I received the call two days later.
It came from an unfamiliar number.
I almost ignored it.
But something made me answer.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice came through.
"Is this Vivienne?"
"Yes."
"This is the woman who attended the gala with Dominic."
I sat down.
I recognized her voice immediately.
The cream-colored dress.
The little boy.
The woman Chloe had called his wife.
"What do you want?"
She hesitated.
"My name is Natalie."
I didn't respond.
"I think we need to talk."
I looked toward the living room.
Sophia was watching cartoons.
"About what?"
"Dominic."
I closed my eyes.
"Of course."
She took a breath.
"I didn't know everything."
I had heard similar words before.
"Then tell me what you did know."
Natalie was quiet.
Finally, she said:
"Dominic told me that your marriage had been over for a long time."
I looked at the clock.
"Was it?"
"No."
"Then why did you believe him?"
She didn't answer immediately.
"He told me you were staying together for your daughter."
I felt a familiar heaviness.
"Did he tell you he was still living with me?"
She paused.
"Yes."
I stared at the wall.
"And you accepted that?"
"I thought you knew about me."
I almost laughed.
There was something deeply strange about hearing another woman describe the same lies from a different direction.
She continued.
"He said your family was wealthy and that you weren't interested in his business life."
I tightened my fingers around the phone.
"Did he tell you my name was Sterling?"
"No."
"Did he tell you my family had helped finance his company?"
"No."
I leaned back.
"Then what did he tell you?"
Natalie sounded uncomfortable.
"He said he had built the company through his own work. He said his financial relationships were complicated, but stable."
I closed my eyes.
That was the version he had given everyone.
A self-made executive.
A powerful businessman.
A man who had overcome every obstacle alone.
"What do you want from me, Natalie?"
She hesitated.
"My son."
I sat straighter.
"What about him?"
"He has become attached to Dominic."
I said nothing.
She continued.
"I don't know what Dominic has told him. I don't know what will happen now that the company is being reviewed."
I looked toward Sophia.
She was laughing at something on television.
"Your son isn't responsible for any of this."
"I know."
"Neither is Sophia."
Natalie's voice became softer.
"I know that too."
For a moment, I felt sorry for her.
Not because she had done nothing wrong.
But because I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.
She had believed she was building a future with a man who apparently had been telling different stories to different people.
"Did Dominic ever promise to marry you?"
There was a long silence.
Then she answered.
"He said we would be together openly when the time was right."
I looked down.
"And did you believe him?"
"Yes."
I didn't know what to say.
Natalie finally asked:
"Did you know about me?"
"No."
She exhaled.
"I thought you did."
I shook my head, although she couldn't see me.
"I found out at the gala."
There was silence between us.
Then she said:
"I'm sorry."
I didn't tell her that everything was fine.
It wasn't.
But I also didn't want to spend the rest of my life speaking to another woman as though she were the only person who had hurt me.
"Please keep your son away from the adults' arguments."
"I will."
"And don't let anyone use him to explain Dominic's decisions."
"I understand."
We ended the call.
I sat for a while.
Then I called Victor.
I told him about Natalie.
He listened carefully.
"Did she ask you for anything?"
"No. She was worried about her son."
Victor nodded.
"We won't involve the child in the financial review."
"Thank you."
He paused.
"Viv, there's another development."
I waited.
"The company has received a formal request for additional information about certain investor presentations."
I felt my shoulders tighten.
"From whom?"
"The board's legal advisers."
"Does that involve Dominic?"
"Yes. They're reviewing what was communicated and what the original agreements actually provided."
I looked at the phone.
"Could that affect his position?"
"It could. But no final decision has been made."
I nodded.
That evening, Dominic returned home.
He looked at me from the doorway.
"Did Natalie call you?"
I was surprised.
"Yes."
His expression hardened.
"What did she say?"
"She asked about her son."
He shook his head.
"You shouldn't be talking to her."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"She's confused."
"About what?"
He walked toward the table.
"Everything."
I looked at him.
"Did you tell her we were separated?"
He didn't answer.
"Did you tell her my family was helping finance your company?"
He remained silent.
I nodded slowly.
"Then perhaps she's not the confused one."
He sat down.
For a moment, he looked genuinely exhausted.
Then he said:
"I never wanted any of this to happen."
I looked at him.
"You wanted the benefits of two lives without having to explain either one."
He stared at me.
I continued.
"And now both lives are asking questions."
He didn't respond.
I walked upstairs.
I wasn't interested in hearing another explanation.
Click here to continue reading: PART 16: Victor Presented the Financial Review to the Board, and Dominic Finally Realized That My Family Had Never Needed His Company
The Little Girl With a Handmade Gift Was About to Discover That Her Father Had Built a Second Family
Part 15 of 20
