CHAPTER 2 The Secret Behind the Perfect Family
CHAPTER 2
The Secret Behind the Perfect Family
The first thing Ethan noticed when he woke up was that Claire was no longer beside him.
For a few terrifying seconds, his mind went back to the night before.
The kitchen.
The argument.
His mother's cold expression.
Claire standing there with fear in her eyes.
The bruises on her wrist.
His heart tightened.
"Claire?"
No answer.
He sat up immediately.
The sunlight coming through the penthouse windows was warm, but the room felt cold.
Empty.
He searched the bedroom, then the bathroom.
Nothing.
A wave of panic hit him.
Not because he thought she had left.
But because he realized something painful.
Claire had spent months feeling alone inside their own home.
And Ethan had never noticed.
He finally found her in the small sitting room near the balcony.
She was sitting quietly with a cup of coffee in her hands, looking over the city.
She looked peaceful.
But Ethan knew her too well.
That wasn't peace.
That was exhaustion.
He walked toward her slowly.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
Claire looked back.
A small smile appeared.
"You needed sleep."
"Claire."
She looked down.
"I know what you're thinking."
"Do you?"
"You're blaming yourself."
Ethan sat beside her.
"Because I should have seen it."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The sounds of Manhattan moved below them.
Cars.
People.
Life continuing as if nothing had happened.
But inside that apartment, everything had changed.
Claire placed the coffee cup on the table.
"Ethan, I never wanted you to fight with your family because of me."
He looked at her.
"They hurt you."
"I know."
"Then why are you protecting them?"
She didn't answer immediately.
That was when Ethan realized something.
Claire wasn't protecting his mother.
She was protecting him.
She was afraid losing his family would destroy him.
And that hurt more than anything.
"How long?" Ethan asked quietly.
Claire looked confused.
"What?"
"How long has this been happening?"
Her fingers tightened around each other.
"Six months."
Ethan froze.
Six months.
Half a year.
Half a year of his wife suffering.
And he had been too busy building his company, attending meetings, signing deals, and believing everything at home was fine.
"What did she do?"
Claire looked away.
"Little things at first."
"Like what?"
"Comments."
Her voice was soft.
"She would tell me I wasn't sophisticated enough."
Ethan's expression darkened.
"She said that?"
Claire nodded.
"She would compare me to women she thought were more suitable for you."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"Women with powerful families. Women who could help your business."
Ethan shook his head.
"That's not love."
"I know."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Claire looked at him.
"Because every time I tried..."
She stopped.
Ethan waited.
"Every time I tried, you defended her."
The words hurt because they were true.
He remembered.
The small arguments.
Claire saying she felt uncomfortable around his mother.
Ethan telling her:
"That's just how Mom is."
He had dismissed her feelings.
He had asked her to be patient.
He had asked her to understand.
But he never asked his mother to change.
"I failed you," Ethan whispered.
Claire reached for his hand.
"No."
"Yes."
"You loved your family."
"I loved the wrong version of them."
Before Claire could answer, Ethan's phone rang.
The name on the screen made his expression change.
His lawyer.
Marcus Reed.
Ethan answered.
"Marcus."
The serious tone on the other end immediately told him something was wrong.
"Ethan, where are you?"
"Home."
"You need to come to the office."
"Why?"
A pause.
Then:
"Because someone accessed the company's private financial files last night."
Ethan stood.
"What?"
"Several confidential documents were copied."
His eyes moved toward the city outside.
"When?"
"Approximately the same time your mother and father were here."
The room went silent.
Claire noticed his expression.
"What happened?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Because suddenly, the pieces started connecting.
His mother's attack.
His father's silence.
The timing.
The company files.
"Marcus."
"Yes?"
"Who accessed them?"
Another pause.
Then Marcus said:
"The security system shows the authorization came from inside your family account."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Inside family account.
Only four people had access.
Him.
His father.
His mother.
And Olivia.
His own family.
Again.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
He ended the call.
Claire stood.
"What is it?"
Ethan looked at her.
"I don't know yet."
But deep down...
he already knew.
Something much bigger was happening.
The Callahan Tower had always represented power.
Forty-eight floors of glass and steel.
A symbol of wealth.
Success.
Legacy.
But when Ethan walked through the lobby that morning, the building felt different.
People stopped talking when he passed.
Employees looked nervous.
Security guards avoided eye contact.
Everyone knew something had happened.
When he entered his office, Marcus was waiting.
The lawyer looked exhausted.
"You look like you haven't slept."
"I haven't."
Marcus noticed the bruise on Ethan's hand.
"Is that from last night?"
Ethan ignored the question.
"Show me."
Marcus opened the laptop.
Several files appeared.
Contracts.
Financial reports.
Investment strategies.
Private acquisition plans.
Ethan stared.
"How much was taken?"
"Enough."
"Enough for what?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Enough to destroy your company if it reaches the wrong person."
Ethan's face hardened.
"Who would do this?"
Marcus didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Ethan already knew.
But he needed proof.
Not suspicion.
Proof.
Then Marcus opened another file.
"This was hidden."
Ethan leaned closer.
A transfer record appeared.
His eyes narrowed.
A payment.
A large payment.
Made three months earlier.
From one of Callahan Corporation's private accounts.
To an unknown company.
"What is this?"
Marcus looked serious.
"We traced the company."
"And?"
"It's a shell company."
Ethan stared.
"Owned by?"
Marcus slowly turned the laptop.
A name appeared.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Because the name belonged to someone he trusted.
Someone who had been sitting in his home.
Someone who had raised him.
Victoria Callahan.
His mother.
For years, Ethan believed his family's biggest problem was that they didn't accept Claire.
He was wrong.
The truth was much darker.
His mother wasn't just trying to remove his wife.
She was hiding something.
Something that could destroy everything his father built.
Something that could explain why Claire had become a threat.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice came through.
"Ethan Callahan."
"Who is this?"
"You don't know me."
"Then why are you calling?"
A quiet laugh.
"Because you are looking for the truth."
Ethan's expression changed.
"Who are you?"
The woman whispered:
"Ask your father why he paid to keep your wife away from the truth."
Ethan froze.
"What truth?"
The line went silent.
Then the final words came.
"The truth about who Claire really is."
The call ended.
Ethan stood completely still.
Because suddenly, the enemy was no longer just outside his family.
It was connected to the woman he loved.
May you like
And for the first time in his life...
Ethan Callahan didn't know who to trust.
