Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 142

"By the way, Izzy, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I've got some news about that guy Carlos you asked me to look into."

Ines perked up, grinning, "That was quick! What's the deal between Carlos and Shirley Dave?"

"He's her ex-husband."

Ethan filled Ines in on what he'd found out. Carlos was Shirley's ex-husband. He came from a well-off family in their town, but he was a lazy bum. He dropped out of middle school and started loafing around. He fell for Shirley, but at the time, she was already dating her childhood sweetheart, Hunter, who was a penniless college student. He'd been out of college for two years and was barely scraping by in A City, let alone being able to afford to bring Shirley there. Meanwhile, Carlos started hotly pursuing Shirley. When Shirley's mom fell ill and had to be hospitalized, Carlos' family paid off her medical bills. They continued to help out Shirley's family, and Shirley was torn between enjoying Carlos' small acts of kindness and looking down on him for his lack of culture. Hunter was the one she loved, but he couldn't provide the life she wanted.

For a long time, Shirley was indecisive between Carlos and Hunter. Hunter was too busy with work and trying to make something of himself to give her the attention she needed. They could only meet once every few months, and gradually, they grew apart. Later on, Hunter started working at the Page family's company and met Ines' mother. But he never forgot about his girlfriend back home until one day he received a call from Shirley, telling him she'd chosen to leave him and quietly marry a rich man's son in their town.

After marrying Carlos, Shirley followed him to A City to start a small business. That's when she found out that Hunter had also gotten married. Not long after, she discovered she was pregnant. But Carlos turned out to be a total screw-up and got hooked on gambling. At first, he won a little money here and there, and even when he lost, it wasn't too bad since his family could afford it. But eventually, he neglected his business, sneaked back to their hometown, cleaned out all their savings, took anything valuable from their home, and disappeared without a trace.

To make ends meet, Shirley had to work at a hotel.

A few months later, Shirley's belly started to show, and she had to quit her job and return home. She soon gave birth to a daughter.

Carlos, having lost everything, had no choice but to return home. He fought and argued with Shirley for a few years, but in the end, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a robbery that resulted in a death. His parents were so upset they died, and he was only recently released.

Ines listened closely, but she couldn't find anything suspicious. Instead, she felt dizzy from all the information. She knew Hunter was aware that Shirley had been married before and that the man was Carlos. Logically, an ex-husband shouldn't present any threat to Shirley.

"Ethan, you're making my head spin. Are you trying to tell me that Emma isn't a Galeana?" But that didn't seem possible either, given how much she resembled Emma.

"I had someone look into Emma's birthdate. She's actually a few months older than you, so she should be your older sister, not your younger one. She was conceived before Shirley married Carlos. She kept this a secret from everyone, but Carlos found out and used it to blackmail her."