Chapter 3 - The Expulsion
"Get out," Ethan said, his voice devoid of all emotion.
Sophia blinked, suddenly realizing that her twisted logic had not won him over. "Ethan, please. We can fix this. He hit you as a kid, right? He wasn't a perfect father! We can still—"
"I said get out of this house!" Ethan roared, his voice shaking the crystal chandelier above them. "You have exactly five minutes to pack a single bag and leave before I call the police and hand them this security footage. Extortion, filing a false police report, elder abuse—take your pick, Sophia. They will bury you under the jail."
Panic finally set in. Sophia scrambled past the horrified family members, sprinting up the grand staircase. The heavy front door slammed shut twenty minutes later, leaving a deafening, tragic silence in the Whitmore estate.
Ethan stood in the center of the study, entirely alone with his father. He took a slow, agonizing step forward, his legs feeling like lead. He fell to his knees in front of Richard, the tears he had been holding back finally breaking free, spilling hot and fast down his cheeks.
"Dad... I am so sorry," Ethan choked out, his shoulders shaking with violent sobs. "I didn't think. I just heard her scream and I reacted. Oh my God, Dad, I hit you. I am so, so sorry."
Richard looked down at his broken son. The physical pain in his jaw was nothing compared to the agony of watching his child shatter into a million pieces. For a long moment, Richard didn't move. The betrayal was deep. The instinct of a son to trust a manipulative wife over a lifetime of a father's love was a wound that could not be bandaged with a simple apology.
May you like
Slowly, Richard stepped back. "I am going to my room, Ethan," Richard said softly. "I cannot look at you right now."
As Richard walked out of the study, Ethan remained on his knees on the Persian rug, surrounded by his ex-wife's torn buttons, realizing he had just destroyed the most important relationship of his life for a woman who never loved him at all.
