Chapter 7 - THE DIVORCE
Three months later, our divorce hearing lasted eleven minutes.
Dominic didn't contest anything.
I didn't take half his company.
He didn't challenge my trust.
We divided eight years with signatures.
Outside the courthouse, reporters waited.
Dominic looked at me.
“Do you want security?”
“No.”
“Car?”
“No.”
“Coffee?”
That surprised me.
I almost said no.
Then said, “Okay.”
We walked three blocks.
Nobody recognized us in winter coats.
At a small coffee shop, Dominic ordered mine correctly.
Oat milk.
No syrup.
Extra hot.
“You remembered.”
“I remembered everything.”
“That wasn't always obvious.”
“I know.”
He had changed.
Not dramatically.
Real change is boring.
Therapy twice a week.
Stepping down temporarily as Vale CEO.
Cooperating with investigators.
Selling the private jet.
Calling employees by name.
Listening before answering.
None of it entitled him to me.
That was important.
An apology isn't a coupon redeemable for reconciliation.
“I miss you,” he said.
“I know.”
“I still love you.”
“I know.”
“Do you love me?”
I looked through the window.
“Yes.”
His breath caught.
“But love wasn't our problem.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
Martin Quinn remained missing.
Vanessa entered witness protection.
Richard and I rebuilt Mercer-Hale's governance.
For the first time in my life, I became publicly involved.
Not Mrs. Vale.
Evelyn Hale.
My mother's daughter.
But not her instrument.
Then Daniel discovered Martin's final move.
He had purchased debt connected to Vale Maritime through offshore entities.
If Vale's stock dropped below a specific threshold, Martin could force liquidation.
The threshold was approaching.
Dominic had one option.
Ask Mercer-Hale for emergency financing.
The favor he had spent fifteen years avoiding.
Richard smiled when Dominic entered our boardroom.
“I've waited a long time for this.”
Dominic sat.
“I know.”
“You hate owing me.”
“Yes.”
“Excellent.”
I kicked Richard under the table.
“Ow.”
Dominic almost laughed.
Then presented his plan.
Not a bailout.
A restructuring.
Employee ownership.
Pension protection.
Independent board.
Dominic would surrender majority control.
Richard stared.
“You're giving up the empire.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I'm finally admitting it shouldn't be an empire.”
Mercer-Hale approved the financing unanimously.
Including me.
Afterward Dominic stopped beside the elevator.
“Thank you.”
“It was a good deal.”
“That's all?”
“That's all.”
He smiled.
And left.
No pressure.
No emotional claim.
That was when I started wondering whether the man I had loved was finally becoming someone I might someday trust.
Then Martin Quinn resurfaced.
At 6:20 the following morning, Richard's car exploded in the Mercer-Hale parking garage.
I was twenty feet away.
The blast threw me against a concrete pillar.
When I woke, fire filled the garage.
May you like
And Richard wasn't moving.
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