Chapter 7: The War For His Name
The video ended.
But nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The silence afterward was heavier than any scream.
I watched Griffin stare at the frozen screen, his face completely empty.
Not calm.
Not controlled.
Empty.
Like his mind had stopped trying to understand because the truth had become too painful to hold.
Marcus's voice echoed in my head.
*Make sure the baby never carries the Ashworth name.*
They weren't trying to separate Griffin and me.
They were trying to erase a child.
A child who was now standing only a few feet away, holding a crayon in his hand and watching us with confused eyes.
"Mommy?""
I immediately turned toward Leo.
My entire body reacted before my mind did.
I crouched beside him.
"Yes, sweetheart?""
"Why is everyone fighting?""
My heart broke.
Because he didn't understand.
He didn't know that the adults in the room had spent years creating pain he never deserved.
I forced a smile.
"Sometimes grown-ups make mistakes.""
Leo looked toward Griffin.
"Is he a bad man?""
The question hit harder than anything else.
Griffin looked away.
I saw it.
The hurt.
Because for five years, he had believed he was the victim.
Now he had to face the possibility that he had become someone else's wound.
"No," Griffin said quietly.
Leo looked at him.
"I'm not a bad man.""
A pause.
"But I made bad choices.""
That answer surprised me.
Because it was honest.
Not an excuse.
Not a defense.
Just the truth.
Leo studied him.
Then nodded.
"Mommy says people can fix mistakes.""
Griffin's eyes moved to mine.
And for a second, I saw the man I used to love.
Not the billionaire.
Not the headline.
Just Griffin.
The man who wanted to fix what he broke.
Sophia interrupted.
"How touching.""
I stood.
The moment ended.
"You should leave.""
Sophia smiled.
"Do you really think you can tell me what to do?""
Griffin turned toward her.
"Yes.""
His voice was different now.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"I built Ashworth Global from nothing.""
Sophia laughed.
"Not without me.""
"No.""
He stepped closer.
"Not because of you.""
The words landed.
She stared at him.
"You really believe that?""
"I believe I was manipulated.""
Her expression hardened.
"By me?""
"By you. By Marcus. By everyone who benefited from destroying my family.""
Sophia's face changed.
"You still don't understand.""
"What?""
"You think this was about money.""
She walked toward him.
"It wasn't.""
Griffin watched her carefully.
"It was about power.""
She stopped.
"You had everything I wanted.""
I felt a chill.
Sophia continued.
"The company. The reputation. The perfect marriage. The perfect child.""
Her eyes moved toward Leo.
"And I spent years watching everyone tell me I wasn't enough.""
Something about her voice made the room colder.
Not because I felt sympathy.
Because I finally understood.
Sophia didn't want Griffin because she loved him.
She wanted him because his life represented everything she believed she deserved.
"You destroyed innocent people because you were jealous," I said.
Her eyes snapped toward me.
"No.""
She smiled.
"I destroyed illusions.""
"By hurting a child?""
Her expression flickered.
A tiny crack.
Then it disappeared.
"Don't pretend you are innocent, Vivienne.""
My jaw tightened.
"What does that mean?""
"You had secrets too.""
The room went still.
Griffin looked at me.
I felt the old fear return.
Not because I had done anything wrong.
Because I knew Sophia was preparing another attack.
"What secret?"" Griffin asked.
Sophia smiled.
"Ask her.""
I looked at Griffin.
"No.""
Sophia stepped closer.
"Tell him.""
I hated the way she said it.
Like she was enjoying watching another wound open.
Griffin's eyes stayed on me.
"Vivienne.""
I took a breath.
There were still things I hadn't told him.
Not because I wanted to hide them.
Because I was afraid.
Afraid he would look at me the same way he did five years ago.
"After the divorce," I said slowly, "I changed Leo's last name.""
Griffin went quiet.
Sophia smiled.
"There it is.""
I continued before she could twist it.
"I changed it to protect him.""
Griffin looked confused.
"Protect him from what?""
"From you.""
The words hurt.
I saw them hurt.
But they were true.
"After everything happened, your name was everywhere. The media followed you. The company followed you. Your enemies followed you.""
I swallowed.
"And I didn't know who was dangerous anymore.""
Griffin looked down.
"So you hid him.""
"I protected him.""
The distinction mattered.
"I never erased you from his life.""
His eyes lifted.
"You kept pictures.""
"Yes.""
"You talked about me?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
Because despite everything...
I still loved the man he used to be.
But I didn't say that.
Instead, I said:
"Because I wanted him to know the truth one day.""
Griffin looked toward Leo.
His voice became quiet.
"And the truth was?""
I looked at my son.
"That his father loved him.""
A painful silence followed.
Then Sophia laughed.
"You see?""
Everyone looked at her.
"Even now, she protects you.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"You think she hates you.""
Sophia shook her head.
"She doesn't.""
"Stop.""
But Sophia continued.
"She spent five years angry because she loved you.""
Griffin looked at me.
I hated that she was saying it.
I hated that she was saying it in front of him.
Because some truths hurt more than lies.
Sophia smiled.
"And that was the one thing I could never take from her.""
The apartment suddenly filled with sound.
A notification.
Griffin's phone.
He checked it.
His expression changed.
"What?""
He turned the screen around.
A news alert.
*ASHWORTH GLOBAL STOCKS FALL AFTER LEAKED INTERNAL DOCUMENTS SURFACE*
Below it was a statement.
From Marcus Hale.
My stomach dropped.
"He moved already.""
Griffin looked at me.
"Who?""
"Marcus.""
The statement claimed Griffin had suffered "a personal breakdown" and was no longer capable of leading the company.
Sophia smiled.
"He always was efficient.""
Griffin stared at the phone.
"They're trying to remove me.""
"Not just you.""
I pointed at the screen.
"Look at the date.""
He did.
His face changed.
The documents had been released ten minutes ago.
While we were here.
Someone had planned this moment.
Sophia wasn't just confessing.
She was distracting us.
"Where is Marcus?"" Griffin demanded.
Sophia didn't answer.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
And for the first time...
She looked afraid.
"Answer it," Griffin said.
She ignored him.
The phone rang again.
I noticed something.
The name on the screen.
Marcus.
Sophia looked at the door.
Like she suddenly realized she wasn't in control anymore.
Griffin noticed too.
"You're afraid of him.""
"No.""
But her voice was different.
Less confident.
More desperate.
Griffin took a step closer.
"You were never partners.""
Sophia said nothing.
"You were working for him.""
Her silence was the answer.
A loud sound came from the hallway.
The apartment door.
Someone was unlocking it.
Everyone froze.
Sophia whispered:
"He wasn't supposed to come here.""
The door opened slowly.
And a man stepped inside.
Older.
Pale.
Carrying a folder.
Daniel Reeves.
Alive.
But injured.
His eyes immediately found me.
Then Griffin.
Then Leo.
"I'm sorry," he said.
My heart pounded.
"Daniel...""
He looked at Griffin.
"You need to know the truth.""
Griffin stepped forward.
"About what?""
Daniel's face tightened.
"About why Marcus wanted Leo gone.""
He opened the folder.
Inside was a document.
A birth certificate.
But not Leo's.
Someone else's.
Daniel looked at Griffin.
"The child they were afraid of wasn't just your heir.""
A pause.
"It was proof.""
I frowned.
"Proof of what?""
Daniel looked at Sophia.
Then at Griffin.
"That Griffin Ashworth was never supposed to inherit Ashworth Global in the first place.""
The room went silent.
Because for the first time...
May you like
The lie wasn't about our marriage.
It was about Griffin himself.
