Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO BE OWNED
Naomi took the ledger home.
Not to Damian's estate.
To her own apartment.
She wanted time to read it without anyone telling her what it meant.
The entries went back eight years.
Shipments.
Payments.
Warehouse numbers.
Some records appeared legitimate.
Others were suspicious.
Her father had made notes in the margins.
Invoice altered.
Container number doesn't match.
Ask Martin.
Naomi stared at the name.
Martin.
Her father's former business partner.
A man who had died in a warehouse fire seven years earlier.
The next morning, Damian called.
“Have you found anything?”
Naomi hesitated.
“Maybe.”
“Can I see it?”
She looked at the ledger.
Then said, “Not yet.”
Silence.
Damian finally answered.
“All right.”
She blinked.
“You're not angry?”
“No.”
“Even though it concerns your company?”
“Yes.”
Naomi sat down.
“Why?”
Damian's voice softened.
“Because it's yours to decide.”
For the first time, Naomi realized how much of her life had been shaped by men who demanded obedience.
Caleb.
Her creditors.
Even her father's illness had forced her into choices she never wanted to make.
But Damian was giving her something she'd forgotten she could have.
Control.
That afternoon, she called a lawyer.
Not Damian's lawyer.
May you like
Her own.
And made an appointment.
