“She cleared out the apartment.”
Still nothing.
“She blocked me.”
I folded my arms.
“And?”
He looked down.
“I found messages.”
He turned the screen toward me.
It showed a conversation between Vanessa and a woman named Tasha.
I read only a few lines.
Once the wife is gone, I’ll have access to everything.
Then:
He believes anything I tell him.
And finally:
If this doesn’t work, I already have someone else lined up.
Derek’s voice broke slightly.
“She played me.”
I handed back the phone.
“No.”
His head snapped up.
“What?”
“She lied to you.”
“That’s what I just said.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“She lied. What you did to Sophie was your choice.”
He stared at me.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“She made me think—”
“I don’t care what she made you think.”
My voice stayed level.
“Your daughter stood in front of you crying, and you decided the woman you were sleeping with deserved more trust than she did.”
Derek looked away.
“I was angry.”
“So was I.”
He looked back at me.
“And somehow I managed not to threaten an eight-year-old.”
Daniel stayed silent.
He didn’t need to say anything.
Derek looked down at the phone.
“There’s something else.”
He opened another recording.
Vanessa’s voice filled the porch.
“You really think I needed that little girl to ruin my dress? I ruined it myself.”
Derek’s voice followed.
“Why?”
“Because I needed you to choose me.”
The recording stopped.
Derek looked at me.
“I recorded it.”
“Good.”
“You can use it.”
“I will.”
He nodded.
For a second, relief crossed his face.
Then he said the wrong thing.
“Maybe once this is over, we can talk.”
I stared at him.
“About what?”
“Us.”
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“There is no us.”
His face fell.
“Claire.”
“You still don’t understand.”
“I’m trying.”
“No. You’re trying to fix the part that hurts you.”
He said nothing.
I continued.
“You lost Vanessa.”
He flinched.
“You’re losing money.”
His jaw tightened.
“And now you’re standing here because the life you chose collapsed.”
I stepped slightly closer to the doorway.
“But Sophie and I were already gone before any of that happened.”
Derek swallowed.
“I want to see her.”
“That will be handled through Daniel and the proper process.”
“I’m her father.”
“Yes.”
I held his gaze.
“That title comes with responsibilities.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“From this point on, contact goes through me.”
Derek looked at him.
Then back at me.
Finally, he nodded.
He returned to his car alone.
I watched until his taillights disappeared.
Then I closed the door.
—
The divorce lasted seven months.
It was ugly.
Not because my brothers destroyed Derek.
They didn’t.
Daniel handled the legal work.
Marcus helped organize the financial records.
Ethan preserved the video.
