Vanessa
I met Ethan Blackwood long before Clara even knew who he was.
Long before she pronounced his surname as if it belonged to her.
I met him at a charity gala organized by my father's foundation. I remember the night perfectly...
The hotel's ballroom lit by crystal chandeliers, champagne glasses glistening under warm lights, measured conversations, strategic laughter. It was one of those events where no one went just for charity; they went for alliances, for visibility, for power.
My father introduced me to several influential families that night. And then I saw them come in.
The Blackwoods.
Ethan walked with his parents with that natural security that is not learned, it is inherited.
Impeccable dark suit, straight back, firm jaw. He wasn't the most smiling in the room, but he
