Chapter 3
I stared at the custody papers on my phone.
My hands were shaking.
Mentally unstable.
A danger to my own child.
Bennett had actually filed those lies with the court.
Uncle Robert came back into the room with coffee.
He saw my face.
"What's wrong?"
I handed him the phone.
He read the texts and the custody petition.
His face turned red with anger.
"That bastard. He's going to regret this."
He called his lawyers immediately.
I sat there, trying to process what was happening.
Bennett wasn't going to let me go easily.
He was going to fight.
He was going to try to destroy me.
And he had the money and the power to make it very difficult.
But I also had power now.
My uncle's power.
My family's power.
And I had truth on my side.
The next morning, the lawyers arrived.
They were sharp, serious, and clearly the best in the business.
They went through everything.
The frozen accounts.
The affair with Margot.
The incident in the hospital hallway.
The security footage.
The custody petition.
"Mrs. Halloway," one of them said. "We have a very strong case. The security footage alone is devastating to Mr. Finch's position. And the fact that he froze your accounts while you were eight months pregnant shows a pattern of controlling and abusive behavior."
"But he's saying I'm mentally unstable," I said quietly. "That I'm a danger to the baby."
The lawyer shook her head.
"He has no evidence. No medical records. No witnesses. Just his word against yours. And we have twenty witnesses who saw what happened in that hallway. We have the security footage. We have the text messages he's sent you. His claim will be laughed out of court."
She paused.
"However, we need to be prepared. Mr. Finch is very wealthy. He will try to drag this out. He will try to make your life as difficult as possible. He will try to embarrass you. To intimidate you."
I looked at her.
"I'm not afraid of him anymore."
And for the first time, I meant it.
That afternoon, Uncle Robert arranged for me to move into a beautiful, secure penthouse in the city.
It was owned by the family.
I'd never even known it existed.
It had floor-to-ceiling windows, a view of the mountains, and 24-hour security.
It was more beautiful than any place Bennett had ever taken me.
And it was mine.
I stood by the window, looking out at the city.
My hand resting on my belly.
For the first time in years, I felt safe.
Free.
My phone rang.
It was Bennett.
I hesitated, then answered.
I wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Tessa," he said, his voice cold. "I see you've moved into your uncle's little penthouse. Very nice. But you can't hide from me forever."
"I'm not hiding, Bennett. I'm starting my new life. Without you."
He laughed.
A bitter, angry sound.
"Your new life? You think you can just walk away from me? From everything we built? I made you, Tessa. I gave you everything. And now you're going to pay for throwing it back in my face."
"You gave me nothing, Bennett. I gave you three years of my life. I gave you my love. I gave you my loyalty. And you threw it all away for a woman who doesn't even love you."
"Margot loves me!" he shouted.
"Does she?" I said calmly. "Or does she love your money? Your power? The life you can give her?"
He was silent for a moment.
"She's pregnant, Tessa."
I froze.
"What?"
"Margot is pregnant. With my child. So you see, I'm going to have a family whether you like it or not. And I'm going to make sure my children are raised properly. Not by a bitter, unstable woman like you."
I felt my blood run cold.
Margot was pregnant.
Bennett was going to use this against me.
He was going to paint himself as a family man.
As someone who just wanted to be a father to all his children.
And he was going to paint me as the bitter ex-wife trying to keep a father from his children.
"Bennett," I said quietly. "If that's true, then I feel sorry for that child. Because they're going to have you as a father."
I hung up.
I sat down heavily on the couch.
Margot pregnant.
This changed everything.
Bennett now had ammunition.
He was going to use this pregnancy to make himself look sympathetic.
To make me look like the villain.
Uncle Robert came into the room.
He saw my face.
"What happened?"
"Bennett says Margot is pregnant."
Uncle Robert's face hardened.
"That complicates things. But it doesn't change the facts. He still pushed you. He still froze your accounts. He still had an affair. His position is still weak."
But I knew it wasn't going to be that simple.
The news broke that evening.
"BILLIONAIRE BENNETT FINCH EXPECTING SECOND CHILD WHILE WIFE SEEKS DIVORCE"
The tabloids ate it up.
They painted Bennett as a tragic figure.
A man caught between two women.
Both carrying his children.
They painted Margot as the innocent young woman who'd fallen in love with a married man.
And they painted me as the cold, bitter wife who was trying to keep a father from his children.
It was disgusting.
It was all lies.
But the public was eating it up.
Bennett was giving interviews.
Crying on camera.
Talking about how much he loved his children.
How he just wanted to be a good father.
How his wife had become distant and cold.
How he'd made a mistake, but he was only human.
It was a masterclass in manipulation.
And it was working.
People were starting to feel sorry for him.
To blame me.
My lawyers were furious.
They wanted to release the security footage.
To show the world what really happened in that hospital hallway.
But Uncle Robert stopped them.
"Not yet," he said. "We wait. We let him dig himself deeper. Let him tell more lies. And then we release everything. All at once. And we destroy him completely."
I agreed.
I wanted Bennett to feel safe.
To feel like he was winning.
And then I wanted to watch it all come crashing down.
Over the next week, Bennett continued his media tour.
He gave more interviews.
He posted photos of himself and Margot on social media.
Photos of them at doctor's appointments.
Photos of them buying baby things.
He was building his narrative.
And the public was buying it.
I stayed quiet.
I didn't give interviews.
I didn't post anything on social media.
I let him talk.
Let him dig his own grave.
My lawyers were busy.
They were gathering evidence.
Going through Bennett's financial records.
Talking to witnesses.
And what they found was worse than I'd ever imagined.
Bennett wasn't just a cheating husband.
He was a criminal.
He'd been embezzling money from his own company.
Millions of dollars.
He'd been hiding it in offshore accounts.
Using it to fund his lavish lifestyle with Margot.
And he'd been cooking the books to cover it up.
If this got out, he wouldn't just lose his company.
He'd go to prison.
My lawyers presented the evidence to Uncle Robert and me.
"This is the smoking gun," one of them said. "With this, we can destroy him. We can take control of the company. We can make sure he never sees the outside of a prison cell again."
I looked at the evidence.
The numbers.
The emails.
The bank records.
It was overwhelming.
"Do it," I said quietly. "Release everything."
But Uncle Robert held up a hand.
"Wait. There's something else. Something bigger."
He looked at me, his expression serious.
"Bennett isn't working alone. He's been working with someone. Someone inside the company. Someone we all trusted."
May you like
He paused.
"And it's someone close to you, Tessa."
