Chapter 76: Drunk on Memories of Her

Ethan's POV

I collapse into the single armchair furthest from everyone and close my eyes. Damn it, my head is killing me.

The room is eerily quiet. Let them stare all they want. I couldn't care less.

There isn't a single comfortable spot on my body, and my head feels like someone's banging drums inside it. This is what happens when you drink too much last night—even someone who claims they can handle a thousand cups will pay the price after drinking all night.

"Everyone's here now, Dad," Olivia announces, her voice several pitches higher than usual.

I barely manage to open my eyes just in time to see my father slam a pile of documents onto the table.

"Who's responsible for this?" he demands harshly, with a look that suggests he's ready to murder someone. "Explain yourselves. Now."

Olivia picks up the papers, frowns after a quick glance and says, "What is this? I don't understand," before immediately passing them to Owen.

My brother puts on a show of carefully examining the documents, then looks up with a serious expression. "Dad, Aria would never embezzle company funds. This is clearly a setup. We should report it to the police."

I almost laugh at how convincing his act is. The eternal golden son, always so righteous in public.

Aria's eyes instantly well up with tears. "Thank you, Owen. Thank you for believing I'm being framed. I really haven't stolen money to support another man."

I can't be bothered with their conversation, focusing only on suppressing the nausea that threatens to rise. But my father's judging glare pulls me back to reality.

"You," he barks at me, "you ungrateful bastard, explain exactly what you've done!"

Fighting my headache, I slowly sit up straight, casually grab the documents, flip through a couple of pages, then toss them back on the table with a cold laugh.

"You think this pathetic trap is worth my time? Don't insult my intelligence."

My father's face reddens with anger as he slams his fist on the table. The sound reverberates painfully in my head. Everyone jumps, except for me, still lounging lazily on the couch. I've seen this too many times. I'm used to it.

"Who else would do something like this?" he shouts, veins bulging on his forehead. "Your older brother has always respected Aria, your second brother never involves himself in company affairs, and your sister doesn't know the first thing about business. Be a man and admit it!"

I stare at Owen and his wife, not bothering to hide my contempt. "This woman has a six-year-old child as leverage. You really think the old man would send his son's mother to prison? Embezzlement? Seriously? Did you hit your head or something?"

Watching them squirm uncomfortably, I become even more certain. "Whether she's been seeing her ex-husband or frequenting male escort clubs—you think a few suspicious money transfers are enough to take her down? How stupid would someone have to be to come up with this plan?"

I lock eyes with Owen. "Did you think the old man has gone senile?"

Owen shifts uncomfortably in his seat as I press on. "Aria's a business idiot. How would she possibly discover this setup on her own?"

"Ethan," Owen stammers, "why are you looking at me while saying these things? I didn't do this. Don't try to pin this on me."

I glance at Olivia and notice her glaring venomously at Isabella, jaw clenched so tight I can almost hear her teeth grinding.

My gaze falls on Isabella again, and when our eyes meet, my heart suddenly races, like something has grabbed hold of it. It's hard to describe this feeling—I mean, it just comes out of nowhere. She sits there quietly, yet somehow radiates a light that makes everything else in the room fade into insignificance.

Fragments of last night flash through my mind—Samuel constantly bringing up "Isabella this" and "Isabella that," while I kept drinking glass after glass trying to shut him up. The more I drank, the worse it got. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was her face, all I could hear was her voice.

I remembered Samuel's text from earlier: "Don't forget to apologize to Isabella." Strange. What the hell did I do? Everything after that tenth glass of whiskey is a complete blur.

But judging from Olivia's expression, Isabella must have been the one who uncovered this plan. Smart girl. Always has been.

"If you've already decided I'm guilty," I tell my father, "then why bother asking me?"

I stand up and say lazily, "Even when I do something wrong, I do it properly. This half-baked plan is full of holes. It insults my intelligence. Don't expect me to take the fall for it."

I turn to leave without a word of goodbye.

"Stop right there!" my father roars behind me.

I stop but don't look back. In an instant, he's in front of me, grabbing and turning me around, landing a punch squarely on my face.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Isabella starting to stand, concern flashing across her face before she quickly controls herself and sits back down, watching silently. Damn, does she think I did it too?

I probe my injured cheek with my tongue, tasting blood. "Want to continue? Go ahead if you're not done. Otherwise, I'm going back to sleep. I've got no interest in your little drama."

"How did I end up with such a rebellious son?" he hisses through clenched teeth. "Get out of the Black family! Return every cent you've transferred overseas! Apologize to Aria immediately, or I'll destroy you!"

I walk away without looking back. His threats are like wind in my ears.

I head down the garden path toward my wing of the mansion. My head is still killing me, and now my jaw throbs painfully in sync.

"Ethan, wait! I need to talk to you!"

Owen calls from behind. I stop walking but don't turn around. I'm too exhausted and have no desire to listen to his nonsense.

He runs up to me, panting, "Ethan, I'm sorry about what happened back there. I really had no choice."

I quirk my lips slightly but don't respond. We both know what's going on. No need to spell it out.

"We siblings are in the same boat," he says in a lowered voice. "None of us want Dad to leave company shares to Aria and her bastard. I really had no choice but to..."

"I won't stop you from getting rid of her," I say coldly, "but your brainless plan wouldn't have worked even if it had succeeded. Don't forget she has that child. That's the old man's weakness."

Owen nods, appearing relieved. "You're right. I didn't think it through."

He hesitates, then asks, "Ethan, you used to be all about pushing Aria and her daughter out. Why did you suddenly stop?"