Brinley had come from our final frozen embryo. Then an email arrived from our fertility clinic. It contained a reminder about Connor’s permanent vasectomy, performed fourteen months before Alyssa claimed to have conceived.
I stared at the date, then smiled. Connor had not only betrayed me, but he had also chosen the one lie that could destroy everyone beside him.
PART 2
Connor expected me to fight for him. Instead, I gave him the divorce he demanded.
I kept the home, my family trust, and the assets I had owned before marriage. Connor insisted on taking the penthouse, two cars, and his title as chief executive of Crest Medical Systems. He signed without reading the schedules.
The penthouse carried a mortgage, and the cars were leased. His title could be revoked by the board, because the company belonged to my trust.
For six years, I had allowed Connor to stand before cameras and call himself self-made. I preferred laboratories to galas, so he mistook my silence for dependence. Betsy believed my father had handed his empire to Connor, but he had actually handed it to me.
I began with an audit. Within two weeks, forensic accountants found that Connor had charged Alyssa’s clothes, spa trips, and wedding deposits to a corporate development account. Then they uncovered something worse, discovering he had forged my approval on a loan secured against a company patent.
Parker placed the report before me. “This is enough to remove him today.”
“Not yet,” I said. “I want everyone he used to know who he is.”