Chapter 8 - The Decision That Could Not Be Undone
Ethan spent one night deciding what to do with the notebooks.
By morning, he knew there was only one choice he could live with.
He turned them over to the investigators handling the contract review.
Not copies.
The originals.
He received a written receipt and kept nothing except scans his attorney advised him to preserve for his own records.
Then he called Sarah.
“I gave them the notebooks.”
For several seconds she said nothing.
“You promised me you'd never go after my family.”
“I never promised that.”
“You said the past was over.”
“I thought it was.”
Her breathing changed.
“You have no idea what Claire has on the line.”
“Neither do you.”
“I have our house on the line.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
There it was.
She still said our when she was frightened.
“Sarah, you pledged your shares against company debt without telling me.”
“Because Claire kept us afloat when Sophie got sick.”
“I have insurance.”
“Insurance didn't cover everything.”
“Then you tell me.”
“You were already working overtime.”
“So you decided for both of us.”
Sarah laughed bitterly.
“That's rich coming from you.”
She was right about that part.
Ethan had made his own secret decisions.
He had hidden the Whitmore connection.
He had hidden how serious the old complaint had been.
He had carried around evidence in their home without explaining why it mattered.
But there was still a line.
Sarah had crossed it when she used Sophie to find his case.
“I'm filing for legal separation,” Ethan said.
Sarah inhaled sharply.
Not divorce.
Not yet.
But the decision changed the ground beneath them.
“Ethan.”
“I won't have Sophie living somewhere she gets punished for being sick.”
“She wasn't punished.”
He said nothing.
Sarah's voice broke.
Then hardened.
“You turn those notebooks over, and you think they'll only come for Claire?”
“They're already turned over.”
Silence.
May you like
Then Sarah whispered something he had not expected.
“They're going to find my name too.”
