Chương 7
"I'm saying the custody agreement was not my idea."
I closed my eyes.
"You signed it."
"Yes."
"You brought it to my hospital room."
"Yes."
"You stood there while your family watched me."
Another pause.
"Yes."
His honesty made me angrier than an excuse would have.
Because excuses would have been easier.
"Then what difference does it make?"
"It makes a difference because I need you to know something."
I waited.
"The money wasn't for you to leave."
I looked at the kitchen table where the documents Rachel had left were stacked.
"What was it for?"
"It was to make sure you couldn't look into the company."
My fingers went cold.
"Why?"
"I don't know everything."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I expect you not to believe anything I say."
I didn't answer.
"I deserve that."
The admission was so unfamiliar that I almost didn't recognize him.
Julian Vance admitting he deserved something.
That was not the man who had stood in my hospital room.
"Where are you?"
"At my apartment."
"You moved out?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"After the hospital."
I stared out the window.
The neighborhood looked exactly the same.
A child rode a bicycle across the street.
A woman carried grocery bags toward her front door.
A delivery driver checked his phone beside a parked car.
Normal life continued while mine had split apart.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because I saw my father yesterday."
"And?"
"He asked if you had found anything."
I froze.
"Found anything?"
"Yes."
"Why would he ask that?"
Julian did not answer immediately.
That silence told me more than his words could have.
"Julian."
"He thinks you have documents."
I looked toward the hallway.
Toward the nursery.
Toward the place where the letter had appeared.
"Why would he think that?"
"Because he knows you are smarter than he gave you credit for."
The compliment felt wrong coming from him.
Not because it was untrue.
Because it came too late.
"Did your father know about Sienna?"
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"How long?"
"I don't know."
"You're telling me your father knew you were cheating and still helped you take my children?"
"Claire."
"No."
My voice shook.
"No, I need you to hear this."
I walked toward the window.
"You keep saying you didn't know.
You keep saying you were pressured.
But you still made choices."
"I know."
"Do you?"
My throat tightened.
"Because my sons were three days old when you tried to take them from me."
"I know."
"You brought her into my hospital room."
"I know."
"You let your family stand there."
"I know."
The pain in his voice almost made me stop.
Almost.
But apologies did not erase actions.
They only arrived after consequences became real.
"What do you want from me?"
"Help."
I laughed once.
It was a bitter sound.
"You want my help?"
"I want to fix what I can."
"You can't fix this."
"I know."
Again.
That word.
I hated how much it sounded like the beginning of accountability.
"I need proof," he said.
"Proof of what?"
"That my father changed the agreements."
I frowned.
"You don't have proof?"
"No."
"Then why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
He swallowed.
"But I think you should look at the timing."
I said nothing.
"The letter I wrote was before the hospital."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"What?"
"I wrote it two weeks before you gave birth."
"Why?"
"Because I found something."
"What?"
"My father had been moving money."
I waited.
"Where?"
"To accounts connected to people outside the company."
"Like Sienna?"
"No."
That answer surprised me.
"Then who?"
"I don't know."
I closed my eyes.
Everything was becoming a room full of doors.
Every time I opened one, there were three more behind it.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
There was a long silence.
Finally, he said, "Because I was afraid."
I almost responded immediately.
Then I stopped.
Not because I forgave him.
Because I wanted the truth.
"Afraid of what?"
"That I would lose everything."
The honesty was painful.
"You mean the company."
"No."
A pause.
"My family."
That answer stayed with me.
Julian had spent his entire life inside the Vance family machine.
The company.
The reputation.
The expectations.
I had always thought he loved the power that came with it.
Maybe he was also trapped by it.
That did not excuse him.
But it explained something.
"You chose them over me."
"I did."
His voice was quiet.
"And I have regretted it every day since."
I looked down at my hand.
The wedding ring was still there.
I had not taken it off.
I wasn't sure why.
Maybe because removing it felt like admitting something was truly over.
Maybe because I was not ready to let go of nine years in one afternoon.
"Julian."
"Yes?"
"If you are lying to me, I will make sure you never see those boys again."
"I know."
"And if you're telling the truth, that doesn't erase what you did."
"I know."
The repetition bothered me.
Because for the first time, I believed he might actually understand.
"I need to talk to Rachel."
"Okay."
"And you need to tell her everything."
"Everything."
I ended the call.
For several minutes, I stood in the kitchen without moving.
Then I picked up the phone again.
Rachel answered almost immediately.
"That was Julian."
"I know."
I stopped.
"How do you know?"
"Because I received an email from his attorney thirty minutes ago."
My heart sank.
"What did it say?"
"That Julian wants to amend the custody agreement."
I looked at the documents on the table.
"Why?"
"Because something changed."
"What?"
Rachel was quiet.
Then she said something I did not expect.
"His father just removed him from the company board."
I stared at the wall.
The man who had tried to take my children was suddenly losing the thing his family valued most.
Power.
"Rachel."
"Yes?"
May you like
"I think Julian wasn't the person who started this."
"Maybe."
