Email from Victoria's lawyer with subject line urgent media response strategy and a news alert from the Chicago Tribune with a headline that made his stomach drop. Sterling Capital CEO's mystery husband revealed at Charity Gala. Below the headline was a photograph from last night. Ethan in his maintenance uniform. Victoria in her $4,000 dress.
The moment right after she kissed him. The article was speculation disguised as journalism. phrases like unconfirmed reports and sources close to Sterling Capital and questions remain about the timeline. But the core narrative was clear. Victoria Sterling had apparently been secretly married for over a year to a man nobody in Chicago's business community had ever heard of. His phone rang.
Unknown number, Chicago area code. He answered before thinking better of it. Victoria's voice came through tight with controlled panic. Have you seen it? Just woke up to 17 alerts.
So, yes, my PR team is drafting a statement, but they need information from you. Work history, education, anything that makes you look like a reasonable choice instead of random maintenance worker I picked up at a hotel. Victoria, I am a random maintenance worker. There's no PR spin that changes that. Then we emphasize the human interest angle.
You're a single father working three jobs to provide for your daughter. That's sympathetic. That's the kind of story that makes people root for you instead of judging me. The phrase judging me landed wrong, carrying implications about how Victoria's world viewed people like Ethan. He pushed down the irritation.
She was panicking. Panic made people say things they didn't mean. What do you need from me? My lawyer, Jennifer Chen, is coming to your apartment in 45 minutes. She'll interview you, go over our story, prepare you for questions.
"Forty-five minutes. Tell your lawyer not to look too shocked by the neighborhood." Ethan. Victoria's voice went softer. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. This exploded faster than we expected. Save the apology for when this is over and we can evaluate whether it was worth it. He hung up and found Mrs. Rodriguez standing with spatula in hand. She'd clearly heard enough.
Mijo, you want to tell me why a lawyer is coming here in 45 minutes? Ethan sat down at the table accepting the coffee she poured. Remember when I said I was helping someone, and it was complicated. I remember it got more complicated and I can't explain all of it. But for the next few weeks, people might be asking questions about me and Lily.
Mrs. Rodriguez studied him. This woman you're helping, is she the blonde from the newspaper photo? You saw the photo. Everyone saw the photo, Mijo. It's on three different news sites.