Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 91 - Chapitre 100

Henry’s first day at ETHEREAL started with a carefully orchestrated announcement.I’d had Amelie send out a press release at eight a.m.: “ETHEREAL Welcomes Henry Cross as Senior Vice President of Strategic Operations. Mr. Cross brings extensive experience in financial management and corporate strategy to the growing fashion empire.”Professional. Standard. Boring.Exactly what I wanted.By eight fifteen, my phone was ringing. Vivian.I let it go to voicemail.She called again. And again. Five times in ten minutes.Finally, I answered. “Yes, Vivian?”“What the hell are you doing?” Her voice was shrill, panicked. “Henry works for me. You can’t just hire him—”“He came to me looking for a position. I had an opening. I hired him. That’s how employment works.” I kept my voice neutral, professional. “If you have an issue with that, take it up with your brother.”“You’re doing this to get to me—”“I’m doing this because he’s qualified and I need good people.” I paused. “Though I am curious w

**Serena POV**The Metropolitan Museum was lit up like a jewel box, every chandelier blazing as New York’s elite gathered for the annual Children’s Education Charity Auction.I’d dressed for war. A floor-length emerald gown that had been featured in Vogue last month, diamonds at my throat and ears, my hair swept up in an elegant twist. I looked powerful. Untouchable. Exactly what I needed to be.Clara walked beside me as we entered, scanning the crowd. “Vivian’s here. Ten o’clock, near the champagne fountain.”I didn’t look immediately. Just took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, sipped it slowly, let her see me being completely unbothered by her presence.“She’s watching you,” Clara murmured. “And she looks tense.”Good. Let her be tense. I’d spent the past week preparing for her exposé, running background checks on myself, building defenses against attacks that might come. If she thought she had me rattled, she was in for a surprise.“Lucas is here too,” Clara added. “By t

**Adrian POV** Three a.m. I’d been staring at the ceiling for two hours, listening to Vivian’s steady breathing beside me, counting the seconds until dawn. Sleep didn’t come anymore. Hadn’t for weeks. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Serena across the boardroom table during our project meetings. Cold. Distant. Professional to the point of cruelty. She’d look through me like I was invisible, like I was nothing more than a business associate she barely tolerated. I used to be her husband. The man she loved. The father of her child. Now I was just another name on a contract. I turned my head slightly, looked at Vivian sleeping peacefully. She’d come home from the auction last night furious, ranting about Serena’s audacity, the public humiliation, how she was going to make her pay. I hadn’t gone to the auction. Had been working late at the office, trying to salvage another client relationship. By the time I got home, Vivian was already in bed, but I could see she’d been crying. H

**ETHAN’S POV**I told Dad I was going to the bookstore.It wasn’t exactly a lie. I was going to a bookstore. Just not the one near our house that he probably thought I meant.The one near ETHEREAL headquarters.I’d looked up the address online, and found a bookstore two blocks away. Close enough that maybe, if I was lucky, I’d run into her. Far enough that if anyone asked, I had a legitimate reason to be there.My nanny, Mrs. Juan, walked beside me, scrolling through her phone. She didn’t really pay attention to where we went as long as I stayed in sight and didn’t cause trouble.“Can we go to that one?” I pointed to the bookstore I’d researched. “It has a better graphic novel section.”She barely looked up. “Sure, honey. Whatever you want.”We went inside, and I pretended to browse while keeping one eye on the street outside. Watching for her. Hoping.I’d texted her yesterday: *Are you ever near the bookstore on Madison and 52nd? I go there sometimes.*She’d responded hours later: *

Hundreds of results came up. Society pages. Fashion events. Articles about her relationship with Dad.I started clicking through them, looking at the dates.There she was at a charity gala with Dad. The date was months before the divorce.Another photo at a business dinner. Months before the divorce.Another at a New Year’s party. During the marriage.I kept scrolling, kept clicking, and the pattern became clear.Vivian had been in Dad’s life the whole time he was married to Serena. Not after. During.Which meant…I sat back, feeling sick.Vivian had been the other woman. The mistress. The reason my parents’ marriage fell apart.And then she moved into our house. Raised me as her own. Pretended to be my mother.While keeping my real mother away.I opened a new search: “Vivian Cross Adrian Moore affair.”The results were carefully worded, legal and cautious. But the message was clear. Everyone had known. Society had been whispering about it for years.I found a blind item from a gossip