Chapter 9
The next three days were a blur.
The children came home.
Emma was angry.
Liam was confused.
But they were safe. They were with her. And every night, Claire climbed into bed between them and held them while they slept, promising herself she would never let anyone use them as weapons again.
The story dominated the news.
Daniel was everywhere.
Talk shows.
Morning news.
Social media.
His performance had been perfect. The country was split. Half the people thought Claire was a cold, crazy bitch who was destroying her own family out of spite. The other half thought Daniel was a manipulative liar who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar and was now playing the victim.
Madison was everywhere too.
Always just behind Daniel’s shoulder.
Always looking supportive.
Always wearing just enough makeup to still look “natural.”
Claire stayed out of the press.
No interviews.
No statements.
No comments.
She let Daniel talk.
She let him dig his own grave.
Because she knew something he didn’t.
The other shoe was about to drop.
And when it did, nothing he had said would matter.
It happened on Thursday.
At 8:00 a.m.
The SEC issued a press release.
HALE CAPITAL CEO WILLIAM HALE CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE COUNTS OF INSIDER TRADING, FRAUD, AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
The stock market hadn’t even opened yet.
By 8:05, every news network in the country was leading with it.
By 8:15, Hale Capital’s investors were calling in their commitments.
By 8:30, the three-hundred-million-dollar lifeline Hale had promised Bennett Group was gone.
Vanished.
Like it had never existed.
Claire was drinking coffee in her kitchen when Sarah called.
“Turn on the TV,” Sarah said. She was laughing so hard she could barely talk. “Just turn it on.”
Claire turned it on.
There was Daniel.
Standing on the steps of Bennett Group headquarters.
Surrounded by reporters.
He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. His shirt was unbuttoned. His hair was a mess. He was reading from a piece of paper, his voice shaking.
“...obviously, this is a deeply disturbing development,” he was saying. “We had no knowledge of Mr. Hale’s legal difficulties. We are reviewing all of our options and—”
A reporter shouted over him.
“Mr. Bennett! Without Hale’s money, you default on the bridge loans tomorrow! Is Bennett Group going bankrupt?”
Another reporter: “Sources say the trust has offered to buy back the company debt at thirty cents on the dollar! Is that true? Are you going to let Claire Bennett take over?”
A third: “Madison! Madison! Is it true you’re planning to testify against Daniel in exchange for immunity?”
Madison, standing beside Daniel, went completely still.
The camera zoomed in on her face.
The mask cracked.
Just for a second.
But everyone saw it.
Claire turned the TV off.
She had seen enough.
Her phone rang again.
Unknown number.
She answered.
It was Daniel.
“Claire,” he said. He was crying. Actually crying. “You have to help me. Please. You have to. The banks are calling the loans. Hale is finished. There’s no other money. Nobody will return my calls. If the company goes under tomorrow, I lose everything. I’ll have nothing. I’ll go to prison. Claire, please. We were married for ten years. We have two children. You can’t let this happen.”
Claire said nothing.
She just listened.
“I’ll give you everything,” he babbled. “The house. The cars. The art. All of it. I’ll sign over every share I own. I’ll never fight you for custody again. I’ll move to another country. I’ll disappear. Just please, Claire. Save the company. Save me.”
Claire finally spoke.
“Where is Madison right now, Daniel?”
Silence.
Then, broken:
“She left. Last night. Packed her bags and took the penthouse. She called her lawyer this morning. She’s talking to the DA. She’s going to say everything was my idea. That I forced her to do it. That she was just a scared young girl who didn’t know any better.”
Claire almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“You want to know something funny?” she said. “Madison was the only one who ever really understood you. She knew exactly what you were. And she loved you for it. Because she was exactly the same.”
“Claire, please—”
“I’m not going to save you, Daniel,” she said. Her voice was gentle, but final. “I’m not going to save the company. Not the way it is now. It’s too broken. Too many lies. Too much rot.”
She paused.
“But I am going to save what’s left of my father’s legacy. And I am going to make sure the people who worked hard for this company, the ones who had nothing to do with your greed, get taken care of.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the trust is going to let Bennett Group file for Chapter 11 tomorrow,” she said. “We’re going to restructure it. Fire the board. Remove the bad assets. And rebuild it. The right way. No fraud. No lies. No Madison Blakes.”
“And me?” Daniel whispered.
“You?” Claire said. “You’re going to cooperate with the prosecutors. You’re going to tell them everything. Every bank account. Every shell company. Every dime you stole. And in exchange, you’re going to get three to five years in a minimum-security facility. You’ll be out by the time Liam graduates high school.”
She paused.
“It could be worse, Daniel. A lot worse. If you fight, you’ll get fifteen. Maybe twenty. And you’ll never see your children again. Not outside of a visiting room.”
Silence on the other end.
Then a sound like a man’s heart breaking.
“Okay,” he said.
“Good,” Claire said. “Sarah will call your lawyer with the terms. And Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t ever call me again.”
She hung up.
The children came into the kitchen then.
Emma in her soccer uniform.
Liam with his backpack.
“Who was that, Mom?” Emma asked.
“Nobody,” Claire said. She stood up and kissed both of them on the forehead. “Nobody important. Ready for school?”
Liam nodded.
“Mom?” he said.
“Yeah, honey?”
“Is Daddy coming home?”
Claire knelt down so she was eye level with him.
She took his small hands in hers.
“Daddy needs some time to get better,” she said. “He made some bad choices. And he has to take responsibility for them. But he still loves you. Very much. And one day, when you’re older, you’ll understand.”
Liam thought about it.
Then he nodded.
“Okay,” he said.
Emma didn’t say anything.
She just put her arm around her little brother.
Claire looked at her daughter.
She saw herself in those eyes.
Strong.
Proud.
Already wiser than her years.
It would be hard.
There would be more bad days.
More reporters.
More court dates.
More tears.
May you like
But they would get through it.
Together.
