The Con and the CEO

e ache in his chest. He sat in a hard plastic chair in the waiting room, staring at the scuffed linoleum floor. He had spent hours here as a teenager, trying to be th

s that quickly became less routine. "So let me get this straight, Mr. O'Connell," Miller said, flipping a page in his small notebook. "Your brother, who you

" Liam said, h

no idea what his actua

're runni

oment. "Your girlfriend, Chloe Da

of a potential police investigation because of him. He was dragging everyone down with him. The detective' s questions

brother is stable. It wasn't a heart attack. It was a severe panic at

" Liam asked

have from another hospital. There's no record of him being a patient there. And more importantly, Mr. O'Connell.

course. He had heard the phone call. But hearing it from a doctor, this official, undeniable confirmati

king to a nurse, laying on the charm, making her laugh. The picture of pleasant vulnerability. The nurse lef

id. "I guess t

the anger inside him a

house. The company. The perfect girlfriend. You got everything. What did I get? A dad who calle

s voice shaking with fury. "Yo

etting your fancy degrees and building your empire, I was fighting fo

nched. "Owe you for what? For being a liar and

me in carrying a tray with a bowl of soup. She smiled brightly at Ethan. "Here

bowl. He looked at Liam, his eyes glinting with malice. "You know, you're right," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "

ugh his shirt and scalding his skin. He gasped, stumbling back more f

d, rushing to Ethan's side, assum

e!" he wailed, pointing a trembling finger at Liam. "He was threatening me! He

tion. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Attacking a sick man

aggressor. Ethan had, in a single, brilliant move, re-established his power, using his feigned weakness to publicly humiliate Liam and cement his own status as the victim. Defeated and di