Chapter 8 - ETHAN PRESCOTT
Ethan cooperated after one night in custody.
He cried during the interview.
Said Margaret controlled him.
Said Sheriff Miller threatened him.
Said Dr. Price convinced him Emily was unstable.
Then agents played the dinner audio.
Ethan’s voice:
“If she signs, can we still move the trust?”
Margaret:
“Yes.”
Ethan:
“And if she doesn’t?”
Sheriff Miller:
“Then the hold does it for her.”
Ethan knew.
He had not simply failed to protect Emily.
He participated in the plan.
The financial motive involved the Prescott family trust.
Emily inherited a minority stake after William Prescott’s death because Daniel Hart had secretly invested in the company before discovering corruption.
Margaret spent years trying to remove the Hart shares.
Marriage solved the access problem.
If Emily became incapacitated, Ethan controlled her stake.
If Ethan controlled it, Margaret controlled him.
The relationship had been encouraged before the first date.
Margaret selected charities where they would meet.
Invited Emily to events.
Paid a friend to recommend Ethan.
The marriage was not entirely fake.
May you like
Ethan loved Emily in the limited way a controlled man could love someone without defending her from the system that defined him.
Love without protection became another instrument.
