Chapter 8 - The Morning After
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The morning sun broke over the horizon, casting warm golden light through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my living room. For the first time in three years, the house felt quiet. Real quiet. Not the tense, walking-on-eggshells silence I had grown accustomed to, but genuine peace.
I sat at the kitchen island, sipping black coffee, while my attorney, Evelyn Reed, went over the final filings on her tablet.
“The cloud footage is already admitted into evidence,” Evelyn said, sliding the tablet toward me. “Nathan’s attorney called me at six this morning trying to negotiate a settlement. He sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack.”
“What did he offer?” I asked.
“Everything,” Evelyn chuckled softly. “He offered to sign over his remaining shares in Caldwell Logistics if you drop the immediate debt acceleration clause. He knows if the trust liquidates his firm today, he’ll be forced into personal bankruptcy by noon.”
I leaned back, feeling the warmth of the coffee cup in my hands. “Tell him no.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across her face. “No negotiation at all?”
“He stood in front of his entire family and told me to wash his feet, Evelyn,” I said smoothly. “He thought he could humiliate me into submission. Let him see what actual humiliation feels like when the bankruptcy notice hits the public record.”
My phone chimed on the counter. It was a text message from an unknown number, but I knew the tone instantly:
May you like
Rebecca, please. My mother is having chest pains. We are staying at a motel near the highway. Just give me a week to secure a loan. Don't destroy my life over a mistake.
I didn't reply. I simply blocked the number and swiped the notification away.
