Chapter 8 - THE INVESTIGATION THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH REVENGE
I learned more about Northbridge through formal disclosures and the independent review, not by secretly accessing company records.
My attorney explained that the two processes had different purposes.
The divorce addressed our marriage, financial obligations, and Lily's care.
The corporate review examined vendor transactions and whether employees or contractors had violated applicable policies.
I kept those matters separate.
I was angry with Daniel.
But I wasn't willing to risk my own career by treating workplace information as a weapon.
The review continued for several months.
Certain invoices lacked adequate supporting documentation.
Several contracts appeared to have been approved without proper conflict-of-interest disclosures.
Daniel's company had received payments that required explanation.
The findings were referred to appropriate decision-makers and, where warranted, external authorities.
Daniel denied intentional wrongdoing.
His attorney challenged several conclusions.
But the matter was no longer something he could make disappear by telling me I was emotional.
At home, my life was changing in much smaller ways.
Lily learned to roll over.
She discovered her reflection in the mirror.
She laughed whenever my mother made a ridiculous popping sound with her lips.
I took dozens of photographs.
Not to prove anything to Daniel.
Because I wanted to remember every ordinary milestone.
One Sunday, Robert visited.
He brought a small wooden rocking horse he'd made himself.
Lily was too little to use it, but he said she could have it when she was older.
I smiled.
“It's beautiful.”
He sat beside the window.
“Daniel called me.”
I waited.
“He says you're trying to ruin his career.”
I looked down.
“I'm not participating in the investigation.”
Robert nodded.
“I know.”
He hesitated.
“Jennifer, I raised him to believe that success meant providing money. I didn't do enough to teach him that a family needs more than that.”
My throat tightened.
“You can't make his choices for him.”
Robert looked at Lily.
“No.”
Then he said something I hadn't expected.
“But I can make mine.”
He asked whether he could continue being part of Lily's life, provided he respected the parenting arrangements and my boundaries.
I smiled through tears.
“Yes, Robert.”
May you like
He looked relieved.
And I realized that the end of my marriage didn't have to mean the end of every relationship that had grown around it.
