Chapter 14 - THE AIRPORT
I didn’t go to the airport.
That was growth.
Or exhaustion.
Probably exhaustion.
My father did.
Police later showed me the security footage.
Eleanor moving through a private terminal with two suitcases.
Dominic beside her.
No luggage.
That mattered.
When officers approached, Eleanor immediately shouted,
“My son forced me!”
Dominic just stared at her.
Apparently even the officers looked confused.
He raised both hands.
“I’m the one who called you.”
That changed everything.
Dominic had found her using a tracking app connected to an old family tablet.
He followed her.
Then called the police.
He had gone to stop her.
Not help her escape.
For once.
He made the right choice.
It didn’t erase the others.
But it mattered.
Eleanor was arrested on suspicion of fraud, conspiracy, evidence tampering, attempted framing, and several other charges that seemed to grow by the hour.
Chloe wasn’t arrested that day.
Not yet.
She cooperated.
Mostly because she was terrified.
Amanda gave a formal statement.
Rachel turned over her messages.
Peter entered negotiations through his attorney.
And Dominic—
Dominic asked to see me.
I said yes.
One time.
Hospital cafeteria.
Public.
Ugly fluorescent lights.
No romance left anywhere.
He sat across from me.
“You look tired.”
I stared.
“So do you.”
He nodded.
Fair.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he said,
“I’m going to plead guilty if they charge me.”
I looked at him.
“To what?”
“Whatever I actually did.”
“That’s a broad category.”
He winced.
“I deserve that.”
“I wasn’t trying to be clever.”
“I know.”
He looked down.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me.”
“Good.”
His mouth tightened.
“I signed things I shouldn’t have.”
“Yes.”
“I moved money.”
“Yes.”
“I let my mother convince me it was temporary.”
“Yes.”
“I kissed Rachel.”
I looked at him.
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“And I saw that message about getting you arrested.”
I didn’t answer.
“That’s the part I can’t explain.”
“Then don’t.”
“I was angry.”
“You’ve said that.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I mean… I wanted you punished.”
That stopped me.
He looked ashamed.
Good.
“I wanted you to feel scared because you wouldn’t sign.”
I let that sit between us.
It was ugly.
But honest.
He continued.
“For maybe five minutes, I liked the idea that you’d be knocked down a little.”
My throat tightened.
He looked at me.
“That’s who I was in that moment.”
I nodded slowly.
“And that’s why we’re done.”
He cried.
Quietly.
No dramatic begging.
No grabbing my hand.
He just cried.
Then he pulled an envelope from his jacket.
“Divorce papers.”
I stared.
“I signed everything your attorney sent.”
I opened it.
No fight over property.
No claim to my trust.
Full acknowledgment that our daughter would live with me.
Shared custody only if approved later by the court after the criminal case.
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I’ve taken enough.”
That one hurt more than I expected.
I closed the envelope.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Chloe.
One sentence.
May you like
Mom kept a second ledger.
And I know where it is.
