Chapter 9: Stock Market Crash

Chloe hit the couch, looking at Ethan in disbelief. “Ethan! You’re blaming me?! You were the one who signed the divorce papers! You were the one who called her a parasite!”

“Because you coaxed me into it!” Ethan roared, his eyes bloodshot. “You kept telling me she was useless! You wanted her out of the house!”

While the two argued like venomous snakes trapped in a jar, the phone on the desk rang frantically.

Ethan scrambled to pick it up. “Hello?!”

“Ethan Carter!” the furious voice of his lead investor blared out. “What did you do to offend Sinclair Consortium?! They just cancelled our international distribution agreement! We’re pulling out all remaining funds immediately! You have 24 hours to repay our twenty-million-dollar investment, or we’re suing you into bankruptcy!”

Click.

Another phone rang.

“Mr. Carter! The bank has just placed an emergency lien on Carter Group’s headquarters! All payroll accounts are locked!”

Ethan slumped into his leather chair, his mind spinning uncontrollably. In less than twelve hours after Natalie signed that divorce paper, his multi-hundred-million-dollar luxury empire was teetering on the edge of total collapse.

“Ethan…” Chloe crept closer, her tone shifting from aggressive to manipulative. “Don’t panic. Natalie loved you for five years! A woman’s heart is soft. She’s just doing this to get your attention! If you go to her, apologize, and pretend to want her back, she’ll definitely forgive you and unfreeze the money!”

Ethan looked up, a glimmer of desperate hope sparking in his eyes.

“You’re right…” Ethan muttered, gripping the edge of his desk. “Natalie loved me deeply. She lived in a cramped apartment with me for five years without complaining! She was just angry last night. If I beg her, she’ll soften!”

“Yes!” Chloe urged. “Go find her today at the Metropolitan Fashion Summit! She’s scheduled to attend as the guest of honor!”