I felt the blood rush to my face. No one had said anything like that to me in years.
‘But I’m not telling you this just for that reason,’ he added.
I blinked.
‘Something else?’
He hesitated.
‘She wasn’t just filming you. She was following me. She showed up at several of my events and sent me letters. My security team noticed her last month.’
My stomach knotted.
‘A stalker?’
‘Potentially.’
‘And you thought… that my closeness to you might…’
‘Yes.’
All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Her rage.
Her accusations.
Her insults.
That obsession.
I wasn’t the real target.
I was just collateral damage.
Ethan rubbed his temple.
‘I didn’t want you to get involved in anything dangerous. But now that you’ve seen her with me… she may decide you’re a threat.’
A chill ran down my spine.
‘What are we going to do?’
He looked at me calmly and decisively.
‘You and your daughter need protection. And I’ll take care of that.’
That same day, the airline escorted us through a private exit normally reserved for VIPs. I felt out of place hugging Lily and walking behind the billionaire CEO surrounded by security guards. Black SUVs were waiting outside in the car park.
Ethan turned to me:
‘First, you need to know that you’re not in trouble. You didn’t do anything wrong. But I can’t let you go home until we assess the situation.’
My heart sank.
‘I live alone. With my daughter. If she’s unstable…’
‘That’s why I got involved,’ he said firmly.
He put me in one of the SUVs, and two security guards sat in the front. Lily slept on my shoulder as we drove down the motorway.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked.
‘To temporary, secure housing that WardTech uses for travelling employees. We’ll set you up there for a while.’
I stared out the window, completely stunned. I was an ordinary woman—Emily Carter, 29, office worker—suddenly thrust into a world of corporate security and threats of persecution aimed at billionaires. It all seemed unreal.
Upon arrival, the calmness of the building slightly dispelled my panic. A security agent named Rowan handed me a form.
‘This is standard procedure,’ he explained. ‘Just to confirm your contact details in case of an emergency.’
While I was filling it out, Ethan stood by the door, checking updates on his phone. His face grew stern.
‘It’s already happening,’ he said.
I froze.
‘How?’
— The woman from the flight. Her name is Andrea Watkins. Security caught her trying to leave the airport after a confrontation with the police. She claimed that you mistreat your daughter and that I ‘covered it up.’ She used your appearance, your fatigue — everything she could to distort the truth.
I felt sick.
‘People will believe her.’
Ethan met my gaze:
‘Not if the truth comes out first.’
He handed me a tablet with a statement prepared by WardTech’s PR team:
A passenger harassed a young mother on today’s flight and attempted to fabricate a false story involving CEO Ethan Ward. The company’s security team intervened. No child was ever in danger.
I blinked.
‘This… this protects me.’
‘Because you deserve protection.’
My eyes filled with tears. For many years, no one had taken my side — not my ex-husband, not my parents, not even my colleagues, who considered me a ‘perpetually tired mother.’
Later that evening, Ethan returned with two cups of coffee.
‘I need to ask you something,’ he said cautiously. ‘Do you want us to file a formal complaint? You don’t have to decide right now.’
I looked at Lily, sleeping peacefully on the bed.
‘If there’s a chance that woman will find us again… yes.’
He nodded.
‘Then we’ll see this through.’
Over the next week, WardTech’s legal team worked with the police. Andrea was arrested for harassment, stalking, and obstructing flight attendants. Ethan testified. So did the flight attendants.
And in the end, it turned out to be relatively simple.
But what wasn’t simple at all was how Ethan continued to show me attention.
How he asked how I was coping with it all.
How he held Lily in his arms as if he had been doing it all his life.
How he looked at me as if I wasn’t invisible.
One night, when the chaos finally subsided, he said quietly:
‘Emily… if you ever need anything — help, support, or even just a break — I’m here.’
For the first time in many years, I truly believed that someone meant it.