Chapter 5
For a few seconds, I could only stare at him.
“My cousin?” I repeated slowly.
The man standing in front of me—Ethan Hayes—nodded calmly.
“Yes.”
My mind was still struggling to process everything that had happened in the past few hours.
Divorce.
Pregnancy.
Inheritance.
Now suddenly… family I never knew existed.
Ethan pulled a chair and sat across from me. His movements were calm and controlled, like someone used to making careful decisions.
“You look overwhelmed,” he said.
I let out a small, breathless laugh.
“Overwhelmed is an understatement.”
Attorney Carter closed the file on the desk and spoke gently.
“Miss McGraw, there are things you need to understand about the Hayes family.”
I tightened my grip on the letter in my hand.
“Start with why my father never came for me.”
The room fell quiet.
Ethan leaned back slightly in his chair before answering.
“My uncle, Andrew Hayes, had many enemies,” he said. “Powerful ones.”
I frowned.
“What kind of enemies?”
“Corporate rivals,” he replied. “People who would do anything to control Hayes Conglomerate.”
Attorney Carter added quietly, “When you were born, there was already a plan to kidnap you.”
A chill ran through my body.
“What?”
“Your father had no choice,” Ethan continued. “The safest way to protect you was to hide you completely.”
My chest tightened.
“So he gave me away?”
“No,” Ethan said firmly.
His calm eyes met mine.
“He placed you with a family he trusted. Your adoptive parents.”
Tears burned behind my eyes.
“They died when I was ten.”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“Yes. After that… your father wanted to bring you back.”
My breath caught.
“But by then his enemies had grown even stronger. Bringing you into the Hayes family would have put a target on your back.”
I lowered my gaze.
“So he stayed away.”
Attorney Carter pushed another document toward me.
“But he never forgot about you.”
I looked down.
It was a financial record.
My eyes widened.
“He’s been paying for everything?” I whispered.
School tuition.
Living expenses.
Even the apartment I lived in before marrying Lucas.
All paid through hidden accounts.
A lump formed in my throat.
“He was watching over you,” Ethan said quietly.
Silence filled the room for a moment.
Finally, I spoke again.
“Why reveal everything now?”
Ethan’s expression turned serious.
“Because he’s gone.”
The weight of his words settled in the room.
“With my uncle gone, the people who want control of Hayes Conglomerate are already making their moves,” he continued.
Attorney Carter nodded.
“They believed Andrew Hayes had only one heir.”
“Ethan,” I said.
“Yes.”
“But now they know there’s another.”
My stomach twisted.
“Me.”
Ethan leaned forward slightly.
“You owning twenty percent of the company changes the entire balance of power.”
I blinked.
“Wait… twenty percent?”
He nodded.
“Your father made sure you had equal power to mine.”
I froze.
“You mean…”
“Yes,” Ethan said calmly.
“You and I together control the majority of Hayes Conglomerate.”
The realization hit me slowly.
Which meant something else too.
Anyone trying to take the company would see me as a threat.
My hand moved to my stomach.
Ethan noticed the gesture.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Is something wrong?”
I hesitated.
Should I tell them?
After everything that had happened with Lucas…
Part of me wanted to keep it secret.
But these people were now connected to my future.
“I’m pregnant,” I said quietly.
Both men looked surprised.
Attorney Carter adjusted his glasses.
“Does the father know?”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“He thinks I’m lying.”
Ethan’s expression hardened slightly.
“Lucas Miller.”
It wasn’t a question.
“You know him?”
“Everyone in the corporate world knows him,” Ethan replied.
His look sharpened.
“And I know he just made the biggest mistake of his life.”
I looked down at my hands.
Lucas’s cold voice echoed in my memory.
“Sign the papers.”
“Stop embarrassing yourself.”
Pain twisted in my chest again.
Ethan noticed the shift in my expression.
“Forget Lucas Miller,” he said calmly.
I looked up.
His voice was firm now.
“You’re not the same woman who walked out of that mansion this morning.”
He gestured around the office.
“You’re Leah Hayes.”
The name sounded strange.
Unfamiliar.
But something inside me stirred when I heard it.
Ethan stood and walked toward the window overlooking the city.
“Right now, the board of Hayes Conglomerate believes they can control me,” he said.
He turned back toward me.
“But they have no idea you exist.”
A small, dangerous smile appeared on his face.
“And that’s about to become our biggest advantage.”
My heart began to beat faster again.
“What are you planning?”
Ethan picked up a folder from the desk and handed it to me.
“Tonight there’s a board meeting.”
I opened the folder slowly.
Inside were documents about Hayes Conglomerate… and its shareholders.
Then my eyes landed on one familiar name.
Miller Industries.
My breath caught.
Lucas’s company.
Ethan watched my reaction carefully.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“Miller Industries is one of our biggest partners.”
My heart started pounding again.
“You’re not saying…”
Ethan’s smile returned.
“Oh, I am.”
He leaned slightly closer.
“Tonight, Lucas Miller is going to attend that meeting.”
My pulse quickened.
“And when he does,” Ethan continued,
“He’s going to discover that the woman he divorced this morning…”
His eyes locked with mine.
“…is now one of the most powerful shareholders in New York.”
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