💔 PART 3
The ballroom was so quiet that the sound of Ethan's breathing echoed through the hall.
He stared at the elderly man, then at me.
Finally, he burst into laughter.
"This has to be some kind of joke."
He pointed at me with a mocking smile.
"Her? The Young Mistress of the Henderson Family?"
Vanessa crossed her arms and laughed with him.
"She couldn't even buy groceries without asking for money. She's been living in our house for six years!"
The old man slowly turned toward them.
His expression remained calm.
"You have mistaken patience for weakness."
With a single gesture, dozens of bodyguards stepped forward.
No one in the ballroom dared to move.
One of the country's wealthiest businessmen suddenly rushed toward me.
Without hesitation, he bowed deeply.
"Young Mistress Henderson... please forgive me. I didn't know who you were."
Then another followed.
And another.
Within seconds, nearly every influential guest in the room lowered their heads before me.
Only Ethan and Vanessa remained standing.
Confusion replaced the confidence on Ethan's face.
"What is happening?"
"Why are all of you bowing to her?"
No one answered.
The old man calmly opened a leather folder and placed several documents on the table.
"Ethan Carter," he said.
"At exactly 8:17 this evening, every bank account connected to your company was frozen."
Ethan's smile vanished.
"Impossible."
"Your largest investors have withdrawn."
"Your government contracts have been suspended."
"Your company's stock has entered emergency trading."
One after another, phones began vibrating throughout the ballroom.
Executives stared at their screens in horror.
"Oh my God..."
"The news is everywhere."
"The Carter Group is collapsing."
Ethan quickly grabbed his own phone.
His hands shook violently.
One notification after another flooded the screen.
Loan Rejected.
Credit Line Suspended.
Asset Investigation Initiated.
His face turned pale.
"This... this can't be happening."
The old man looked him straight in the eyes.
"You believed the Henderson Family disappeared."
"It didn't."
"We were simply waiting..."
He paused for a moment before finishing the sentence.
"...for our Young Mistress to decide whether you deserved mercy."
For the first time in six years...
Ethan looked at me with fear instead of arrogance.
He slowly dropped to his knees.
"Please..."
"I didn't know."
"I'll do anything."
I looked at the man who had destroyed our marriage...
Who had allowed my five-year-old daughter to suffer...
Who had believed power would protect him forever.
Then I smiled.
It wasn't a smile of revenge.
It was the smile of someone who no longer cared.
"You should have thought of that..."
"...before you touched my daughter."
The ballroom doors suddenly opened again.
A senior government investigator walked in, holding a sealed arrest warrant.
He looked directly at Ethan.
"Mr. Carter..."
"You're coming with us."
Ethan's legs gave out beneath him.
But what terrified him most...
...wasn't the arrest.
It was the secret hidden inside the investigation file.
A secret that would destroy the Carter family forever...
