Page 49 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“I asked Sam and Harley to dig deeper and widen their net to include looking into my family,” Ethan began, his voice steady despite his inner turmoil. “While Sam may not have gotten much information out of the PIs that were following us, they found out they were each paid a hefty sum by a company called Fledgling Productions.”
“Isn’t that one of the Blackwell Productions subsidiaries?” Carly’s eyes widened.
“It’s also run by my brother!” Ethan clenched his jaw as the sick feeling of a deep betrayal engulfed him again. “It’s also the companywhere the leak that sabotaged our careers came from. Apparently, the information was sent to Blackwell Productions by a company executive.” He paused. “My family might be involved.”
“By family, you mean Alex!” Carly noted.
“I’m not sure how many members of my family may have been involved,” Alex admitted. “Or why they’d do something so petty.” His face scrunched up. “You know, I know Alex can be a dope at times, but he’s not petty, and he wouldn’t do something like this. Not without a very good reason, or maybe he thought he was protecting me.”
“From me?” Carly said, looking hurt. “What reason did Ievergive him to have done something as despicable as he did to me?“ Her eyes darkened with confusion and anguish. “He ruined my career and didn’t care how this impacted my son and my family.” Her voice was raw with emotion. “All that because he was protecting you from me?” She gaped at him in disbelief, her eyes resonating with pain and fury before her brows shot up as something dawned on her. “Wait! Are you saying it was Alex and not you that fired me three years ago?”
Ethan swallowed as he stared at her, not knowing how to start or even explain his brother’s actions. How could he? Ethan wasn’t sure what Alex was thinking? Ethan pulled at his tie, loosening it as it suddenly felt like a noose getting tighter around his neck.
“The other day, your brother burst into my office seething!” He stopped fidgeting with his tie and picked a strawberry.
Ethan sat studying the berry, not wanting to make eye contact so Carly wouldn’t see the guilt he was sure was shining in them.
“Harley?” Carly said in disbelief. “Why would he do that?”
Ethan ate the strawberry. His fingers absently brushed the sand off his pants as he finished eating. “He accused me of setting you up for another fall,” he explained. “I wasn’t sure what he meant until he told me your side of the story from that day three years ago.” His eyes caught and held hers. “Carly… I thought you quit the movie, wrote those scathing remarks about it, and then disappeared.”
“What?” Carly spluttered in amazement. “Ethan, I didn’t quit.” She pointed her hand at herself. “Youfired me and leaked information to the press that completely blew up my world after that.“ Her chest rose and fell as the anguish dripped from her voice like drops of blood being squeezed from a broken heart. “Things I’d told you because I trusted you.” She gave a snort. “I was even…” She paused and shook her head. “You shattered my world that day. By rights, I shouldn’t be sitting here talking to you or giving your family the time of day.” She glanced at the ocean. “Last year, when your film crew arrived, I nearly packed up and left town, but I refused to let the Blackwells destroy my lifeagain.”
“You banned us from your restaurant!” Ethan accused. “I thought it was strange the place was always fully booked, or you weren’t available.”
“No!” Carly shook her head. “I didn’t ban you and your brother. I merely instructed my staff that we were fully booked should the Blackwells ever try to get a reservation, and I was always too busy to take calls or visitors.”
“Your restaurant catered Alex’s parties,” Ethan pointed out.
“I’m not a fool, Ethan.” Carly’s voice was flat as she looked at him, and his heart squeezed; her eyes were blank. “While I didn’t want your family in my place of business, money is money, and as far as I was concerned, taking yours was my due. So I let my head chef go wild with his dishes and charge an exorbitant fee. It also allowed Dan to showcase his extraordinary culinary talent, which has attracted a lot of A-listers to my establishment.”
“Touché!” Ethan said, a little afraid yet at the same time so proud of her. “I think you know this, but I’m going to say it anyway. It wasn’t me that fired you that day, it was Alex impersonating me.”
The words hung heavy in the salty breeze. Carly’s reaction was immediate and visceral; her hands clenched into fists, and a shadow crossed her features. Shock, anger, and sadness danced across her face like the flickering light of a storm-threatened lighthouse.
“And Ineverwrote that article about your movie.“ Carly’s voice was barely above a whisper, echoing the emotions that etched lines across her forehead. “I never quit. Your movie resonated with me and made me feel so connected to you. I could feel you put more than your heart into it. It came from the very essence of your being—your soul.”
Ethan reached out tentatively, his hand hovering over hers before settling gently atop the clenched fingers. “A tale as old as Time, done a million times over, and it somehow manages to make déjà vu feel like a fresh disappointment. This one barely manages to stay afloat in a sea of recycled narratives. If predictability were an Olympic sport, this movie would undoubtedly take home the gold.“ He recited the words the press had published, stating they were Stella Hart’s words and the reason she decided not to do his movie.
Carly turned her hand beneath his, uniting them. The dark clouds in her eyes were still there, but he could feel something shift between them.
“I would never write that,” Carly whispered, her voice filled with emotion, and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’d have hoped you’d have realized that.”
“I see now I shouldn’t have,” Ethan admitted. “But everything looks different when you look at it through a veil of hurt, anger, and betrayal.”
Carly shook her head as her eyes flickered with empathy. “I couldn’t imagine what it feels like to have a sibling or close family member betray you.” She gave him a small smile. “But I know what it’s like to be betrayed by someone you love. It stings, itches, burns, all at once but on the inside in a place where you can’t treat it like an open wound. There’s no cream or medication that can take that pain away.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “In some cases, not even time can heal it. You must learn to live with it until it becomes a part of you.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened as her words hit their mark. “I’m sorry, Carly.” His words hung heavy with regret and guilt. “I shouldn’t have let my hurt and feeling of betrayal cloud my judgment, and if I’m brutally honest, I think part of me always knew there was a lot more to the story.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds, his hand tightening on hers, drawing strength to say what had been sitting on his conscience for days. “I was so afraid of my feelings that I used what I perceived as your betrayal as an excuse not to face them.”
She shook her head, slowly uncurling her fingers and taking a deep, shuddering breath before wiping away a stray tear.
“I am so sorry, Carly!” Ethan’s voice was heartfelt and raw. “I should never have opened up these wounds and dragged you through this again.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It was so selfish of me.” He gave a self-mocking laugh. “You were this star that outshone everyother star in the sky. When your star fell, it was as though the rest of the sky had lost its brilliance. Despite the remaining stars shining on, none could illuminate the night as you once did.”
“Thank you,” Carly whispered. Her eyes were focused on him like a rabbit caught in headlights.
“Over the past three years, I’ve worked with the most remarkable talent, waiting for that one star that would outshine all the rest to cast that amazing glow you did over the industry.” He glanced out over the sea, breaking eye contact. “In my heart, I’ve always known only one star could do that, and all the other stars just didn’t fit the hole Stella left. Like Cinderalla’s glass slipper, it could only be filled by her.”
“Ethan, I—“ Carly cleared her throat and wiped another tear from her eye.
