“Then checking won’t bother you,” he replied.
He turned to Miles. “Bring the bottle. And everyone who handled it.”
Julian’s jaw tightened. “This is insane.”
“Then it’ll be easy to prove,” Ethan said.
Julian looked away.
Just for a second.
Ethan had built his fortune noticing seconds like that.
Avery stood now, phone forgotten. “What’s happening?”
Rosa whispered, “I tried to stop it earlier.”
Ethan caught that. “Tried?”
She hesitated. “I was told not to.”
“Told by who?”
Her eyes slid—slowly—to Margaret.
Ethan inhaled once.
“Everyone remain calm,” he said to the room. “This is only a misunderstanding until it isn’t.”
Then, quietly to Rosa, “You did the right thing.”
Tears spilled. “Mrs. Blackwood told me if I made trouble, my son would lose his dock job.”
Avery gasped. “Mom?”
Margaret snapped, “She’s lying.”
Something inside Ethan fractured—not emotionally, but structurally. Certainty broke.
“You threatened her family,” he said.
Margaret’s composure sharpened. “You’re letting a servant manipulate you.”
“Don’t,” Ethan warned.
The word carried weight.
Miles returned with the decanter.
Gold band. New cork. Unfamiliar label.
Ethan turned it slowly.
Too new.