Chapter 6 - THE FIRST PERSON WHO BELIEVED HIM
By morning, strangers were debating my marriage beneath photographs of my injuries they hadn’t seen.
Some called Adrian a monster.
Others asked why I had stayed.
One wrote that rich women could buy any story they wanted.
I shut off my phone.
Then Adrian’s mother walked into my room carrying white roses.
Catherine Vale had always disliked color in places she couldn’t control.
“Darling.”
Leah stood.
“This isn’t a good time.”
“I’m family.”
I looked at the roses.
“Put them down.”
Catherine obeyed, surprised.
For a moment, she seemed smaller than she had at our dinner table.
Then she saw my father.
“Thomas. Surely we can handle this privately.”
Dad didn’t answer.
She turned to me.
“Adrian is devastated.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“Be specific.”
Her eyes flicked toward Leah.
“He knows he lost his temper.”
I waited.
Catherine lowered her voice.
“Vanessa is a terrible influence.”
“Did Vanessa hold his arm?”
“Evelyn—”
“Did she lock the doors?”
“You’re upset.”
“Yes.”
The word landed hard.
I had spent years softening my anger so other people could remain comfortable.
I was finished with that.
Catherine sat without being invited.
“If this continues, hundreds of employees could lose their jobs. People with children. Mortgages.”
Leah stepped closer.
“Are you asking my client not to cooperate with an investigation?”
“I’m asking her to consider the consequences.”
“I did,” I said. “For years.”
Catherine’s mouth tightened.
Then she reached into her purse.
A folded document.
“Adrian wants to make sure you’re taken care of.”
Leah took it before I could.
Her expression turned cold.
“This is a settlement agreement.”
“It’s a starting point.”
“It includes a statement that Evelyn’s previous allegations were made under emotional distress.”
Catherine looked at me.
“You would never have to worry about money again.”
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because she had finally shown me the price she thought belonged beside my name.
“Did you know about the stairs?”
Silence.
I asked again.
“Catherine.”
Her eyes filled.
“He said you fell.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She looked away.
There it was.
Leah opened the door.
“You need to leave.”
Catherine stood slowly.
At the threshold, she turned.
“If you destroy him, don’t expect him to go quietly.”
After she left, my father picked up the roses.
Underneath them lay a small envelope.
Inside was a key.
May you like
And a note written in Catherine’s hand.
He doesn’t know I kept this.
