Chapter Thirty-Nine—Ethan
I’m already on the phone when the message comes through.
“Understood,” I say, keeping my voice level. “We’re still on track for the next milestone. Connor’s handling some personal matters, but it won’t delay deliverables.”
The investor on the other end pauses just long enough for me to hear the shift. “We’re hearing some noise about stability. Personal conflicts. Anything we should know?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Nothing that affects the terms. We’ll have the updated projections to you by end of day.”
I end the call and set the phone down. Andrew is watching me from the couch. Liam has stopped pacing long enough to stare at his own screen.
My phone lights up again. Harrington Group. I scan the message while the weight in my chest settles.
I forward it to both of them without comment.
Liam reads it and lets out a short laugh that isn’t funny. “Jesus. He’s not even pretending anymore.”
Andrew doesn’t say anything at first. He just stares at his phone. Then he stands up, slow and deliberate. “This is because of me. Because I didn’t tell him the truth a year ago.”
I shake my head. “It’s because of all of us.”
I walk back into the suite. Liam and Andrew both look up.
I shake my head once. He's not budging. He believes he's doing the right thing.
I sit down and look at my phone and think about the things I can actually fix—the updated projections, the end-of-day deadline, making sure Riley eats something today.
Small things. The ones with answers.
I cannot fix the fact that Connor is actively trying to blow up the one thing we built that was supposed to be solid.
Another message comes in from our liaison. This one is worse.
Connor has formally flagged concerns about “personal instability affecting partnership integrity.”
I read it twice.
“He’s not just pulling back,” I say. “He’s framing it as a risk to the deal itself.”
Liam drags a hand down his face. “This is insane. We’re sitting here babysitting a deal while she’s over there and I can’t do a damn thing about it.”
I picture her there—trying to hold her ground, pretending she’s steadier than she feels. And we’re not there.
Andrew’s jaw tightens. “He’s not just pulling back from the deal. He’s punishing her through us. Making sure we feel it.”
I lean back in the chair. “If we lose this deal, we lose leverage. Stability. The one thing we thought wasn’t going to shift under us. We need to be smart about this.”
Liam turns on me. “Smart? You want to sit here and play nice while Connor tanks everything because he’s pissed we didn’t run the relationship by him first?”
Andrew cuts in, voice low. “You think Riley’s going to thank us for saving the deal if it means we let her brother destroy her in the process?”
I stand up. The room feels too small. “I’m not choosing the deal over her. I’m saying we can’t afford to lose both.”
Liam laughs. “You sound exactly like the guy who left the ER because he couldn’t handle shit he couldn’t fix. Newsflash, Ethan—we can’t fix this with spreadsheets.”
Ouch.
I grab my phone. “Give me five minutes.”
I step out into the hallway and dial Connor’s number. It rings four times.
He picks up.
“Ethan.”
His voice is flat.
“We need to talk.”
“I said what I needed to say yesterday.”
“You’re not just hurting Riley. You’re hurting the company. The Harrington deal is hanging by a thread because of the meetings you’ve canceled. The investors are asking questions.”
Connor exhales. “Personal instability affecting partnership integrity. That’s the language I used. It’s accurate. I’m not trying to kill it. I just can’t sit across the table from you right now.”
I close my eyes. “This isn’t just about the deal. This is about your sister. She’s pregnant. She’s scared. And she chose to stay. She’s not running this time.”
“Don’t,” he says. “Don’t lecture me about my sister. You three stood in my kitchen and lied to my face for months. Andrew—the same guy who wrecked her—has been working beside me every day like it was nothing. And now she’s carrying one of your babies and you expect me to just nod and move on?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “We should have told you sooner. That part’s on us. But punishing her for it isn’t going to change the fact that she’s staying. She’s choosing this. All of it.”
Silence stretches.
When Connor speaks again his voice is quieter. Harder. “I’m not punishing her. I’m protecting her. The way I should have the first time.”
He ends the call.
I stand there in the hallway a long moment, phone still in my hand. Now it feels like I’m watching three futures slip through my fingers—and I can’t stop any of them.
I walk back into the suite.
Liam and Andrew both look up.
I shake my head once. “He’s not budging. He believes he’s doing the right thing.”
Andrew’s expression darkens. “He’s making her choose between us and him.”
Liam crosses his arms. “So what now? We just wait for the deal to die while she’s stuck in that penthouse trying to hold it together?”
I sit down. My hands stay still on the table, but the rest of me is shook.
My phone vibrates again. Private message. From Harrington himself.
I’d like to schedule a closed-door meeting tomorrow. Just you and me. Some things are better discussed without all parties present.
The implication is crystal clear.
If I take the meeting, I might save the deal.
If I don’t, everything we’ve built could collapse.
And either way—
I might be the one who breaks Riley.
I set the phone face-down on the table and stare at the blank screen.
For the first time in a long time, I don’t know what the right move is.
And that’s a problem.