She Rejected Him on a Blind Date—Then Another Woman Said, “Marry Me”
Chapter 5
Ethan recognized the voice.
It belonged to a former employee at his old company.
A man named Samuel Reed.
Samuel had disappeared six months earlier.
Ethan thought he had left town.
Apparently not.
They tracked him to a motel.
Ethan went alone.
Samuel opened the door.
“You came.”
Ethan stared.
“Why did you threaten Claire?”
“I didn’t.”
“You called her.”
“I warned her.”
“About what?”
Samuel looked afraid.
“Victor isn’t the top.”
Ethan froze.
“What do you mean?”
“He works for someone else.”
“Who?”
Samuel shook his head.
“They’ll kill me.”
Ethan leaned closer.
“Then tell me before they do.”
Samuel handed him a file.
Inside were payments.
Names.
Addresses.
And one company.
Blackwell Strategic Partners.
Ethan recognized it.
A private investment firm known for acquiring distressed companies.
Samuel continued.
“They’ve been preparing to take Bennett Industries for three years.”
Ethan stared.
“Victor is helping them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“They promised him control.”
Ethan returned to Claire.
She read the file.
“My uncle sold the company.”
“Not yet.”
“What happens if they succeed?”
“You lose control.”
“And the company?”
“They break it apart.”
Claire’s face tightened.
Years of family work.
Thousands of employees.
Everything her father had built.
Gone.
Ethan looked at her.
“We stop them.”
“How?”
“By making them think we’re losing.”
Claire frowned.
“What?”
“We give them what they expect.”
They created the appearance of internal chaos.
Claire announced that Ethan had no role in strategy.
She publicly questioned his judgment.
The media reported rumors about their marriage.
Victor became confident.
Blackwell moved faster.
They submitted an offer to purchase a significant block of shares.
Claire accepted.
At least publicly.
The transaction was staged.
The legal team had prepared a trap.
The documents included tracking clauses.
Every shell company would be exposed.
But Ethan discovered a flaw.
Blackwell had another route.
They weren’t relying only on Victor.
They had someone inside the trust administration.
Someone who could challenge the marriage directly.
Claire called her attorney.
“Who handles the trust?”
The attorney hesitated.
“Your father’s longtime trustee.”
“Who?”
“Margaret Collins.”
Claire froze.
Margaret had been like family.
She had known Claire since childhood.
Ethan looked at Claire.
“Do you trust her?”
“Yes.”
Then they found a transfer.
Margaret had moved money from the trust three months earlier.
Millions.
To an account connected to Blackwell.
Claire couldn’t believe it.
“She was bribed.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Maybe.”
They confronted Margaret.
She confessed.
But she wasn’t the mastermind.
She had been blackmailed.
Her son had been kidnapped.
Blackwell threatened to kill him.
Claire forgave her.
Then Margaret revealed something shocking.
“Your father knew.”
“Knew what?”
“He knew someone would try to take the company after his death.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because he thought you would be safer if you stayed away from the business.”
Claire stared.
“He protected me.”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at the documents.
There was one final clause.
Her father had created a backup trust.
If Claire was threatened, control would temporarily shift to her spouse.
Not because he expected a marriage.
Because he expected her to need someone.
Ethan looked at Claire.
She looked back.
The contract that had started as a business arrangement now made sense.
Her father had designed it to protect her.
And somehow…
Ethan had become that protection.
