He Froze Everything I Had—Then Found His Three Daughters

The very next morning, the headlines across the financial world exploded. Not only had Vance Capital executed a hostile takeover of Mercer-Holdings, but the new COO was the CEO's ex-wife.

Ethan sat in his expansive corner office overlooking Central Park, staring at a framed photograph of Claire that he had never found the courage to throw away. The door swung open, and his high-powered divorce attorney, Marcus Thorne, walked in, tossing a thick folder onto the desk.

"She filed for sole legal and physical custody first thing this morning, Ethan," Marcus announced grimly.

"Fight it," Ethan ordered, his jaw set in stubborn determination. "I want joint custody. I want fifty percent of their time."

"Ethan, you have to be realistic," Marcus sighed, taking a seat. "You locked her out of your marital home. You froze her accounts. You didn't pay a single dime in child support for eighteen months. The judge is going to look at your track record and see a man who abandoned his pregnant wife."

"I didn't abandon her!" Ethan shouted, slamming his fist on the desk. "I was trying to teach her a lesson! I wanted her to realize she needed me!"

"Well, she learned a different lesson," Marcus replied dryly. "She learned how to survive without you. And now she has Julian Vance backing her legally and financially. If you drag this out in court, they will destroy your public reputation, and the board will force you to resign as CEO."

Ethan sank back into his leather chair, the fight draining out of him. He thought of the three beautiful little girls in the pink ruffled dresses. His daughters.