Chapter 19 - The Final Offer
By five o'clock that afternoon, the boardroom had cleared. The security team had supervised the packing of Eleanor’s personal effects from her corner office on the executive floor.
She had refused to let anyone help her carry the single cardboard box containing her personal awards, a portrait of her late father, and her desk calendar. When she stepped into the private executive elevator, she didn't look back once.
Claire and I stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the executive suite, looking down at the street below. A black town car pulled up to the curb, Eleanor stepped inside, and the car merged into the evening rush-hour traffic, disappearing into the city.
"I spent four years terrified of that woman," Claire whispered, her voice laced with disbelief. "Every time my phone rang at the beginning of the month, I was afraid she was going to tell me that Leo and I had forty-eight hours to pack our bags and leave."
"She won't ever threaten you again, Claire," I said, turning to look at her. "Evelyn is drafting the permanent settlement agreement tonight. The East Commerce building will be deeded entirely into Leo’s name, free and clear of all corporate liens. And fifteen percent of Daniel’s residual stock trust will be transferred to Leo’s educational fund."
Claire turned to me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Why are you doing this for us, Grace? Daniel cheated on you. He lied to you from the moment you met him. Leo is living proof of everything Daniel hid from you."
I looked down at the city lights beginning to sparkle in the dusk. "Leo is an innocent child, Claire. Just like Noah. Daniel’s sins don't belong to our sons. And Eleanor’s cruelty doesn't get to define how we raise them."
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, expecting a call from Evelyn regarding the press release.
It was Daniel.
He was calling from the private number of his luxury rehab facility upstate—the place he had checked into three weeks ago to avoid criminal subpoenas when his offshore accounts were first uncovered.
I answered and put it on speaker so Claire could hear.
"Grace?" Daniel’s voice sounded cracked, desperate, and slurred with panic. "Grace, you have to talk to the board. My mother just called me from her car. She said you and Claire took over the voting trust? That’s impossible! Grace, please... they just froze my personal credit cards. I can't even pay the facility fees!"
Claire let out a quiet, scornful breath beside me.
"Daniel," I said calmly. "Your mother isn't on the board anymore. And neither are you."
"Grace, listen to me!" Daniel pleaded, his voice breaking into frantic sobs. "I made mistakes, okay? I know I messed up with the yacht, and the girls, and... and everything with Noah’s fever! But I’m Noah’s father! You can't just cut me out of the family business! What about my inheritance? What about my life?"
Claire stepped closer to the phone, her voice steady and merciless. "You gave up your inheritance the day you signed Leo away for a vice president title, Daniel."
A sudden, horrified silence fell on the other end of the line.
"Claire?" Daniel stammered, his breath catching in his throat. "Claire... why are you with Grace? How do you two even know each other?"
"Because your mother left a paper trail, Daniel," Claire said coldly. "And because your wife had the courage to do what you were too cowardly to do four years ago: she stood up to Eleanor."
"Grace, please!" Daniel begged, his voice rising in desperation. "We can settle this! I won't contest the divorce! I’ll sign whatever you want! Just give me an allowance... just keep my trust fund active so I don't lose everything!"
"The final divorce decree will be signed by Judge Hall on Monday morning, Daniel," I said, my voice devoid of anger, left only with complete, resolute finality. "You will receive statutory minimum maintenance based on your liquid assets, and not a single penny more. You wanted to live like a man with no family, Daniel. Now you have exactly what you asked for."
I hung up the phone before he could reply, blocking the facility’s number permanently.
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Claire looked at me, a faint, genuine smile touching her lips for the first time. "It’s over, isn't it?"
"Almost," I said. "There’s one last thing I need to do."
