A Billionaire Heiress Walked Into My Clinic and Gave Me 3 Days to Marry Her… Then I Discovered Why
Chapter 2
Ethan didn’t sleep that night.
He sat alone in his apartment, staring at the photograph Charlotte had given him.
His father stood beside Alexander Whitmore.
They looked young.
Happy.
Like two men who trusted each other.
Ethan barely remembered his father.
Michael Carter had died when Ethan was ten.
The official explanation had always been a construction accident.
A faulty elevator.
A tragic mistake.
That was all Ethan had ever been told.
His mother had refused to discuss it.
After she died years later, Ethan stopped asking questions.
Until Charlotte walked into his clinic.
At six in the morning, his phone rang.
Charlotte.
“I need an answer.”
“You don’t waste time.”
“No.”
“I have questions.”
“Ask.”
“Why does your father’s will require a husband who has no connection to your family?”
“Because my father suspected someone inside Whitmore Holdings was stealing from the company.”
Ethan frowned.
“How much?”
“We don’t know.”
“Then why marry?”
“Because the trust controlling my voting shares transfers to my husband if I’m unmarried when I turn twenty-eight.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I agree.”
“Your father designed it.”
“Yes.”
“And you trust his judgment?”
“Not completely.”
She paused.
“That’s why I’m asking you.”
Ethan rubbed his eyes.
“Where are you?”
“Outside your clinic.”
He looked toward the window.
Her black SUV was parked across the street.
“You’ve been there all night?”
“Almost.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you might leave.”
He stared.
“You could have called.”
“I was afraid you’d say no.”
For some reason, that answer bothered him more than anything else.
Ethan opened the clinic door.
Charlotte entered.
She looked exhausted.
“I’ll marry you.”
Her eyes widened.
“You will?”
“Under conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“Separate finances.”
“Agreed.”
“Separate bedrooms.”
“Agreed.”
“Six months.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“Six-month marriage. After the will issue is resolved, we decide whether to divorce.”
Charlotte nodded.
“Agreed.”
“And no lies.”
She hesitated.
Ethan noticed.
“Charlotte.”
“I agree.”
They spent the next two hours reviewing legal documents.
Her attorney arrived at eight.
Then another.
Then a financial adviser.
Ethan felt like he had stepped into another universe.
By noon, the agreement was ready.
But before he signed, Charlotte stopped him.
“There is something you should know.”
“What?”
“My father didn’t just leave the marriage condition.”
She opened another document.
“There’s a second clause.”
Ethan read it.
If Charlotte married under the trust arrangement, her husband would become temporary co-trustee of the Whitmore family foundation.
That meant Ethan would have access to information about every major asset.
He looked at Charlotte.
“Why would your father give that power to a stranger?”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Then why?”
“Because he expected you.”
Ethan felt a chill.
“My father?”
Charlotte nodded.
“Your father helped write the original trust.”
Ethan stood.
“Then why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“Because someone destroyed the records.”
“Who?”
“My father’s chief financial officer.”
Ethan stared.
“What was his name?”
“Richard Vale.”
The name meant nothing to him.
Charlotte continued.
“He’s been running Whitmore Holdings since my father died.”
“And you don’t trust him.”
“No.”
“Why hasn’t he been removed?”
“Because he controls the board.”
Ethan looked at the documents.
“Then marrying me doesn’t solve anything.”
“It gives me enough voting power to remove him.”
“And he knows?”
“He’s been trying to convince me to marry his son.”
Ethan understood.
“That’s why you came to me.”
“Partly.”
“What’s the other part?”
Charlotte looked toward the window.
“My father left one final message.”
She took out her phone.
The recording began.
Alexander Whitmore’s voice filled the room.
“If you’re hearing this, Charlotte, then Michael Carter’s son is standing beside you.”
Ethan froze.
His father’s name had just come from a dead man’s voice.
Alexander continued:
“Do not trust Richard Vale.”
The recording ended.
Neither spoke.
Then Ethan asked:
“When did he record that?”
“Two days before he died.”
