Chapter 7 - The Deposition
Forty-eight hours later.
In a small, windowless deposition room at the Federal Courthouse, Ethan Whitmore sat across from Claire and Daniel.
Ethan looked completely destroyed. He wore a faded grey jumpsuit, his hair was messy, dark circles shadowed his hollow eyes, and his hands trembled as he gripped a paper cup of water. His high-priced lawyers sat beside him, looking grim and defeated.
"Claire..." Ethan rasped, his voice hollow. "Please. Look at me."
Claire looked at him, but her eyes held no affection, no anger, and no regret. She looked at him as if he were a complete stranger.
"We have prepared the global settlement agreement, Ethan," Daniel announced, sliding a twenty-page document across the metal table. "Here are the terms."
"What are they?" Ethan’s lawyer asked tiredly.
"One," Daniel stated clearly. "Ethan will execute an immediate, uncontested divorce decree, waiving all rights to alimony, spousal support, or marital property. Two, Ethan will transfer one hundred percent of his remaining equity in Whitmore Technology to Claire. Three, Ethan will sign a full confession regarding the forgery of Claire’s signature and the embezzlement executed via Monroe Strategic Holdings."
Ethan’s lawyer gasped. "That confession guarantees him at least three years in a federal prison camp!"
"The alternative," Daniel replied smoothly, "is twenty years in a maximum-security federal penitentiary if we take this to trial next month. The U.S. Attorney has already agreed to this plea deal—provided Claire signs off on it."
Ethan looked up at Claire, tears streaming down his bruised, exhausted face. "Claire... please. Don't send me to prison. I love you. I made a mistake! Ava seduced me, my father pressured me about Madison’s wedding... I was desperate!"
Claire leaned forward, resting her elbows on the metal table.
"You weren't desperate, Ethan," Claire said softly, her voice filled with a quiet, devastating clarity. "You were arrogant. You thought that because I was quiet, I was weak. You thought that because I loved you, I would let you walk all over my dignity while you and your family treated me like garbage."
"Claire..." Ethan sobbed, reaching his trembling, hand across the table.
Claire pulled her hand back, out of his reach.
"You forged my name, Ethan," Claire whispered. "You stole the one thing I held most dear—my trust. You used my name to buy your sister’s vanity and your mistress’s loyalty. Now, you will use your own name to pay the debt."
Claire pushed a pen across the table toward him.
May you like
"Sign the papers, Ethan. Or I walk out that door, and the prosecutors take over."
Ethan stared at the pen. His hand shook violently as he picked it up. With tears dripping onto the legal paper, he signed his name on the final line, surrendering his company, his wealth, his freedom, and the woman who had spent twelve years building his life.
