Chapter 9
Ethan tried bargaining.
Not with money.
Information.
He asked to see me alone.
I agreed.
Thomas stayed outside.
Ethan sat across from me with a bruise darkening his cheek.
“You remove me from Lombardi business and you lose the rest.”
I almost smiled.
“You think I don’t know the rest.”
“You don’t.”
“Then entertain me.”
He hated that.
Good.
He admitted Diane had another plan after the fake stillbirth.
Not another baby.
A narrative.
Julian would be presented as a grieving father who continued serving the family despite unimaginable loss.
Sacrifice.
Duty.
Strength.
The imaginary dead son would become political capital even after the pregnancy ended.
I stared.
That was uglier than I expected.
They planned to exploit Julian twice.
First hope.
Then grief.
“Did Julian know?”
“No.”
I believed him.
“What did Vanessa think?”
“She thought after the loss Julian would marry her.”
Of course.
Diane had promised that too.
Different futures for everyone.
None aligned.
“And you?”
Ethan looked away.
“The harbor liaison.”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
Silence.
I waited.
Finally:
“Security access.”
There.
Not merely docks.
He wanted men.
Routes.
Schedules.
Real leverage.
Diane had promised him a seat close to operational muscle once Julian rose.
“Did she ever intend to give it?”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know whether you were corrupt or stupid.”
His face hardened.
“Both is possible.”
At least he had humor left.
Then he told me one thing that mattered.
Diane had also been talking to one of Julian’s senior captains about bypassing Ethan entirely after the transition.
He had discovered it that week.
That was why Vanessa looked at him when I exposed the belly.
Not for rescue.
Because brother and sister had already begun realizing Diane might discard them.
I stood.
“Your information changes nothing.”
Ethan looked up.
“I helped you.”
“No.”
I moved toward the door.
“You helped yourself after the plan failed.”
Different thing.
He understood.
May you like
That was the problem with people who mistake opportunism for loyalty.
Eventually everyone sees the pattern.
