PART 2

The courthouse lobby fell completely silent the moment my father entered.

Richard Bennett rarely needed to raise his voice to command attention.

He simply carried power naturally.

Tall, silver-haired, dressed in a charcoal overcoat that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent, he walked through the courthouse doors with the kind of calm authority that made strangers instinctively step aside.

Three attorneys followed behind him.

Ethan’s face drained of color almost instantly.

Vanessa’s confident smile disappeared too.

My father’s eyes landed on me first.

Not the papers. Not Ethan. Not the scene.

Me.

His expression softened immediately when he noticed how swollen and exhausted I looked.

“Sweetheart,” he said quietly, walking toward me. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

That simple question nearly broke me.

Because suddenly, after hours of humiliation and panic, I no longer felt alone.

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You’re my daughter,” he replied firmly. “That’s my job.”

Ethan shifted awkwardly beside Vanessa.

My father finally turned toward him.

And the warmth vanished from his face entirely.

For years, Ethan had only known my father through brief holiday phone calls and excuses about business travel. Somehow, he always managed to avoid meeting him in person.

At first, I believed it was coincidence.

Now I understood the truth.

Ethan never cared enough to know my family.

One of the attorneys stepped forward calmly. “Mr. Parker, I’m Daniel Reeves, senior counsel for Bennett Holdings.”

The attorney handed Ethan a business card.

Ethan stared at it.

Then looked back at my father.

“Bennett Holdings?” he repeated slowly.

Vanessa frowned. “What is that?”

My father answered her directly.

“The company that owns the building where your marketing firm rents three entire floors.”

Vanessa blinked.

Daniel Reeves continued smoothly. “And the company currently negotiating acquisition talks with Parker Consulting.”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

I watched realization hit Ethan piece by piece.

Like glass slowly cracking.

Because Ethan’s consulting company had spent the past year desperately trying to secure a development contract with Bennett Holdings.

The contract would have transformed his struggling business.

And now he understood exactly what he had just destroyed.

His voice tightened. “Alyssa… why didn’t you tell me?”

I stared at him in disbelief.

That was his first concern.

Not our marriage. Not our daughter. Not abandoning me while I was about to give birth.

May you like

Money.

Opportunity.

Status.

My father looked disgusted.

“She didn’t tell you because I raised her to value character over greed,” he said coldly. “Unfortunately, it appears you only value things once you discover their price.”

Vanessa slowly removed her hand from Ethan’s arm.

And for the first time, I saw uncertainty in her eyes.

Ethan stepped toward me quickly. “Alyssa, wait… this doesn’t change things between us.”

I actually laughed.

Not because anything was funny.

Because the audacity was unbelievable.

“You told me thirty minutes ago you couldn’t stand looking at me,” I reminded him quietly.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“It’s exactly what you meant.”

His jaw tightened.