CHAPTER 1 — The First Collapse
The morning after the divorce, Ethan woke up to fourteen missed calls.
Most were from Ashley.
The rest were from creditors.
For years, he had never paid attention to where the money came from. As long as bills were covered, tuition was paid, and his family lived comfortably, he assumed everything would somehow work out.
Now it wasn't working out.
Ashley called again.
“Ethan, they won't let me register for next semester!”
“Calm down.”
“No! You calm down! Fix this!”
He hung up.
Then his chief financial officer called.
“Ethan, we have a serious problem.”
His stomach dropped.
Several investors had pulled back after discovering how unstable the company really was.
The hidden deficits Claire had quietly covered were suddenly impossible to ignore.
For the first time, Ethan realized something terrifying:
Claire hadn't been helping.
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She had been holding everything together.
And now she was gone.
