PART5

Gerald laughed nervously.

“She won’t. Teresa doesn’t understand how these things work anymore.”

I stood completely still.

Then Walter said something that made my blood run cold.

“You should have done this years ago. Before she started thinking she was part of the company.”

I closed my eyes.

Forty years.

Forty years of believing I was part of a family.

And apparently, they had been discussing how to remove me for years.

I quietly stepped away from the office.

I didn’t confront them.

I didn’t cry.

I went upstairs, changed my clothes, and began sorting through my belongings.

Not because I accepted their forty-eight-hour deadline.

But because I wanted to know exactly what I owned, what I needed, and what I was willing to leave behind.

I packed my personal photographs.

My mother’s jewelry.

My old letters.

The little wooden box containing the first birthday card Naomi had ever made for me.

Then I opened the closet and found a dress I hadn’t worn in years.

It was blue, simple, and beautiful.

Gerald had once told me I looked like the woman he fell in love with whenever I wore it.

I held it against myself.

For a moment, I wondered whether that man had ever truly existed.

My phone vibrated.

It was a message from Naomi.

Mom, Dad called me. What’s happening? He says you’re making the divorce difficult. Please call me.

I stared at the message.

Naomi was our only daughter.

She was thirty-eight, married, and living outside Philadelphia.

She had always been closer to Gerald.

Not because she didn’t love me, but because Gerald had spent years making sure he was the parent who appeared at important events.

He paid for the expensive gifts.

He attended the charity dinners.

He told everyone he had built the company from nothing.

I had been the woman standing behind him.

When Naomi graduated from university, Gerald gave the speech.

When she married Daniel, Gerald welcomed the guests.

When she had her first child, Gerald bought the expensive crib.

I had done the planning, the shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, and the countless little things nobody remembered.

But I never complained.

I wanted my daughter to have a happy family.

I typed a response.

Your father and I are getting divorced. I will explain everything when we speak. Please don’t take sides before you know the truth.

She replied almost immediately.

Dad says you want money from the company.

I closed my eyes.

There it was.

He had already started telling his version.

I wrote back.

I want what I legally contributed to and what I worked for. That’s all.

Then I put my phone down.

I wasn’t going to fight with my daughter through text messages.

I would let the documents speak.

That evening, Gerald came upstairs.

He stood in the bedroom doorway, looking at the suitcases.

“What are you doing?”

“Organizing my things.”

He frowned.

“You’re actually leaving?”

“I haven’t decided where I’m going yet.”

He looked relieved.

“Good. Then perhaps we can avoid unnecessary drama.”

I continued folding a sweater.

“Gerald, why are you doing this?”

He sighed.

“Because things haven’t been working for a long time.”

“Forty years?”

“Don’t exaggerate.”

I turned toward him.

“Do you remember the night the company almost collapsed?”

His expression changed.

“Why are you bringing that up?”

“Because I do.”

“Terry, that was years ago.”

“I remember the kitchen table. I remember you crying. I remember the money I put into the company. I remember the bank appointments, the contracts, and the agreement you signed.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“Here we go again.”

I looked directly at him.

“Did you ever intend to honor that agreement?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he walked toward the dresser and picked up his watch.

“I’m not discussing business with you.”

“Then why did you make me part of the business when you needed me?”

He stopped.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he said something I will never forget.

“Because you were my wife.”

I stared at him.

“That was your answer?”

He shrugged.

“You helped because you wanted to help. I never forced you.”

I felt tears forming, but I refused to let them fall.

“No. You didn’t force me. I loved you.”

He looked uncomfortable.

“Don’t make this emotional.”

I almost laughed.

A man ending a forty-year marriage was asking me not to make it emotional.

I turned away.

“Good night, Gerald.”

He remained in the doorway.

“You have until tomorrow evening.”

I continued folding my clothes.

“Then I suppose you should make the most of the time.”

He left.

I heard his footsteps disappear down the stairs.

Then I heard him call Walter.

I couldn’t make out the conversation.

But I heard one sentence clearly.

“She’s not going to be a problem.”

I sat on the bed.

And for the first time, I wondered whether Gerald understood that the woman he had spent forty years underestimating was no longer afraid of losing him.

The next morning, Michael called.

“Teresa, I have an update.”

I was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea.

“What is it?”

“We received a response from Gerald’s attorney.”

“And?”

“He is claiming that your twenty-five percent ownership interest is invalid.”

I closed my eyes.

“On what grounds?”

“He claims you signed the agreement under circumstances that did not create a legitimate ownership transfer.”

I looked toward the window.

Rain was falling again.

“That’s ridiculous. I remember signing it.”

“I know. And we have the original document. But there’s another development.”

“What now?”

Michael hesitated.

“Gerald has requested an emergency meeting with the company’s board.”

I straightened.

“Why?”

“To approve the asset transfers we’ve been discussing.”

“Can he do that without me?”

“That depends on the governing documents and the nature of the transactions. But we have grounds to challenge any attempt to bypass your rights.”

I looked at the blue notebook beside my tea.

“What do you need from me?”

“Everything you have from the company’s early years. Especially the financial records showing your contributions.”

I nodded.

“I’ll bring them.”

“Good. And Teresa?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t confront Gerald about the transfers yet.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to understand where the money went before we make our next move.”

I agreed.

But after ending the call, I couldn’t stop thinking about the money.

Three years earlier, I had helped save the company.

Now, Gerald was attempting to remove me while transferring its assets elsewhere.

It wasn’t simply a divorce anymore.

Something much larger was happening.

And I had a feeling the truth was going to be far worse than I imagined.

That afternoon, Naomi arrived unexpectedly.

She walked into the house carrying a small handbag and wearing the same expression she had when she was a teenager and believed she was about to receive bad news.

“Mom?”

I stood from the sofa.

“Naomi.”

She hugged me, but the embrace was brief.

“Dad said you were packing.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“Because your father wants a divorce.”

She looked down.

“He told me.”

I waited.

Then she said, “He also said you were demanding a large amount of money.”

I sat down.

“Naomi, do you remember when the company was struggling three years ago?”

She nodded.

“A little.”

“Your father came to me for help. I used my personal savings. I worked with the bank. I helped restructure the business. And I signed an agreement giving me twenty-five percent ownership.”

Naomi looked surprised.

“Twenty-five percent?”

“Yes.”

“Dad never told me that.”

“I know.”

She sat opposite me.

“But why would he give you part of the company?”

I studied my daughter’s face.

Because I had saved it, I wanted to say.

Because I worked for it.

Because I was there when everyone else walked away.

Instead, I answered gently.

“Because I earned it.”

Naomi looked uncomfortable.

“Mom, I don’t want to get involved in your marriage.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Dad says you changed. He says you’ve become obsessed with money and control.”

I felt a familiar ache in my chest.

“Naomi, have you ever wondered why I stopped attending company dinners?”

She frowned.

“No.”

“Because I wasn’t invited anymore.”

She said nothing.

“Have you ever wondered why your father started introducing me as someone who helped around the office instead of someone who helped build the business?”

Her eyes moved toward the floor.

“Mom…”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you caught between us.”

She swallowed.

“Are you saying Dad used you?”

I took a breath.

“I’m saying I spent forty years loving a man who slowly convinced everyone that my contributions didn’t matter.”

Naomi looked at me for a long time.

Then she reached across the table and took my hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

I smiled sadly.

“Because I thought protecting my family meant staying quiet.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

Before she could answer, Gerald entered the room.

He stopped when he saw us holding hands.

“Naomi. I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I wanted to see Mom.”

Gerald looked at me.

“Have you been telling her about the company?”

I released Naomi’s hand.

“She asked.”

He shook his head.

“This is exactly what I didn’t want. You’re dragging our daughter into a business dispute.”

Naomi stood.

“Dad, she wasn’t dragging me into anything.”

Gerald looked surprised.

“Excuse me?”

“I came here because you told me she was demanding money. I wanted to hear her side.”

He looked at me.

Then he looked back at Naomi.

“Your mother is making this much more complicated than it needs to be.”

Naomi folded her arms.

“Then show me the agreement.”

Gerald went completely still.

“What?”

“The ownership agreement. If Mom is wrong, show me the documents.”

For a moment, I thought he might shout.

Instead, he gave a cold smile.

“You don’t understand the business, Naomi.”

“Then explain it to me.”

He looked at her as though she had betrayed him.

Finally, he turned and walked toward his office.

“I have work to do.”

Naomi watched him disappear.

Then she turned toward me.

“Mom, I think there’s something Dad isn’t telling us.”

I nodded.

“I think so too.”

She looked at the suitcases beside the staircase.

“Are you really going to leave?”

I reached for her hand.

“Naomi, I spent most of my life making sure everyone else had somewhere to belong.”

I paused.

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART6…