The following morning, Victor asked me to come to his office.
He didn't sound angry.
He sounded serious.
I arrived shortly before noon.
My second brother was already there.
A third person sat at the far end of the conference table.
He was a lawyer representing the family's investment interests.
Victor introduced us.
Then he opened a folder.
"We have an update."
I sat down.
"Tell me."
The lawyer spoke first.
"The review has identified several areas requiring further examination. The company received financing through multiple arrangements connected to Sterling-affiliated entities."
I nodded.
"We know that."
"Some commitments were made under specific conditions. Those conditions are now being reviewed to determine whether they were satisfied."
I looked at Victor.
"Have they been satisfied?"
"Not all questions have been answered."
The lawyer turned another page.
"The company also needs to clarify certain representations made during previous financing discussions."
I remembered Daniel.
The reports.
The differences between internal presentations and original agreements.
"Is there evidence of deliberate misrepresentation?"
The lawyer answered carefully.
"That has not been established. We are identifying discrepancies and requesting explanations."
I appreciated his caution.
I didn't want anyone declaring Dominic guilty of something before the facts were established.
Victor placed another document on the table.
"This is the current position of the financing review."
I read through the first page.
Some commitments were being reconsidered.
Others were subject to further verification.
There were notices about possible changes in financial support.
I looked up.
"What happens to the employees?"
"The board is responsible for the company's operations. Any restructuring decisions must be made through the proper process."
Victor leaned forward.
"We are not going to create unnecessary harm."
I nodded.
Then I asked the question I had been avoiding.
"Does Dominic still have control?"
My second brother answered.
"Not over every financial decision. The board has temporarily restricted certain authorities."
I looked down.
"Will they remove him?"
"That remains under consideration."
I sat quietly.
I had imagined this moment many times.
I thought I would feel satisfied.
Instead, I felt tired.
I remembered Dominic's first small office.
The cheap chairs.
The broken printer.
The evenings when he came home excited because one new client had agreed to work with him.
I had been proud of him.
I had believed his success was ours.
Now I was learning how much of it had rested on arrangements I had never known existed.
Victor noticed my expression.
"Are you all right?"
"I don't know."
He closed the folder.
"You don't have to decide anything today."
I looked at him.
"I want to know something."
"What?"
"If the company had never received Sterling support, would it have survived?"
My second brother looked at Victor.
Neither answered immediately.
Finally, Victor spoke.
"That depends on the period you're asking about. There were moments when the company was in serious financial difficulty."
I lowered my eyes.
"So the support mattered."
"Yes."
I nodded.
That was the truth I needed to hear.
When I returned home, Dominic was waiting.
He had received the same information.
I could tell from his expression.
"Did you meet with Victor?"
"Yes."
He walked toward me.
"What did he tell you?"
"The review is continuing."
He laughed bitterly.
"Of course it is."
I put my handbag down.
"Dominic, you need to cooperate with the board."
He shook his head.
"You have no idea what they've done."
I looked at him.
"They've requested records."
"They've frozen parts of the financing process."
"Under the agreements."
He stared at me.
"You keep defending them."
"I'm not defending anyone. I'm asking you to answer the questions."
He walked toward the window.
Then he turned.
"Do you know what your family thinks of me?"
I didn't answer.
"They think I'm some man who married into their money."
I looked at him.
"Did you marry me for money?"
He looked startled.
"No."
"Then why does it matter what they think?"
He looked away.
For a moment, he seemed unable to find the right words.
Then he said:
"Because I built something."
I looked at him.
"And I believed you."
He frowned.
"What?"
"I believed you when you said you built your company from nothing. I believed you when you said you had earned every opportunity. I believed you when you told me the business was secure."
He sat down.
I continued.
"I defended you when my brothers questioned your decisions. I asked them to respect you. I asked them not to interfere."
He looked at the floor.
"Vivienne…"
I shook my head.
"You didn't just hide another woman. You let me defend a version of you that wasn't true."
He covered his face with both hands.
For a moment, I thought he might finally apologize.
Instead, he said:
"I didn't know the money came from your family."
I looked at him.
"That isn't the only thing you need to explain."
He lowered his hands.
I walked toward the stairs.
Behind me, I heard him say my name.
I stopped.
But I didn't turn around.
"Dominic, I don't want you to lose everything because I called my brother."
I waited.
"I want you to face what you actually did."
Then I went upstairs.
That evening, Sophia brought me the drawing she had made earlier in the week.
The little house.
The three windows.
The two people standing close together.
Her father was still drawn a little farther away.
She pointed at the picture.
"Mommy, I think I want to draw another one."
"What will you draw?"
"A bigger house."
I smiled.
"That sounds nice."
She thought for a moment.
"And maybe a garden."
I kissed her forehead.
"Maybe."
I placed the drawing in a folder with her other schoolwork.
I didn't know what our future would look like.
But I knew I wasn't going to teach my daughter that love meant accepting lies.
And I wasn't going to let Dominic's business troubles decide what kind of mother I would be.
Click here to continue reading: PART 17: The Records Finally Spoke, and Dominic Could No Longer Blame the People Who Had Helped Him
The Little Girl With a Handmade Gift Was About to Discover That Her Father Had Built a Second Family
Part 16 of 20
