I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 618

Garrett's response was a masterclass in diplomacy. A ripple of relieved laughter washed over the crowd.

It all made sense now. Zoe's family was simply stepping up to bat for her. As the CEO of Thorne Enterprises, Hayden's crushing workload was an open secret.

A husband neglecting his wife and kids for his empire, and the protective brother stepping in to demand better treatment for his sister and nephew—it was a classic family dispute, not a scandalous affair.

The tension evaporated, leaving Valerie entirely isolated as the villain of the evening.

Thankfully for her, everyone was too focused on the clash of the titans to care about her public humiliation.

Sienna glared at the stage. Hayden and Garrett's back-and-forth wasn't the explosive exposure she had orchestrated; it sounded more like a high-stakes family therapy session.

Realizing she had lost control of the narrative, and that no one was paying attention to her, Sienna grabbed her clutch and tried to slip away unnoticed.

She barely made it two steps before Ethan Montgomery blocked her path.

"Sienna. Why is Easton's stock being halted?" Ethan demanded, his voice tight.

Sienna flinched, but quickly masked her panic with a cool facade.

"You don't need to ask me about that." Ethan lost his temper for the first time.

"Who the hell else am I supposed to ask? I invested in that company. I bought the shares. I poured eight billion dollars into this venture, and you're telling me not to ask you?"

Sienna was out of excuses.

She had no desire to get tangled up with Ethan's financial ruin. "I can only tell you that the Easton Group doesn't belong to me anymore. Hayden returned it to Charles Thorne. If you have a problem, take it up with Hayden."

Ethan noticed she had stopped calling him affectionately and was using his full name.

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