Chapter 3 - Emma Stands Up
When I stepped into the kitchen, Victor was still holding his phone. The termination notice was blurred on the screen, but his face told me enough. Lenora had one hand pressed against the table, no longer amused. Emma was still on the floor, soaked, trembling, and staring at me like she could not decide whether I was real.
I walked past Victor without looking at him. “Emma,” I said softly. “Can you stand?” Her lips moved, but no sound came out. I knelt beside her, ignoring the cold water soaking the hem of my coat. “Look at me, sweetheart. You are not in trouble.” That broke her. She covered her face with both hands and made a sound I had not heard since she was a child waking from nightmares.
Victor found his voice. “You can’t just barge into my house.”
I looked up. “Your house?”
His jaw worked once. That was another thing Victor had forgotten. I had purchased the home through a family trust before the wedding because Emma had loved the kitchen light and I wanted her safe if the marriage failed. Victor had moved in with expensive opinions and no deed. “The trust owns this property,” I said. “Emma is the protected beneficiary. You are a permitted resident under marital occupancy. That permission is being reviewed.”
Lenora stood. “How dare you speak to my son that way?”
My security manager, Caleb, stepped between her and Emma without touching anyone. “Ma’am, remain where you are.”
Lenora looked as if furniture had insulted her.
Victor lifted his phone. “This is unlawful. HR can’t terminate me over family drama.”
Dana’s voice came through my own phone on speaker. “Victor Hale, your corporate access has been suspended pending investigation into vendor fraud, misuse of expense approvals, and conduct creating immediate reputational risk. Do not access company systems. Do not contact staff. Legal will communicate through counsel.”
Victor’s face went pale. “Dana, listen—”
“No,” Dana said. “You had two years to be careful. You chose arrogant.”
The call ended.
May you like
Emma let out a shaking breath. I helped her sit back against the cabinet. Her hands were raw from cold water. “Did he hurt you?” I asked quietly. She looked at Victor, then Lenora, then me. “Not where people could see,” she whispered.
That sentence changed the room more than the termination notice.
