CHAPTER 5: The Mistress Clause

The hospital administrator arrived with a tablet that showed nothing readable from the doorway.
He whispered to Dr. Harris, then to Ethan. The security men remained near the entrance, still as dark furniture, making sure Vivian did not drift toward the bed again.
Vivian tried to gather herself.
"You cannot hold me here," she said.
Ethan looked at one of the guards. "No one is holding you. You are being escorted out. Then my attorneys will contact you."
Her chin lifted. "For what? An argument?"
Olivia opened her eyes.
"For entering my medical room without permission, threatening me, and touching me when I was vulnerable," she said. "Start there."
Vivian's mouth tightened.
She had mistaken Olivia's softness for a lack of memory. But Olivia remembered every message, every anonymous photo, every charity dinner smile Vivian had aimed like a blade.
Ethan pulled out his phone.
"And my legal team will review the personal conduct clause in every contract tied to you."
Vivian blinked.
She had loved Ethan's empire. She had never read the paperwork that protected it.
The charity sponsorship. The fashion house investment. The apartment held under a foundation name. Every gift had strings because Ethan's world never gave anything simply.