My Pilot Husband Chose Her Mother So I Ruined Him Chapter 05
Withdraw the Complaint
“You reported me?”
Ethan’s voice is low enough to be more frightening than a shout.
“Yes.”
“To my airline?”
“To the people responsible for investigating what happened on that flight.”
“You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“I know exactly what I did.”
His hand closes around my wrist.
Pain shoots up my arm.
“Withdraw it.”
“Let go of me.”
“Claire, withdraw the complaint.”
I wrench my arm free.
A red mark is already forming around my wrist.
Sophie rushes forward.
“Ethan, stop. You’re hurting her.”
He doesn’t even look at her.
“Do you know what being grounded means for me?”
There it is.
“I’ve spent years building my record,” he says. “One complaint like this can destroy everything.”
“Then maybe you should’ve thought about that before you told the crew to wait.”
“Your mother didn’t die.”
The room goes silent.
Even Sophie stares at him.
Ethan realizes what he said.
Too late.
“No,” I say quietly. “She didn’t.”
I take one step toward him.
“That’s because she was lucky. Not because you cared.”
His face flashes red.
“I made a professional judgment.”
“Then explain it to the investigators.”
“You’re doing this to punish me.”
“No. I’m making sure someone looks at what you did.”
“You want to ruin me because you’re angry.”
“You keep saying that as if my anger appeared out of nowhere.”
Sophie wipes at her eyes.
“Claire, please. Ethan is still your husband.”
“Not for much longer.”
“You don’t have to push him this far. Couples fight. People make mistakes.”
I turn to her.
“My mother nearly died.”
“I know, but my mom wasn’t feeling well either. I was scared.”
“And that gave you the right to keep emergency resources beside you while my mother was unconscious?”
Her face goes white.
“I didn’t know she was that bad.”
“But Ethan did.”
She looks at him.
Ethan immediately steps between us.
“Enough. If you have a problem, take it out on me. Leave Sophie alone.”
Even after being grounded.
Even with divorce papers sitting between us.
His instinct is still to protect her.
“Fine.”
I reach into my bag and pull out the copied authorization form.
“Then let’s talk about you.”
I slap it against his chest.
“You forged my signature.”
His eyes flick down.
“We’re married. That money was part of our household finances.”
“Some of it existed before the marriage.”
“I was going to replace it.”
“When?”
He says nothing.
“When Sophie’s project made you rich?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then where’s my grandmother’s jewelry?”
“I sold a few pieces,” Ethan says.
“You sold them?”
“They were sitting in a safe.”
“They belonged to me.”
“We needed liquidity.”
“We?”
He glances at Sophie.
That’s answer enough.
I pick up my bag.
“I’m giving all of this to my attorney.”
His head snaps up.
“Don’t.”
“And the forged authorization goes to the police if Rachel advises me to file a report.”
“Ethan, maybe we should just return the money.”
He turns toward her.
“What?”
“My project can wait.”
Her voice is too quick.
“Just give Claire back whatever came from her accounts. There’s no reason to make this bigger.”
I watch her.
Until now, she’s been crying.
Apologizing.
Playing innocent.
But the moment I mention the police, she’s scared.
“I’ll let my attorney handle it,” I say.
Then I walk out.
Ethan calls after me.
“If you leave now, don’t expect me to keep taking care of your family!”
I don’t turn around.
That threat would’ve terrified me once.
Now it only confirms how much power I let him think he had.
By the time I reach the hospital, Rachel has already called me back.
“I’ve reviewed the authorization you sent.”
Her tone is serious.
“Don’t sign anything Ethan gives you. Don’t agree to any transfers, repayments, or private arrangements without sending them to me first.”
“What about the money?”
“We’ll trace what we can. I need full statements from every account you have access to.”
“And the signature?”
“If you didn’t sign that authorization, preserve the original. Depending on how it was used, this could go well beyond the divorce.”
I look through the glass at Mom sleeping in her hospital bed.
“Keep going.”
“I will. And Claire?”
“Yes?”
“If Ethan’s airline has already grounded him, his attitude may change quickly. Be careful.”
She’s right.
The next morning, Ethan is waiting outside Mom’s room.
“We need to talk.”
“We don’t.”
“Five minutes.”
I start to walk past him.
He blocks my path.
“The airline is investigating the diversion decision and the handling of the medical emergency.”
“Good.”
His mouth tightens.
“They’ve pulled the crew statements.”
“Also good.”
“Claire, stop.”
I look at him.
For the first time, there is something in his eyes I haven’t seen before.
Fear.
“Withdraw your complaint.”
“No.”
“It’s still early. You can tell them you were emotional. That you misunderstood what the crew told you.”
“You want me to lie.”
“I want you to stop trying to destroy my career.”
“You did that yourself.”
His voice drops.
“I’ll put the money back.”
I say nothing.
“I’ll restore access to the accounts. I’ll cover your mother’s medical bills.”
Still nothing.
“And we don’t have to divorce.”
That finally makes me look at him.
He seems to think he’s offering me something valuable.
“I’ll forget the papers,” he says. “We both said things while we were angry.”
“You signed them.”
“I was angry.”
“I wasn’t.”
His face tightens.
“Claire, don’t be stupid.”
There he is.
I step around him.
He grabs my arm.
“You withdraw the complaint, and I’ll fix everything.”
I look down at his hand.
“Let go.”
“Promise me first.”
“Ethan.”
My voice is completely calm.
“What makes you think I still want anything from you?”