By the end, the original agreement had been torn apart and rewritten.
Joshua was required to restore every dollar to Maxine’s college trust. I received a substantially larger share of the remaining assets. He had to pay the cost of the financial investigation and open every account connected to his businesses. He couldn’t sell the house or move funds without written approval.
When he signed, his hand shook.
He had spent months preparing a document meant to trap me while I was tired and grieving.
Instead, he was the one signing an agreement he could no longer control.
Outside the conference room, Cheyenne was waiting near the elevators.
She no longer looked polished. Her foot tapped rapidly against the floor, and both hands gripped her phone.
Joshua walked toward her.
“You told me everything was handled,” she snapped.
“I didn’t know she had hired anyone.”
“What happens to the apartment now?”
I kept walking.
Their relationship had survived only because I had been carrying the cost of it. The moment lawyers, frozen accounts, and consequences appeared, their grand romance began to look exactly like what it was.
A private arrangement built on someone else’s losses.
PART FOUR: THE TRUTH I OWED MY DAUGHTER
That night, Joshua sent three messages.
We need to talk.
This got out of control.
Please think about what is best for Maxine.
I read the last one twice.
