Chapter 3
My father put his hand on my shoulder.
I could feel the strength in it.
The warmth.
For six years, I’d told myself I didn’t need him.
I’d told myself I was stronger without him.
Now I felt like I could finally breathe.
“You manipulated her,” my father said to Ryan. “You isolated her. You turned her against the only person who would have protected her. And all the while, you were coming to me behind her back, begging for money.”
Ryan’s face twisted.
“I wasn’t begging. I was building a future for my family.”
“By stealing from your wife?”
“Her money was our money!”
Diane finally found her voice.
“This is absurd. Ryan would never—”
“Check the records,” my father said. “Everything is there. The wire transfers. The forged signatures. The time he took forty thousand dollars from their joint savings last month to cover his gambling debts.”
I stood up so fast Lily slid off my lap.
“Gambling debts?”
Ryan flinched.
“Emily, it’s not what you think—”
“Forty thousand dollars?” My voice was shaking. “You told me you invested it. You told me it was for our future. For Lily’s college.”
“I was going to pay it back,” Ryan said. “I was going to win it all back and—”
I slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
Ryan’s head snapped to the side.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
I stood there, my hand stinging, my heart pounding.
For six years, I’d been the good wife.
The patient wife.
The understanding wife.
No more.
“You lied to me,” I said. “About everything. About my father. About the money. About who you are.”
“Emily, please—”
“Lily,” I said, turning to my daughter. “Go get your things. We’re leaving.”
Lily didn’t hesitate.
She ran up the stairs.
Ryan moved to follow her.
My father stepped between them.
“Don’t.”
Ryan looked at my father, then at me, then at his parents.
He was trapped.
And he knew it.
Richard was still staring at the papers on the coffee table.
“You sold part of the company,” he said, his voice hollow. “My company. Without telling me.”
“Dad, I had no choice. We were going under. If I hadn’t gotten that money—”
“You could have come to me,” Richard said. “We could have figured it out together.”
“You would have shut me down,” Ryan said. “You never believed in me. You never thought I was good enough.”
Diane walked to her son and put her arm around him.
“Richard, he was trying to prove himself. Can’t you see that?”
“By committing fraud?” Richard looked at his wife like he’d never seen her before. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”
Diane’s jaw tightened.
“I knew he was under pressure.”
“You knew,” Richard said. He laughed, a bitter sound. “Of course you did. You always protect him. No matter what he does.”
Lily came down the stairs carrying her favorite stuffed animal and a backpack.
She walked straight to me and took my hand.
“I’m ready, Mom.”
I looked at Ryan.
“We’ll talk about custody,” I said. “Through lawyers.”
Ryan’s eyes blazed.
“You’re not taking my daughter.”
“Try and stop me,” my father said.
We walked toward the door.
Ryan’s voice followed us.
“Emily, if you walk out that door, don’t come back. I’ll make sure you regret this. I’ll make sure you never see Lily again.”
I stopped.
I turned around.
For a second, I saw the man I’d fallen in love with.
The charming, funny, handsome man who had swept me off my feet.
Then I saw the plate flying toward my face.
I saw the lies.
I saw the fear in his eyes.
“I already regret it,” I said. “I regret every single day I spent with you.”
We walked out the door.
My father’s driver was waiting with the car.
He opened the door for us.
Lily climbed in first.
I paused on the porch and looked back.
Ryan was standing in the doorway, his face twisted with rage.
Diane was talking on the phone, her voice frantic.
Richard was sitting on the couch, staring at nothing.
I got in the car.
The door closed.
The car pulled away from the house.
Lily leaned her head against my shoulder.
“Are we going to Grandpa’s house?”
“Yes, baby.”
“Is it big?”
My father smiled.
“It’s big enough. And I’ve already had someone set up a room for you. With purple walls. I remembered that’s your favorite color.”
Lily’s face lit up.
“Really?”
“Really. And there’s a pool. And a dog. A golden retriever named Max. He’s very friendly.”
Lily sat up straight.
“A dog?”
My father nodded.
“I got him about a year ago. I was… I was hoping you’d come visit someday.”
I looked at my father.
Tears stung my eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming to you? Why didn’t you try to make me see the truth?”
My father’s face softened.
“I tried, Emily. So many times. But every time I called, Ryan answered. Every time I sent a letter, it came back unopened. Every time I showed up at the house, you were gone. He made sure of it.”
He reached across the seat and took my hand.
“And then… he showed me something. A video. You, talking about how happy you were. How you didn’t need me in your life. How I was just a bitter old man who couldn’t stand to see his daughter happy.”
My breath caught.
“I never said that.”
“I know that now,” he said. “But at the time… it looked real. He’s very good at what he does, Emily. He edits. He manipulates. He takes pieces of the truth and weaves them into lies so convincing even I started to believe them.”
I stared out the window.
The Dallas skyline was starting to light up as the sun went down.
Six years.
Six years of my life.
Wasted on a man who had never loved me.
Who had only loved what I could give him.
“What happens now?” I asked.
My father squeezed my hand.
“Now, we take back what’s yours. The house. The money. Your dignity. And we make sure Ryan never hurts you or Lily again.”
“And the company?”
My father’s eyes turned cold.
“The company is mine to do with as I please. And I’m not going to let Richard or Ryan benefit from another day of your money.”
I leaned my head back against the seat.
Lily was already asleep, her head on my lap.
I stroked her hair.
For the first time in years, I didn’t feel alone.
But I knew Ryan wouldn’t let go easily.
May you like
He had too much to lose.
And men like Ryan don’t go down without a fight.
