My Husband Told Me to Move to the Attic So His First Love Could Have Our Bedroom—He Forgot the House Was Mine, and So Was the Company Where He Worked

PART 2

The moment I stepped into the lobby of Hartstone Properties, I saw Ethan Blake standing in front of reception.

Several colleagues surrounded him.

He was wearing the custom suit I had paid for. His hair was slicked back, his watch gleamed on his wrist, and he looked exactly like a man who had just stepped onto the peak of his career.

Sophia stood beside him in a brand-new designer dress, smiling gently enough to look fake.

One employee flattered him eagerly.

“Mr. Blake, once you become vice president, don’t forget us in Sales.”

Ethan waved a hand with false modesty, but the corners of his mouth could hardly hide his pride.

“Vice president is just a bigger responsibility. As long as everyone works hard, I’ll definitely speak up for you when I have the chance.”

Someone else immediately chimed in.

“Then you have to treat us tonight, Mr. Blake.”

Ethan glanced at Sophia and deliberately raised his voice.

“Tonight, dinner is on me at Blue Harbor. Sophia is coming too. Everyone enjoy yourselves.”

Sophia lowered her head and smiled, obedient and sweet, as if she were the woman standing beside him openly and properly.

I carried my bag and walked slowly across the lobby.

The sound of my heels on the polished marble floor made several people turn around instinctively.

When Ethan saw me, his expression changed at once.

“Madison, what are you doing here? I already told you to meet me at Blue Harbor tonight.”

He lowered his voice, but his eyes were full of warning, as if he were afraid my appearance would ruin the successful man drama he had staged.

I stopped and looked him over from head to toe. Finally, my gaze fell on his suit.

“Ethan Blake, that suit does make you look respectable.”

Hearing that, he thought I had softened. His back straightened immediately, and the arrogance returned to his face.

“Madison, don’t make a scene here. This is Hartstone Properties, not a place for you to act spoiled like you do at home.”

I looked at him. The smile on my lips was so faint it had almost no warmth left.

“I’m not here to make a scene. I’m here to take back a few things that belong to me.”

Before Ethan could understand what I meant, the lobby announcement system sounded.

“Mr. Ethan Blake from Sales Division One, please report to the chairwoman’s office immediately.”

Ethan’s face lit up instantly.

He turned to the group of colleagues, trying to suppress his excitement, but his voice could not hide his glee.

“See? Ms. Hart is calling me up. She must be preparing to announce the appointment.”

Then he turned to Sophia and patted her hand.

“Sophia, wait for me here. When I come down, I’ll take you to see the bag you liked yesterday.”

Sophia looked at him with worshipful eyes, her voice soft enough to give people goosebumps.

“Ethan, I knew you could do it.”

Ethan lifted his chin and strode into the elevator like a general returning from victory.

I stood there watching his back for a few seconds.

Then I turned and walked toward the private chairwoman’s elevator beside it.

The best part of the show was only just beginning.

In the office on the top floor, I sat in a wide leather chair with my back to the door.

Nathan stood beside me and placed a thick file on the desk.

“Madison, this is Ethan Blake’s financial report from the last three years, along with evidence that he used company funds to buy luxury goods for Gloria and Sophia.”

I flipped through a few pages, and my eyes grew colder.

Ethan Blake truly had courage bigger than the sky.

Eating my money, living in my house, spending from my cards had not been enough. He had even dared to reach into the company accounts.

A person who had grown used to sucking blood from others would never see himself as greedy.

He would only think people had not given him enough.

A knock sounded at the door, rapid enough to reveal the excitement behind it.

I closed the file and deliberately lowered my voice.

“Come in.”

The door opened.

Ethan walked in with a straight posture, suit neat, cologne lingering in the air.

He stood in front of the desk and spoke confidently.

“Ms. Hart, Ethan Blake from Sales Division One reporting as requested.”

I slowly turned the chair around.

The instant he saw the person sitting behind the chairwoman’s desk, the smile on Ethan’s face froze.

His eyes widened. His lips moved several times, but he could not form a complete sentence.

All the pride from a moment ago disappeared, leaving only confusion and disbelief.

“Madison Hart? Why are you here?”

He looked around the office as if searching for someone else. His voice trembled with anger and fear.

“Where is Ms. Hart? Did you sneak in while no one was here? Are you crazy? Get out right now.”

I leaned back in the chair, my hands folded together, calmly watching the man who once thought he could trample me for the rest of his life.

“Ethan Blake, who exactly did you just tell to get out?”

Nathan pushed his glasses up slightly. His voice was so cold it held no emotion.

“Director Blake, please watch your language. The person sitting in front of you is the sole shareholder of Hartstone Properties and the chairwoman of this company, Ms. Madison Hart.”

Ethan’s face turned white.

He stepped back half a step, his trembling finger pointing at me.

“No. That’s impossible. Absolutely impossible. She’s just a housewife. A woman who spends every day in the kitchen—how could she be the boss?”

He stared at me, as if denying it loudly enough would make the truth disappear.

“Madison, did you hire people to act with you? Because you don’t want a divorce, you came up with this trick to scare me, right?”

Looking at his self-deception, I no longer felt pain. I only found it funny.

“Acting? Ethan, do you think Attorney Cole has so much free time that he would stand here and act with me?”

I picked up the financial report and threw it toward him.

The file struck his chest and scattered across the floor.

Black-and-white documents lay messily at his feet, just like the fake mask of success he had been wearing for so long.

“Look carefully, Ethan. This is what you did during your three years as a director in my company.”

I pushed another file across the desk. The pages slid over the wood, cold like a verdict already signed.

At first, Ethan tried to keep calm. But when he picked up the first page, his face changed color.

“These are just client expenses.”

I looked at him and lowered my voice, but each word was clear.

“Client expenses? You took your mother for spa treatments using the team-building budget. You bought Sophia a Cartier bracelet and marked it as a client appreciation gift. Ethan Blake, did you get so used to eating from my company that you forgot the books can still speak?”

His hands shook. Several receipts slipped to the floor.

Then he rushed forward, trying to grab my hand, as if touching me would turn everything back to the way it had been.

“Madison, listen to me. I can pay it back. I really can make it right.”

I pulled my hand back immediately, then pressed the intercom.

“Human Resources, take Ethan Blake to complete termination procedures. Legal, prepare the case file. The evidence of abuse of position and misappropriation of company assets is sufficient. Either he compensates the full amount, or we proceed to court.”

Ethan froze.

Then his entire body sagged as if his spine had been removed.

“Madison, do you have to go this far? We were married for three years.”

I placed both hands on the desk and leaned down to look straight into his bloodshot eyes.

“During those three years, when you brought Sophia Reed into my house, did you remember you were my husband? When you told me to move into the attic so she could have my room, did you remember our marriage? Now that you have nowhere left to go, you finally bring up the word husband. Don’t you think it’s too late?”

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, a commotion suddenly sounded from below.

Ethan turned by reflex.

The moment he saw his BMW being pulled out of the company lot by a tow truck, he rushed to the glass and slammed his palm against it.

“My car! Who told them to tow my car?”

I walked up behind him and reminded him calmly.

“That was a company car assigned to senior executives. You have been fired. Is there something about company property being reclaimed that you don’t understand?”

Ethan whipped around, eyes full of red veins, as if he wanted to strangle me.

“Madison, are you trying to drive me to my death?”

Looking at his pathetic state, I only lifted the corner of my mouth slightly.

“I haven’t truly made a move yet, and you already feel like you’re dying?”

I nodded toward the door.

“Go downstairs. Sophia is still waiting for you to take her to buy that Hermes bag. Vice President Blake, don’t keep the beauty waiting.”

He left the office in a daze, each step heavy like he was walking over broken glass.

I did not need to go downstairs to imagine what happened next.

The people who had flattered him would immediately change their eyes to contempt.

And Sophia, who dreamed of becoming the rich wife, would surely have a very interesting face.

Nathan stood beside me, his voice low.

“Madison, are you letting him go like this?”

I looked out the window, where the tow truck had already vanished beyond the gate.

“Not yet. Gloria’s supplementary card is not fully settled. The house has not been taken back. This play has only changed stages.”

At that moment, my phone rang.

It was the building management office.

The voice on the other end sounded both anxious and helpless.

“Ms. Hart, there is an older woman causing trouble in front of your house. She said we are trying to murder her. She also opened the fire hose in the hallway and flooded the whole floor.”

I raised an eyebrow.

Gloria Blake never disappointed when it came to making a scene.

“Nathan,” I said, “let’s go take back the house.”

When Nathan and I returned to Number 18 Harborview Drive, the hallway outside the townhouse had turned into a shallow lake.

Gloria sat on the floor, slapping her thighs and wailing. Her voice echoed through the entire floor as if she feared the neighbors would not hear.

“Everybody come see this! My daughter-in-law is trying to kill her mother-in-law. She cut off the water and power and brought people here to throw an old woman onto the street. She wants to force me to die.”

Several doors nearby opened into narrow cracks.

Curious eyes, whispers, and pointing fingers surrounded the hallway at once.

Sophia stood beside her in a long dress soaked through, hair stuck to her face, holding a towel as she supported Gloria. She looked so fragile that the scene only lacked a camera to become a complete performance.

I looked at the water spreading under my feet, then spoke slowly.

“Mrs. Blake, you are getting older, but your arm strength is impressive. You even managed to open a fire hose.”

The moment Gloria saw me, her eyes widened.

She pushed herself up and tried to charge at me.

“Madison Hart, you vicious woman, turn the power and water back on right now. Look what you did to Sophia.”

Nathan stepped in front of me. His tall figure, flat suit, and cold eyes made even Gloria stop mid-rush.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “I’m talking to my daughter-in-law. Why are you interfering?”

Nathan took a stack of documents from his briefcase. His tone was calm but loud enough for everyone around us to hear.

“I am Ms. Madison Hart’s attorney. From this moment forward, all matters concerning the ownership of this property and your illegal occupancy will be handled by me.”

Gloria was stunned for a few seconds, then immediately argued.

“Illegal occupancy? This is my son’s house. She married into the Blake family, so her property belongs to the Blake family.”

At that moment, the elevator doors opened.

Ethan stepped out in a miserable state.

His expensive suit was wrinkled, his briefcase still tucked under his arm, but he looked like a dog that had just been thrown out by its owner.

He saw me. He saw Nathan. Then he saw the flooded hallway.

His whole body stiffened.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

The moment Gloria saw her son, she seemed to find a backbone. She pointed at me and screamed.

“Ethan, you came just in time. This woman brought a strange man to our house to cause trouble. She cut off our utilities to drive me out. Teach her a lesson.”

Ethan looked at me. There was anger in his eyes, but the clearest thing was panic.

He lowered his voice, as if speaking quietly could erase what had just happened at the company.

“Madison, do you have to make everything so ugly in front of the neighbors? Can’t we talk inside?”

I laughed.

The laugh was so cold his face turned uglier.

“Inside? Ethan Blake, you forget so quickly. This house is under my name. You no longer have the right to enter it as an owner. I assume your termination paperwork is complete?”

At the word termination, Ethan’s facial muscles twitched.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his voice low.

“Madison, don’t go too far. I lost my job, but I can find another. My mother is old. If you treat her like this, do you have any humanity left?”

Sophia immediately cut in, eyes red, voice trembling at exactly the right time.

“Madison, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have moved in. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Don’t make things difficult for Ethan and Mrs. Blake.”

The moment she shed tears, Ethan hurried to hold her shoulders, looking heartbroken, as if Sophia were the person suffering the greatest injustice.

“Sophia, this has nothing to do with you. She is the one being unreasonable.”

I watched the two of them embrace like tragic lovers in front of my own door.

Only disgust remained in my heart.

“Are you done performing? If you are, listen carefully.”

I signaled for Nathan to hand over the document.

He opened the file and placed a formal notice in front of Ethan.

“Ethan Blake, this is an official notice. Considering that you and your family have occupied my property for a long period of time, I am reclaiming the house starting today. Within three days, you, your mother, and Sophia Reed must move every one of your belongings out.”

Gloria screamed at once, her voice so shrill even the neighbors frowned.

“Three days? Dream on. I have lived here for three years. This is my son’s home. Let me see who dares to throw me out.”

Nathan’s face did not change. His voice remained level, but each sentence landed like a nail in the floor.

“Mrs. Blake, legally, Ms. Hart is the sole owner of this property. If you refuse to leave after three days, we will file for eviction. In addition, the damage caused by your intentional misuse of the fire hose today will be calculated separately.”

He paused and looked at Ethan.

“As for you, Mr. Blake, aside from the company embezzlement case, Ms. Hart also has the right to recover three years of unpaid rent from your family’s residence here.”

Ethan’s face went white.

“Rent? Madison, are you insane? We’re married, and you’re asking me for rent?”

I looked at him. The brighter my smile became, the colder my eyes were.

“Before, maybe we could be called husband and wife. Tomorrow, I’m not so sure. Attorney Cole, according to market value, give me a rough estimate of how much the Blake family has saved by living in my house for free for three years.”

Nathan opened the file.

“Conservatively, rent for this property is around seventy-five thousand dollars a year. Three years, plus interest, damages, and related fees, totals approximately two hundred sixty thousand dollars.”

The number fell, and the hallway went silent for a few seconds.

Two hundred sixty thousand dollars might have been something Ethan could pretend to handle before.

But for a man who had just been fired, whose company car had been reclaimed, and whose expense accounts were under investigation, it was like a boulder slamming into his chest.

Gloria still refused to understand the situation. She only knew how to scream to cover her fear.

“You people are crazy for money. Madison Hart, you jinx. I must have been blind to let you into the Blake family.”

I did not answer her curses.

With someone who only knew how to throw herself on the floor and cry, arguing would only give her a bigger stage.

I turned toward the elevator.

Before the doors closed, I left one sentence behind.

“Ethan Blake, three days. After three days, if I still see you here, this will not stop at cutting power and water.”

Through the narrowing gap of the elevator doors, I saw Ethan standing motionless in the flooded hallway, his hopeless eyes fixed on me.

Sophia was still leaning into his arms, but her eyes no longer held the helplessness from earlier. Instead, there was quick, hidden calculation.

Nathan saw it too.

As the elevator descended, he said quietly, “Sophia Reed is not simple. The way she looked at you just now was not fear. It was like she was calculating her next move.”

I watched the numbers on the elevator panel change.

My heart was strangely calm.

“What else can she calculate? Ethan’s last savings? Or whether she can get something out of me?”

I smiled faintly, with no warmth.

“Unfortunately, she doesn’t know Ethan’s pockets are now cleaner than his face.”