Chapter 7: The Truth Ethan Hid
Ethan came to my apartment three days later.
I almost didn’t open the door.
But when I looked through the peephole, I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not arrogance.
Not entitlement.
Fear.
I opened the door.
“What do you want?””
He looked exhausted.
“I need to tell you everything.””
I stepped aside.
“Then start talking.””
He entered slowly.
The apartment was small.
Nothing fancy.
A secondhand couch.
A tiny kitchen.
The kind of place my father would have called unsuccessful.
But it was mine.
Ethan looked around.
“You really left.””
“Yes.””
He nodded.
“I didn’t think you would.””
I stared at him.
“That’s the problem.””
He looked down.
“What?””
“You never thought I would stop accepting it.””
The words hit him.
He sat down.
“I was wrong.””
I didn’t respond.
He took a deep breath.
“Dad told me the scholarship transfer was temporary.””
“You already said that.””
“I believed him.””
“And then?””
He looked at his hands.
“Then I saw the documents.””
My stomach tightened.
“When?””
“Six months ago.””
I felt my jaw clench.
“So you knew for six months.””
“I was scared.””
“You were comfortable.””
He looked up.
“No.””
“Yes.””
My voice broke.
“You drove around in that car while I was working two jobs.””
His eyes filled with guilt.
“I hated myself for it.””
“But you still drove it.””
Silence.
Finally, he said:
“There’s something else.””
I waited.
“The company wasn’t failing because of expenses.””
“What?””
Ethan swallowed.
“Dad was hiding something.””
“What kind of something?””
He pulled out his phone.
“I found these emails.””
He handed it to me.
The messages were between my father and a business partner.
I read them slowly.
My blood turned cold.
My father hadn’t borrowed money to save the company.
He had borrowed money to cover another person’s mistake.
His partner had disappeared with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
And my father had tried to replace the missing money before anyone found out.
“He used me,” Ethan whispered.
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
For the first time, I didn’t see Ethan as the favorite child.
I saw someone else trapped in the same house.
Just in a different way.
“Why tell me now?””
He looked away.
“Because Dad is planning something.””
My heart tightened.
“What?””
“He wants to blame everything on you.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He’s telling people you approved the transfers.””
I stood up.
“That’s impossible.””
“I know.””
“Does Mom know?””
Ethan hesitated.
That hesitation answered everything.
“She does.””
I closed my eyes.
The betrayal from my mother somehow hurt more.
Because my father was selfish.
But my mother?
She was supposed to protect me.
A knock interrupted us.
Both of us froze.
Nobody knew where I lived except a few people.
The knock came again.
Ethan looked at me.
“Who is that?””
I walked to the door.
My hand touched the handle.
Then a voice came from the other side.
“Ava?””
My blood ran cold.
Because I knew that voice.
My mother.
I opened the door.
She was standing there holding a folder.
Her face was pale.
“I need to tell you the truth.””
I looked at the folder.
“What is that?””
May you like
She whispered:
“The proof that your father forged your signature.””
