Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 74: Chapter 74

Lane looked over at her mom when the phone started ringing. She caught the slight frown on her mother’s face as she stared at the screen.

Before picking up, her mom glanced back at her. "Lane, watch your dad for a second. I really need to take this," she said.

When Lane nodded, her mother slipped out of the room. It was pretty obvious she didn’t want anyone overhearing the conversation. Lane walked over to the bed where her dad was out cold. They were letting him sleep so he could get his strength back.

While she waited, Lane grabbed her own phone to check in on her kid. Mae picked up almost immediately. "Ma’am Lane."

"Mae, can I talk to Calvin?" she asked. A smile instantly hit her lips when she heard his little voice.

" Mommy!"

"Calvin," she answered. "How’s my baby doing?"

"I’m okay," he chirped. "Mommy?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"When are you coming home?"

Lane took a deep breath, feeling a sharp pang of guilt. "I’m sorry, baby. Mommy can come home just yet."

"How many more nights until I see you? Is it a lot?" he asked. The sadness in his voice felt like a lead weight on her heart. He clearly missed her like crazy.

"Is it gonna take forever for you to come home?"

"I’m so sorry, sweetheart. But I promise, as soon as things are okay here, I’m coming home. I’ll tuck you in, cook your favorite meals, and give you your bath."

"Promise, Mommy?"

"Promise, baby. Have I ever broken a promise to you?"

"No, Mommy. So I know you’ll be back soon to tuck me in," he said.

Even though she missed him like crazy, Lane couldn’t help but grin. For the next few minutes, they just caught up. He told her everything that was going on in his world. That’s just how he is, he likes to give her the full play-by-play.

She didn’t realize they’d been talking for so long until she noticed her mom still hadn’t come back. She frowned. Was her mother still stuck on that call?

She told her son goodbye and promised to call later. After hanging up, she stood up and walked out into the hallway. Her worry spiked when she saw her mom was nowhere in sight.

Where the heck did she go?

She kept looking until she heard voices around the corner. Her mom wasn’t alone. She was with Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Lucas.

"You need to make a move fast, sis. The board of directors wants someone in charge of management now. They’re threatening to pull their shares if you don’t," Aunt Rebecca was saying.

"I told you, I can’t think about that right now while we’re stuck in the hospital," her mother shot back.

Lane couldn’t stay quiet anymore. She stepped forward. "What’s the problem?"

"Your dad’s company is in total chaos, Lane," Aunt Rebecca said, turning to her.

"The board found out about his condition and they’re panicking. They want someone running the show or they’re pulling out." She glanced at Uncle Lucas.

"Your uncle is willing to step up. He’ll handle the company while your dad recovers."

Lane and her mom traded looks. Even though her mother was silent, Lane could tell she wasn’t feeling the idea at all.

Lane took a deep breath and looked them both in the eye.

"I’ll take over the company," she said. She saw them both immediately start to scowl. "I know Uncle Lucas is busy with his own business, so I’ll handle my father’s for now."

"What?" Aunt Rebecca scoffed. "You don’t know the first thing about business, Lane. You didn’t even go to school for this. You think the board is gonna trust you?"

"Rebecca’s right," Uncle Lucas added. "Your father’s company isn’t some kitchen where you can just mess around and hope for the best."

She was about to fire back when a voice from behind them cut through the air.

"I’ll help her."

Everyone spun around. Ethan was walking toward them, looking dead serious. He stopped right next to her. "I’ll be there to help Lane run things," he told Lucas.

Uncle Lucas’s frown deepened. "This is a family matter, Ethan. Stay out of it," he snapped.

Lane saw Ethan’s jaw tighten. "With all due respect, Uncle Lucas, you seem to have forgotten that Lane and I never actually got divorced. She’s still my wife," Ethan said, his voice hard as iron. "Her problems are my problems."

Lane’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

Still married? Didn’t he sign those divorce papers years ago?

___________

Stunned, Lane lowered her phone after hanging up with the lawyer she had trusted to handle the divorce proceedings five years ago.

With all the chaos lately, it was only now that she’d remembered to check in on the paperwork.

"I’ve been trying to reach you to tell you that Ethan refused to sign the papers I handed him," she remembered the lawyer saying.

"He keeps telling me that even if I send him a hundred divorce papers, he’s not signing a single one," the lawyer had added.

The lawyer also mentioned that when he couldn’t get a hold of her, he’d talked to her father instead and told him point-blank that Ethan wasn’t budging.

If her father knew, why didn’t he say anything? All these years, he’d never breathed a word about it.

Honestly, Lane really thought she and Ethan were legally over. She hadn’t bothered to keep herself updated, having told her lawyer to just handle the whole mess.

She didn’t want to know the details; she just assumed they were separated because that was what Ethan wanted.

His true love had come back, after all, and there was nothing standing in the way of their big reunion.

So why the hell didn’t Ethan sign the papers?

"With all due respect, Uncle Lucas, you seem to have forgotten that Lane and I never actually got divorced. She’s still my wife,"

Ethan’s words to her uncle echoed in her head.

Lane took a deep breath, trying to steady herself before walking back into the private room.

Ethan was already gone. He’d said he had to head to the office to deal with some business, and he promised his mother he’d be back later. But as he made that promise to his mom, he had looked at Lane as if the words were meant only for her.

"Ma," Lane said, getting her mother’s attention.

Her mother looked up. "What’s up, Lane?"

Lane bit her lip. "Can we talk?"

Her mother nodded, and they both sat down on the sofa in the room. "What’s on your mind?"

"I just talked to the lawyer who was supposed to handle the divorce," Lane started.

"He told me he talked to Dad about Ethan not signing. Did you know about this?"

Her mother shook her head.

"Your father was the only one talking to the lawyer, Lane. When I asked him about it, he just said he’d handle everything and that he’d talk to Ethan himself," her mother explained.

"As far as I remember, they talked quite a few times. Ethan even came by the house several times."

Lane’s brow furrowed. "Do you have any idea what they talked about?"

Her mother shook her head again. "No clue. Whenever they talked, they stayed in the library. I didn’t want to butt in."

"Only your father has the answers to those questions, Lane. But in his condition, he’s not going to be able to tell us anything," her mother added, her voice thick with sadness.

Lane reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand, wanting her to feel she wasn’t alone.

"But you could always ask Ethan, Lane," her mother suggested after a moment.

Lane’s eyes went wide. Seeing her daughter’s shock, her mother gave a little smile.

"I’m just saying," she added. "If you’re really that curious about what went down between them, you can just ask Ethan and find out for yourself."

Lane looked away, feeling like her mother’s gaze was hinting at something deeper.

She was about to say something when her mother’s phone started ringing on the coffee table. Her mother reached for it, her face clouding over with a frown.

"Who is it, Mom?" Lane asked.

"Your father’s secretary," she said before answering.

"Hello?" her mother said. She went quiet, listening intently. Lane watched as her mother’s eyebrows shot up in frustration.

"What? They’re threatening us again?!"

Lane’s heart sank at her mother’s tone.

"Fine, fine," her mother told the caller.

"Schedule a meeting with them." She hung up with a heavy sigh.

"What’s the problem, Mom?" Lane asked.

"The board of directors is at it again. They said if someone doesn’t take over for your father immediately, they’re pulling all their shares," her mother said.

"Do you have any idea what happens if they do that, Lane? Your father’s company will collapse. He’ll lose everything he worked his life for." Her voice cracked at the end.

"I can’t just hand the keys to your Uncle Lucas, Lane. I know what’s going on with his business. His company is on the brink of bankruptcy because of his bad calls and all that debt. I know he’s got his own reasons for wanting to jump into your father’s business,"

her mother continued.

Lane hadn’t realized Lucas’s company was failing that hard. But it all clicked now. She knew he had an ulterior motive for being so pushy about helping out while her father recovered.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it before, but now she saw the play.

They wanted to use her father’s company as a life raft for their own sinking ship. And Lane wasn’t about to let that happen. She wasn’t going to let them trash the legacy her father had built.

In that moment, she made up her mind: she was going to protect what belonged to them, no matter what.

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