Dominic finally reached me shortly before noon.
I was folding Sophia's laundry when his name appeared on the screen.
I let it ring twice.
Then I answered.
"Vivienne."
His voice was sharp.
"Where are you?"
"At home."
"You need to come here."
"No."
There was a pause.
"What do you mean, no?"
"I mean I'm not coming."
He exhaled angrily.
"Do you understand what's happening?"
I folded a small blue dress.
"Not completely. You haven't explained much."
"This is not the time for sarcasm."
"Then tell me the truth."
He lowered his voice.
"The board is questioning the company's financing."
"I know."
"How?"
I didn't answer.
He continued.
"Your brother has contacted people connected to our investors."
"Those investors have agreements with the company."
"That's not the point."
I stopped folding.
"Then what is the point, Dominic?"
He was silent.
I waited.
Finally, he said:
"You've turned a family problem into a business crisis."
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"A family problem?"
"Yes."
"Is that what you call having another woman introduced as your wife?"
He made a frustrated sound.
"You're twisting everything."
"Then explain the woman and the boy."
He didn't answer.
I looked at the small pile of laundry.
A pair of Sophia's socks had fallen onto the floor.
I picked them up.
"Dominic?"
He spoke again.
"We need to discuss this privately."
"We're discussing it now."
"Not over the phone."
I was tired of that sentence.
It had become his favorite way of avoiding questions.
I lowered my voice.
"Did you marry her?"
Silence.
"Dominic, answer me."
"No."
I closed my eyes.
"Then why was she introduced as your wife?"
"Things are complicated."
"That's not an answer."
He sighed.
"She is important to the company."
I stared at the phone.
"Your company has a wife now?"
"Don't be childish."
That word hurt.
Not because it was new.
Because I had spent years trying not to be difficult whenever he wanted something.
I had moved appointments.
Canceled plans.
Accepted late dinners.
Made excuses for absences.
And now he was calling me childish for asking about another woman.
"Does she have a son?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
"Is he yours?"
Another silence.
Then he said:
"That's not something we should discuss like this."
I felt my hands become cold.
I had my answer.
I didn't need another sentence.
"Dominic, did you bring that child into our daughter's life without telling me?"
He raised his voice.
"Stop interrogating me!"
I ended the call.
My hands were shaking.
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
For several minutes, I couldn't move.
Then I heard Sophia calling from the hallway.
"Mommy?"
I wiped my face.
"Come in, sweetheart."
She entered holding a drawing.
It showed three people.
Me.
Her.
And Dominic.
There was a yellow sun above us.
She had drawn a little red heart between the figures.
I looked at it for a long time.
"Do you like it?"
I nodded.
"It's beautiful."
"Can we put it on the refrigerator?"
"Of course."
She ran downstairs.
I followed her.
We placed the picture beside an older family photograph.
I looked at the photograph.
Dominic was smiling.
His arm was around my shoulders.
Sophia was sitting between us.
I wondered when that picture had stopped representing the truth.
My phone vibrated again.
This time it was Victor.
"The board meeting has started."
"How is Dominic?"
"Not well."
I leaned against the counter.
"What does that mean?"
"He's demanding to know why the funding arrangements are being reviewed."
"Does he know they're connected to us?"
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"What did he say?"
"He claims he was never informed of the family connection."
I almost laughed.
"That part may be true."
"Possibly. But he knew the agreements existed."
Victor paused.
"The board is also asking about statements made during previous financing rounds."
"Can they establish whether those statements were accurate?"
"That's what the review is for."
I looked at Sophia's drawing.
"Victor, I want you to make one thing clear."
"What?"
"I'm not asking you to destroy the company just because I'm hurt."
"I understand."
"I want the truth about Dominic's conduct. I want the agreements honored or handled lawfully. And I don't want employees losing their livelihoods because of something they didn't know."
Victor's answer came immediately.
"That's exactly how we're approaching it."
After we ended the call, I went back to the kitchen.
I made lunch.
I helped Sophia with her coloring book.
I answered a few messages from friends.
For an hour, I almost forgot what was happening.
Then Dominic sent a message.
You need to tell Victor to stop. We can settle our marriage privately.
I read it several times.
There it was again.
He wanted me to separate his marriage from his business.
But he had spent years allowing those two things to become connected whenever it benefited him.
I typed a reply.
You should have thought about that before you made our daughter part of a lie.
I sent it.
Then I turned off my phone.
That afternoon, Victor called once more.
"The board has requested that Dominic step away from certain financial decisions while the review continues."
I sat down.
"Has he agreed?"
"No."
I looked at the refrigerator.
Sophia's drawing was still there.
"Then what happens?"
"The board will follow its procedures."
I nodded.
For the first time, I understood that Dominic's greatest problem wasn't simply losing access to money.
It was losing the ability to decide what everyone else was allowed to know.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: The Woman Upstairs Finally Learned Who I Was, and the Boy Beside Her Became the One Person I Refused to Blame
The Little Girl With a Handmade Gift Was About to Discover That Her Father Had Built a Second Family
Part 7 of 20
