Chapter 9 - The Final Settlement
The divorce hearing was a short,
clinical affair.
Ethan sat across the room from me,
looking older than his thirty-eight years.
His suit was the same one he had worn to the Boardroom battle,
but it looked too big for him now.
He looked like a man who had lost his gravity.
His lawyer tried to argue for a larger share of the assets,
claiming that Ethan’s "visionary leadership" had created the value.
Isabel countered with the evidence of his embezzlement.
She countered with the record of his breach of fiduciary duty.
She countered with the fact that I was the one who had saved the company from the crisis he had created.
The judge didn't take long to decide.
The founder's agreement was ironclad.
The pre-nuptial agreement was airtight.
Ethan was awarded the Jersey City apartment and a small,
five-figure sum from a secondary account.
I kept the estate.
I kept the company.
And I kept the voting rights.
As we walked out of the courtroom,
Ethan stopped me in the hallway.
He didn't have any anger left.
He just looked tired.
"Are you happy now,
Claire?"
"You have it all."
"The company,
the money,
the power."
"Was it worth it?"
I looked at him,
seeing the man I had once loved,
and the man who had tried to erase me.
"It wasn't about being happy,
Ethan."
"It was about being whole."
"You tried to take my voice,
my work,
and my dignity."
"I just took them back."
I reached into my bag and pulled out the small velvet pouch.
I handed it to him.
He opened it and saw the five-carat emerald-cut diamond.
"You forgot this on your pillow,"
I said.
"I don't need it anymore."
"I have my own light now."
I walked away,
the sound of my heels echoing in the marble hall.
I didn't look back.
I had a flight to catch.
We were opening a new facility in Singapore,
and I wanted to be there for the ribbon-cutting.
The logistics of my life were finally in order.
The route was clear.
May you like
The cargo was secure.
And the destination was entirely up to me.
