My Billionaire Husband Kicked Me While I Was Seven Months Pregnant at His Luxury Gala—But He Didn’t Know My Sister Had Already Sent the Video That Would Destroy His Entire Empire…
PART 2 — HER BROTHERS CAME FOR WAR
Ethan reached Pacific Crest in nineteen minutes.
He left his truck crooked beneath the emergency entrance and ran inside wearing black security trousers and a rain-soaked jacket. At thirty-eight, Ethan had spent twelve years protecting celebrities, politicians, and wealthy executives who believed danger could be controlled by money.
He knew better.
Danger often wore an expensive suit.
The receptionist recognized Claire’s name and pointed him toward the private maternity floor. Ethan took the stairs two at a time.
When the elevator doors opened at the opposite end of the corridor, Grant stepped out with Madison and two hospital administrators.
Ethan stopped.
“Grant.”
Grant turned slowly.
For years, Ethan had tolerated his brother-in-law for Claire’s sake. He had watched Grant correct the way she spoke, choose her clothes, interrupt her at family dinners, and quietly separate her from friends. Claire had always insisted that Grant was under pressure or that Ethan had misunderstood.
Now Ethan saw blood on the cuff of Grant’s shoe.
He crossed the corridor before anyone could stop him.
Grant lifted one hand. “This is not what it looks like.”
Ethan slammed his fist into the wall beside Grant’s head.
The drywall cracked.
Madison screamed and jumped backward.
“You kicked a hospital bed out from under my pregnant sister?”
“She fell.”
“Then why is her blood on your shoe?”
Grant glanced down.
His confidence faltered.
One of the administrators stepped between them. “Mr. Bennett, this is a private medical facility.”
Ethan stared at him.
“My sister is inside because your largest donor attacked her.”
“We have not established that an attack occurred.”
“The nurse saw it.”
Grant gave the administrator a warning look. “Claire has been suffering from emotional instability.”
Ethan moved closer.
“Call her unstable one more time.”
Grant straightened his jacket.
“You are threatening me in a hospital I helped build.”
“No. I’m reminding you that your name on a wall does not make you God.”
Security officers arrived, but none of them touched Ethan. Several had worked with him at public events. More importantly, every person in the corridor had heard Claire’s screams.
The nurse from Claire’s room stepped outside.
“Mr. Bennett?”
Ethan immediately turned away from Grant.
“How is she?”
“The baby still has a heartbeat. The doctor believes there is a partial abruption. They’re trying to stop the bleeding.”
Ethan closed his eyes for one second.
“Can I see her?”
“Yes.”
Grant moved toward the door.
The nurse blocked him.
“Not you.”
“I’m her husband.”
“You are also the person she identified as the cause of her injuries.”
Grant stared at her name tag. “You understand that I sit on this hospital’s philanthropic board?”
The nurse swallowed, but she did not move.
“I understand that your wife is afraid of you.”
Ethan entered Claire’s room.
She looked impossibly small beneath the blankets. Her face was colorless, and one side of her body was already developing deep bruises.
When she saw him, she began to cry.
“I’m sorry.”
Ethan sat beside her.
“For what?”
“I should have listened to you.”
“Not tonight. You don’t apologize tonight.”
“He’s going to take Noah.”
“No, he isn’t.”
“He has attorneys. He has judges at his fundraisers. He knows everyone.”
“So do we.”
Claire frowned.
Ethan took out his phone.
“Our brother is on his way.”
Lucas Bennett was the oldest of the three siblings and the one Grant had always disliked most. Lucas was a federal litigation attorney in Washington, D.C., known for pursuing corporate fraud cases that larger firms considered too dangerous.
He had boarded the first flight to Los Angeles.
Until then, Ethan began collecting evidence.
He photographed Claire’s bruises, the bloodstained gown, the damaged hospital bed, and the swelling around her wrist where Grant had slapped her hand away.
The nurse returned and quietly closed the door.