Page 71 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
When I marry him, it will change my life—our lives. Not only will we be moving with the New York elite, but we’ll dominate the silver screen, riding the waves of fame and fortune for years to come.Carly’s voice was unmistakable, and pain shot through his heart, making him feel like someone had punched a hole in his chest.
Maybe we should rethink this?Parker Drew’s deep voice added salt to Ethan’s bleeding wound.Do you really want to trade one emotional prison for another? Let’s just run away together. We don’t need all this. We’ve got each other, and that’s all that matters to me.
When the clip ended, the room fell into silence, and Ethan had to keep himself calm and composed in front of his siblings while his gut was in knots burning with betrayal. He felt as if someone had ripped his heart out and handed it to him so he could feel it slowly dying.
“And then there are these,” Alex said, showing Ethan the pictures of Carly and Parker kissing.
Ethan’s jaw clenched as his eyes took in the scene. “Why didn’t you show me this three years ago?” His voice was low, and he couldn’t hide its rawness.
“Because you were already devastated about Stella Hart disappearing without a word,” Alex admitted. “And I was feeling guilty for what I had done. I knew it should’ve been you to have taken the information and acted accordingly.”
“But you were protecting Ethan,” Bailey added. Ethan turned to look at his sister, who he noted was scrolling through her phone.
“Is that why you sent all the made-up articles to Blackwell Production’s head office and made them seem like they came from a source at Fledgling Productions?” Ethan asked Alex.
“There!”Bailey’s head shot up from her phone. “You did that accusation question thing.”
“No, I didn’t,” Ethan denied. “I asked Alex about sending the fake articles and…” His voice trailed off as he realized he had done what his sister had said. He looked at Alex and sighed. “I’m sorry, Alex. I didn’t even realize I do that.”
“It’s okay, brother,” Alex said. “I think we all do it only when you do. There’s usually a fire burning in your eyes, and your voice gets all threatening, which, as you know, makes me—“
“Rebel in the face of authority?” Bailey answered sweetly.
“Okay.” Alex laughed. “As I’m still holding the truth ball, I will admit to having a problem with authority and not being much of a team player.”
“Wow!” Bailey and Ethan said in unison, gaping at their brother. “We really need to do the truth ball circle more often again.”
Alex turned to Ethan. “But to answer your questions about the articles,” he shook his head, “it wasn’t me who sent them. I received them from an anonymous source at the Fledgling Production studio who didn’t want to be named for fear of losing their job.”
“An executive?” Ethan asked Alex.
“I said he was anonymous!” Alex said in frustration before realizing what he’d said.
“He?” Bailey and Ethan said in unison.
“Three years ago, there were only three of four executives at Fledgling,” Bailey said, looking at her phone.
“And you were one of them,” Ethan pointed out to Alex. “Do you see why, to me, it looked like the evidence was stacking up against you?”
Alex frowned at him and shook his head. “Have you never read your emails or the company newsletter?” Alex shook his head.
“We sold Fledgling almost four years ago,” Bailey informed him. “When we did, we kept it under our umbrella to help the new owner keep it as a top record-producing company.
“And until the new owner paid for it,” Alex added. “At the end of last year, it finally became Daft Drew Productions, and we are no longer affiliated with the company.”
“But you were still overseeing it three years ago?” Ethan’s frown increased.
“No.” Alex shook his head. “Dad had me on another assignment. You can confirm it with him.”
“I believe you.” Ethan rubbed the back of his neck, his mind playing with the new company name while berating himself for how much he’d lost touch with the business. “Why did Dad make me the acting CEO when clearly it should’ve been you?” He looked at Alex.
“I didn’t want the job,” Alex said vehemently, shaking his head. “I was surprised when you took it, though. You were never that interested in the running side of the business. You just wanted to make movies.”
“What was I supposed to do?” Ethan said. “Bailey’s still studying, and Dad couldn’t continue after his last heart attack.”
“Well, don’t worry, big brothers,” Bailey told them. “After my finals, I’ll be stepping in to fill our father’s big shoes.”
“Trust me, that day can’t come fast enough,” Ethan breathed. “I don’t sleep trying to keep on top of things.”
