His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 147: Betrayal and Promise

The police and firefighters froze. They split up fast to head Iris off.

Ethan turned white as a sheet. He yelled at her, "Iris, cut the crap! Get back!"

Iris spoke slowly, every word steady. "If you don't come back, we jump together. We die together. Just leave Frank and our old folks to fend for themselves."

Iris looked soft, but she was tough as steel.

She always did what she said.

Ethan knew that.

After Frank, Iris was the one he loved most. He'd never let her die with him.

Ethan cried like a kid who'd lost his way, tears and snot streaming down his face. Every word felt like it was stabbing his heart. "Emily cheated me out of the 300,000-odd dollars from the house sale. She teamed up with my delivery driver to set me up. They sold every last thing in my warehouse and ran off with over three million in payments. That money wasn't mine. It belonged to hundreds of fruit farmers..."

Ethan cried so hard he could barely catch his breath. He still hadn't paid his old debts. The money from the house—the money for Keith's treatment—was gone. Even the money meant for the fruit farmers was stolen.

The debts he owed would take him forever to pay off.

"I got no money left for Dad's treatment. If I die, the debts go away." Ethan grabbed his chest, pounding it hard. The pain in his heart felt like it was killing him. He sobbed, "How could Emily do this to me? I was so good to her.

"I put up with everything and gave her whatever she wanted. How could she cheat on me with that driver? She could've left with him. Why did she have to steal the money for Dad's medical bills and the funds owed to the fruit farmers? She's trying to kill me..."

Ethan looked up at the sky, screaming through his tears, "Why? God, why are you so mean to me?"

Iris froze, her blood boiling. Tears ran down her pale face. She clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms.

It hurt. So bad.

Her heart felt like it was being ripped apart, the pain so sharp it made her crazy.

When Ethan wasn't looking, a firefighter took a chance. He rushed over, grabbed him, and pulled him back.

Everyone swarmed in, holding Ethan down. The whole scene turned chaotic.

Iris walked slowly back to the middle.

Seeing Ethan safe, the big weight in her chest finally lifted.

She loved him and respected him.

But how could he be this stupid?

She told him to get a divorce, but he said no.

She told him to watch his back, but he trusted Emily.

He should've seen how greedy Emily was years ago. How could he let her steal so much money from him?

Iris's head throbbed. Her blood felt like it was running the wrong way. She clenched her fists, gritting her teeth to hold back her anger. She went cold all over.

Besides Arthur, she had another enemy now. Emily.

Even after being saved, Ethan couldn't calm down his grief.

The police took him back to the station to talk him down. Iris followed right behind.

Outside the station, they ran into a group of fruit farmers there to file a police report.

As soon as they saw Ethan, they blew up. They swarmed around him, talking over each other, yelling for their money.

"Ethan, when are you gonna pay us?" The lead farmer's voice was loud, full of anger he'd been holding in.

"Yeah! We can't even buy fertilizer anymore. How much longer are you gonna string us along?" The others joined in, their voices loud and harsh.

Luckily, the police were there. They pulled Ethan aside quickly and took him into a room.

Iris stood outside, her eyes steady. Her voice was calm but strong. "Everyone, my name's Iris Whitlow. I'm Ethan's sister. Whatever my brother owes you, I'll pay it."

The farmers froze, sizing her up. The lead farmer frowned. "He owes us over two million dollars. You look like a college kid fresh out of school. How are you gonna pay that?"

"Give me a week." Iris's tone was firm.

The farmers erupted, all talking at once. "You're just stalling!"

"We've waited months for this money. We can't even get fertilizer!"

Iris pulled her business card out of her bag and handed it to the lead farmer. Her voice was tough. "Yelling won't get you money right now. Come back in a week with your payment receipts."

With that, she turned and walked into the police station. The farmers looked at each other, then left, grumbling and upset.

Iris walked into the room and sat next to Ethan. Seeing him so broken, her heart hurt.

She asked softly, "Ethan, how much do you owe totally?"

Ethan hung his head, staring at the floor with empty eyes. He looked like he'd lost his soul, not saying a word.

Just then, a police officer handed her some papers. "He reported this three days ago. We found his wife Emily and his company's driver ran off with the money to another country. When he found out, he couldn't handle it and tried to kill himself."

Iris took the papers. They had all the details of the money Ethan lost: over 300,000 dollars from the house sale, over two million dollars in client payments, and all the valuable gold jewelry and designer bags from home. Almost three million dollars total.