I have every right to see her.”
Ethan stepped into the hallway.
I could see him through the partially open door.
My father’s expression changed immediately.
Not because Ethan looked different.
He looked exactly the same.
But now my father knew.
“Ethan,” he began.
“We had no idea about your company.”
Ethan said nothing.
My mother hurried to fill the silence.
“Why would you hide something like that from us?”
That was the question she chose.
Not why had she ignored me.
Not whether the baby was safe.
Why had Ethan allowed them to underestimate him?
He looked from her to my father.
“I didn’t hide my company from Amelia.”
My father cleared his throat.
“We thought you were still figuring things out.”
“I know.”
“You could have corrected us.”
“I could have.”
My mother folded her arms.
“Then why didn’t you?”
Ethan’s voice stayed calm.
“Because respect that depends on my bank account isn’t respect I want.”
My father looked away.
My mother’s face tightened.
“You’re making this sound much worse than it was.
Amelia was having contractions.
We didn’t know the baby was coming immediately.”
From the bed, I said, “I told you my water broke.”
All three of them looked toward me.
My mother stepped into the doorway.
“Amelia, sweetheart, we were going to help.”
“When?”
She opened her mouth.
I waited.
Nothing came out.
Ethan moved beside my bed but did not speak for me.
That mattered.
He had the power to overwhelm the room now.
My parents knew he owned the aircraft that had taken me to the hospital.
Daniel had apparently told them enough about Ethan’s company that they finally understood the scale of what they had dismissed.
But Ethan did not use any of it as a weapon.
He let me decide what happened next.
My father walked slowly into the room.
“I should have called,” he said.
“Yes.”
“I thought there was more time.”
“You didn’t know that.”
“No.”
His shoulders dropped.
“I should have called.”
It was not a perfect apology, but at least he had stopped defending himself.
