
"Because I was scared."
Grace stared.
"You were scared?"
"I had built everything around Walker Development."
Ethan looked around the room.
"I didn't want to lose everything."
Michael shook his head.
"So you risked losing the one person who stood beside you before you had anything."
Ethan looked away.
Grace felt tears burning.
"You knew I would help you."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Because that was the question that mattered.
Not Lauren.
Not the company.
Not the money.
Why didn't he trust his wife?
Ethan's answer came quietly.
"Because I knew you would sacrifice yourself again."
The room went silent.
Grace blinked.
"What?"
"I knew if I told you, you would sell something."
Her expression changed.
"You thought I would save you."
"Yes."
"And you decided the solution was to betray me instead?"
Ethan couldn't answer.
Because that was exactly what happened.
James walked toward the table.
"So Lauren was a business arrangement."
Ethan nodded.
"At first."
The word made Grace look up.
"At first?"
Nobody missed it.
James immediately noticed.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan hesitated.
"Things changed."
Grace laughed softly.
A painful sound.
"Of course they did."
"Grace—"
"No."
She shook her head.
"You don't get to say her name like this is a tragedy that happened to you."
Ethan looked hurt.
But Grace continued.
"You were lonely?"
"You were stressed?"
"You were afraid?"
Her voice rose slightly.
"And what was I?"
Silence.
"I was your wife."
She touched her stomach.
"I was carrying your child."
A tear slipped down.
"And I was sitting at home wondering why my husband stopped looking at me."
Nobody spoke.
Because there was no defense.
Then James's phone rang.
Everyone looked.
Again.
This time, the name on the screen was different.
Richard Pierce.
The father.
The man behind Lauren.
James answered.
"Hello."
The voice on the other side was confident.
Too confident.
"James Walker."
Everyone watched his face.
"You're with Grace."
It wasn't a question.
James's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know?"
A pause.
Then Richard laughed.
"Because I knew this would happen eventually."
The room froze.
James stood straighter.
"What would happen?"
Another pause.
"The truth."
Grace felt cold.
"What truth?"
James put the phone on speaker.
Richard Pierce's voice filled the kitchen.
"Ethan was never the target."
Everyone looked at Ethan.
Richard continued.
"Grace was."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
"What are you talking about?" Michael asked.
Richard laughed.
"Your sister has no idea who she really is, does she?"
Grace frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The voice became quieter.
"Ask your husband why he never told you about your grandmother's company."
Grace froze.
Her grandmother.
"What?"
James looked confused.
Richard continued.
"Ask him why he let you believe you were just Grace Walker."
The room became ice cold.
Ethan's face turned pale.
Grace slowly turned toward him.
"Ethan..."
Her voice trembled.
"What is he talking about?"
Ethan said nothing.
And that was when Grace knew.
There was another secret.
A secret bigger than Lauren.
Bigger than the affair.
Bigger than the company.
Because whatever Richard Pierce was talking about...
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Ethan had known.
And he had hidden it from her.
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