---- Chapter 15 15 The restaurant was shut down by the city. Pending investigation. Chloe's "scandal" was all over the gossip blogs. Ethan was summoned to his grandfather's study. The patriarch of the Cole family. Aman whose disapproval was legendary. Ethan stood before the old man, feeling like a schoolboy awaiting punishment. He thought of all the years he'd spent chasing Chloe, neglecting Ava, making a mess of his life. All the sacrifices. All for nothing. His grandfather's voice was cold steel. "You have disgraced the Cole name, Ethan. This... this creature you associate with... she is a liability. A gold-digger. A fraud." He gestured to a pile of news clippings about Chloe's restaurant "And you, with your resignation, your public fawning over this woman... you have made yourself a laughingstock." Ethan said nothing. He deserved every word. "| have tolerated your infatuation for years, hoping you would grow out of it. Clearly, | was mistaken." The old man sighed. "Your father is deeply disappointed. As ---- am I." Ethan finally spoke, his voice low. "I know. accept the consequences." . |am prepared to He knelt. An old-fashioned gesture of submission in their family. "| renounce my claim to the Cole inheritance. | will not further tarnish the family name." He wanted to atone. For Ava. For their lost child. For his wasted life. His grandfather looked at him, a flicker of surprise in his stern eyes. Then, he nodded slowly. "Perhaps there is some honor left in you after all." The punishment was swift. And severe. Not a disinheritance. That would be too public. But a stripping of his privileges. His access to the family's vast resources. And a physical reminder. His grandfather, despite his age, still wielded a heavy cane. Ethan endured it. He deserved far worse. He returned to the apartment - his apartment now, solely his - bruised, aching, but strangely... lighter. Chloe was there. Waiting. Pacing. She rushed to him, not noticing his injuries. "Ethan! You have to fix this! My reputation is ruined! Call your grandfather! He can make this go away!" ---- Ethan looked at her, at her frantic, self-absorbed face. "He can't, Chloe. And he wouldn't." He sank onto the sofa, wincing. "I've been... cut off." Chloe stared at him. "Cut off? What do you mean, cut off? From the family money?" He nodded. Her face contorted. Rage. Disbelief. "You idiot! How could you let that happen? What about me? What about my restaurant?" She was oblivious to the dark bruises on his face, the way he favored his ribs. "We need to issue a statement," Ethan said, his voice weary. "An apology. Take responsibility." Chloe shrieked. "Apologize? Never! You have to use your influence! Your name!" "My name doesn't mean what it used to, Chloe." He gestured to his bruised face. "And this? This is the price of my 'influence' right now." She finally seemed to notice his injuries. But there was no concern in her eyes. Only calculation. "So, you're useless to me now?" The words were cold. Brutal. And, for Ethan, strangely liberating.