Chapter 6
The next morning, everything changed.
Ryan didn’t just get divorce papers.
He got served with a civil lawsuit.
And he knew criminal charges were next.
He showed up at my father’s house at nine o’clock in the morning.
The security guard called up to the house.
“Mr. Carter? There’s a man here. Says he’s Ryan Bennett. Says he needs to talk to his wife.”
My father looked at me.
I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast with Lily.
“Tell him to leave,” I said. “Tell him he can talk to my lawyers.”
My father spoke into the phone.
“Tell him to leave, Tony. And if he doesn’t, call the police.”
He hung up.
A minute later, the phone rang again.
Tony’s voice was tense.
“Mr. Carter? He’s not leaving. He’s yelling. He says if you don’t let him in, he’s going to call the press. Says he’s going to tell everyone how you’re keeping his daughter from him.”
My father’s jaw tightened.
“I’ll be right down.”
“Dad—”
“Stay here with Lily,” he said. “I’ll handle this.”
He walked out of the kitchen.
I heard the front door open.
Then I heard Ryan’s voice, loud and angry.
“Where is she? Where’s my wife? Where’s my daughter?”
“Keep your voice down,” my father said. “There are children here.”
“Emily!” Ryan yelled. “Emily, come out here! Don’t hide behind your father like a coward!”
Lily looked up from her cereal.
“Is that Dad?”
I took a deep breath.
“Stay here, baby. I’ll be right back.”
I walked to the front door.
Ryan was standing on the porch, his face red with rage.
Two security guards were holding him back.
My father was standing in the doorway, calm as always.
When Ryan saw me, his eyes lit up.
“Emily! Finally. Tell these people to let me go. Tell them I have a right to see my daughter.”
“You have no rights here,” my father said. “You’re trespassing. And if you don’t leave immediately, I’m going to have you arrested.”
Ryan laughed.
“Arrested? Go ahead. Let’s see how that looks in court. Father-in-law has the father of his grandchild arrested. That’ll play great with a jury.”
He looked at me.
“Emily, please. I just want to talk. To you. To Lily. Five minutes. That’s all I ask.”
I looked at Ryan.
Really looked at him.
The man I’d once loved was gone.
In his place was a stranger.
Desperate.
Angry.
Dangerous.
“Five minutes,” I said.
My father turned to me.
“Emily—”
“Five minutes,” I repeated. “On the porch. With the guards here. And then he leaves.”
My father studied my face.
Then he nodded.
“Five minutes. And if he so much as raises his voice—”
“I know.”
The guards released Ryan.
He stepped toward me.
I didn’t move.
“Thank you,” he said. His voice was softer now. Reasonable. “I just want to explain—”
“Save it,” I said. “I know everything, Ryan. The money. Sarah. the forged signatures. All of it.”
Ryan’s face fell.
Then he recovered.
“Your father told you that. He’s twisting everything. Emily, you have to believe me—”
“I saw the bank records,” I said. “I saw the photos. I saw the letter you forged in my handwriting. The one that made my father believe I’d disowned him.”
Ryan’s eyes darted to my father.
Then back to me.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay, fine. Some of that is true. But I can explain. I was under pressure. The company was failing. I was trying to provide for my family—”
“By sleeping with your secretary?”
Ryan flinched.
“That was a mistake. It meant nothing. I love you, Emily. Only you.”
I felt nothing.
No anger.
No sadness.
Just… nothing.
“You don’t love me, Ryan. You love what I can give you. Money. Status. Respectability. And when you thought you might lose all that, you showed me who you really are.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“You’re going to destroy me, aren’t you?”
“You destroyed yourself,” I said. “I’m just making sure you don’t destroy anyone else.”
He looked past me, into the house.
“Where’s Lily? I want to see my daughter.”
“Not like this,” I said. “Not when you’re angry. Not when you’re yelling. We’ll set up a time. Through the lawyers. In a neutral place. With a supervisor present.”
Ryan’s eyes blazed.
“A supervisor? You think I’m going to hurt my own daughter?”
“I don’t know what you’re capable of anymore,” I said. “You threw a plate at me in front of her. You lied to her for six years. I’m not taking any chances.”
Ryan stepped toward me.
The guards tensed.
“You’re making a mistake,” he said, his voice low. “If you do this—if you press charges, if you take my daughter, if you destroy my life—I’m going to make sure you regret it. I’m going to make sure everyone knows what kind of woman you really are.”
I stared him down.
“Try me.”
Ryan looked at me for a long time.
Then he laughed.
A cold, bitter sound.
“Fine. You want a war? You got one.”
He turned and walked down the porch steps.
He got in his car and slammed the door.
Tires screeched as he pulled out of the driveway.
I stood there, watching him go.
My father put his arm around my shoulders.
“You did good.”
I leaned against him.
“He’s going to make this ugly.”
“I know.”
“Are you ready for that?”
My father looked down at me.
“I’ve been ready for six years.”
The war started that afternoon.
Ryan called Lily.
I let her answer.
I listened on the other line.
At first, he was sweet.
Loving.
The father Lily had always known.
Then he started asking questions.
“Where are you, baby? Are you at Grandpa’s house?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Is Mommy there?”
“Yes.”
“Is Grandpa being nice to you?”
“Yes. He got me a purple room. And there’s a dog named Max.”
“That sounds nice, baby. But I miss you. I miss you so much. Don’t you want to come home?”
Lily hesitated.
“I don’t know, Daddy. Mommy says—”
“Mommy is confused right now,” Ryan said. His voice was gentle, but the words were like poison. “Grandpa is putting ideas in her head. He’s trying to keep us apart. But you don’t have to listen to him, okay? You’re a big girl. You can make your own decisions.”
I felt my blood run cold.
He was manipulating her.
Using her.
Just like he’d used me.
Lily didn’t say anything.
“Lily?” Ryan said. “Are you still there?”
“I have to go, Daddy. Max wants to play.”
“Okay, baby. I love you. Remember that. Daddy loves you more than anything.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
Lily hung up.
She looked at me.
Her eyes were wide.
Confused.
“Mommy? Is Grandpa putting ideas in your head?”
I knelt down in front of her.
I took her hands in mine.
“No, baby. No, he’s not. Grandpa loves me. And he loves you. He just wants us to be safe.”
“Then why did Daddy say that?”
I took a deep breath.
How do you explain to a ten-year-old that her father is a liar and a manipulator?
That the man she loves isn’t who she thinks he is?
“Your dad is hurt and scared right now,” I said. “And sometimes when people are hurt and scared, they say things that aren’t true. They try to make other people look bad so they don’t look so bad themselves.”
Lily thought about that.
“Is Daddy going to be okay?”
“I hope so, baby. I really do.”
I held her close.
May you like
And I knew then that Ryan would do anything to win.
Even if it meant destroying his own daughter in the process.
