Chapter 2 - The Interrogation
The atmosphere inside Ethan’s private study was thick with tension. Rosa sat on the velvet sofa, holding Lily tightly against her chest. Lily had finally fallen asleep, exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of the morning, still clutching her stuffed rabbit, Bun.
Outside the heavy mahogany doors, muffled shouting could be heard. Natalie was screaming, her voice cracking with desperation, followed by the calm, terrifyingly steady tone of Ethan’s voice. Then, the heavy slam of the mansion’s front door echoed through the house.
A moment later, the lock clicked. Ethan walked in.
He looked older. The infallible tech billionaire looked like a man who had just watched his entire reality fracture. He closed the door behind him, leaned against it, and closed his eyes for a long moment.
“Mr. Harmon?” Rosa whispered, terrified for her job, terrified for her daughter, terrified of the secrets unraveling around them.
Ethan opened his eyes and looked at Rosa. The suspicion that usually guarded his gaze was entirely gone. Instead, there was a raw, aching vulnerability.
“Rosa,” Ethan said, walking over and sitting in the armchair opposite her. “I need you to be completely honest with me. And I need you to understand that whatever you say next will not put your job or your safety at risk. You are protected. I promise you that.”
Rosa swallowed the lump in her throat. “Okay.”
Ethan pointed to the gold button, which now sat on the coffee table between them. “Where did you meet Julian?”
Rosa gasped. Her grip on Lily tightened. “I... I don’t know who Julian is.”
“Don’t lie to me, Rosa,” Ethan said, though there was no anger in his voice, only a deep plea. “Look at Lily’s eyes. Look at my eyes. You’ve worked here for four years. You must have noticed.”
Rosa lowered her head, a tear escaping and slipping down her cheek. “I didn’t know his last name was Harmon. I swear to you, Mr. Harmon. I knew him as Jay.”
Ethan let out a shaky breath, covering his mouth with his hand. “Jay. That’s what his friends called him.”
“We met in the city,” Rosa whispered, her voice trembling as memories she had buried deep came rushing back. “I was working at a diner. He came in every Tuesday. He was kind, funny, and completely different from the wealthy men I usually served. He never talked about his money. He told me he was an artist.”
“Julian loved painting,” Ethan murmured, his eyes glazing over with memory. “He hated the family business. He wanted nothing to do with the Harmon name.”
“We fell in love,” Rosa continued, looking down at Lily’s sleeping face. “It was beautiful. But then... he disappeared. One night he left my apartment to grab groceries, and he never came back. I called his phone for weeks. I went to the police, but since I wasn’t family and only knew him as 'Jay,' they didn’t take me seriously. A month later, I found out I was pregnant with Lily.”
“He didn’t abandon you, Rosa,” Ethan said, his voice breaking. “He was killed. November 14th, four years ago. A hit-and-run in Manhattan.”
Rosa covered her mouth to muffle a sob. The man she had loved, the man she thought had abandoned her and their unborn child, had been dead this whole time.
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“But that doesn’t explain Natalie,” Rosa whispered through her tears. “Why did she have his button? Why did she hate Lily so much?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened, his eyes turning to ice. “Because Natalie wasn’t just a random woman I met at a charity gala. She was Julian’s ex-fiancée before he cut ties with the family. And I think she knows exactly who killed my brother.”
