Chapter 3
Lila’s guest room was small.
The walls were soft yellow. The bed was piled with blankets that smelled like lavender.
It was the first place I’d felt safe in months.
I sat on the edge of the bed that night, my hand on my belly, staring at the wall.
My son kicked again. Soft. Steady.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered to him. “No one is ever going to hurt you. I promise.”
The next morning, I called the only lawyer my dad had ever trusted.
Arthur Bennett was seventy-two, with white hair and a glare that could make a judge stutter. He’d been my dad’s best friend. He’d walked me down the aisle at my wedding.
I told him everything.
The wine. The fake texts. The voice note. The embezzlement.
He was quiet for a long time when I finished.
“Clara,” he said finally. His voice was gentle, but hard around the edges. “We are going to burn every single bridge they have. You will get full custody. You will keep every penny of your company. And Eleanor Voss will rot in a cell where she belongs.”
For the first time since the wine hit my head, I breathed.
James called me seventeen times that first day.
I didn’t answer.
He texted. Over and over.
I’m so sorry.
I’ll do anything.
Just let me make it right.
I turned my phone off.
Three days later, he showed up at Lila’s door.
I was on the couch, eating pickles straight from the jar, when Lila called me to the entryway.
James stood on the porch.
He looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot. His shirt was wrinkled. He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
“I moved out of the house,” he said, before I could speak. “I’m staying in a tiny apartment by the university. It’s all mine. No one else has a key. Not even my mom.”
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Good for you,” I said.
“I talked to the detectives,” he said. “I told them everything. Everything she said. Everything she made me do. I gave them all her old emails. All the bank statements she made me sign without reading. I’m testifying against her at the trial.”
I didn’t say anything.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
He held it out to me.
“I deleted the fake texts,” he said. “I never believed them. Not really. I was just so scared of making her mad. She’s always been like that. If you cross her, she takes everything. I thought if I just went along with it, she’d calm down and we could fix it later. I was stupid. I was so stupid.”
His voice cracked.
“I love you,” he said. “I love our son more than anything. I know I don’t deserve you. I know I messed up bad. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. If you’ll let me.”
I looked at him.
I remembered the boy I’d fallen in love with. The one who’d stayed up with me for three nights straight when my dad died. The one who’d held my hand through every scary doctor’s appointment.
The one who’d let his mother destroy me in front of thirty people.
“James,” I said. “I’m glad you’re talking to the detectives. I’m glad you’re on your own. But trust isn’t something you get back with a few apologies. It’s gone. You threw it away the second you stood there and said nothing.”
He nodded. Tears ran down his face.
“I know,” he said. “I’ll wait. As long as it takes. Even if you never forgive me, I just want to be a dad to our son. That’s all.”
I closed the door.
I slid down the other side, my heart aching.
That night, I woke up screaming.
My stomach was cramping so bad I could barely breathe. There was a sharp, stabbing pain low in my belly.
Lila called an ambulance.
I rode to the hospital alone, my hands clutching the sheets, terrified I was going to lose him.
The doctors hooked me up to monitors. They ran tests. They gave me fluids.
After two hours, the doctor came in.
She smiled.
“Braxton Hicks,” she said. “Stress-induced. The baby is perfect. Strong heartbeat. Kicking up a storm. But you need to rest. No more stress. Okay?”
I nodded. I cried. I held my belly and promised him again.
No more stress.
No more Eleanor.
No more people who hurt us.
The next day, Arthur called.
He had good news.
“The DA accepted James’s testimony,” he said. “Combined with the phone evidence and the embezzlement records, Eleanor doesn’t have a leg to stand on. We’ve also filed for full, sole custody of the baby. Temporary restraining order against Eleanor. And a motion to freeze all her assets until the embezzled money is paid back.”
“Thank you,” I said. My voice was thick.
“One more thing,” Arthur said. “The company. Your dad’s old board? They heard what happened. They’re all behind you. They want you to take over as CEO. Effective immediately.”
I froze.
Me? CEO?
I’d spent my whole life staying out of the company’s spotlight. I’d wanted to be normal.
But normal was gone.
My son needed me to be strong.
May you like
My dad’s legacy needed me to fight for it.
“Tell them yes,” I said.
