Chapter 2: A Father's Judgment
Chapter 2: A Father's Judgment
Lucas's funeral was held beneath gray winter skies.
Hundreds attended.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Neighbors.
Teachers.
Parents whose children Meredith had once helped save.
Garrett stood beside the small white coffin, pretending to mourn.
But whispers followed him through the cemetery.
Someone had seen the hotel footage.
Someone had talked.
By sunset...
Everyone knew.
The following Monday, Richard Hayes made exactly three phone calls.
The first went to Garrett's law firm.
As the firm's largest investor, Richard withdrew every dollar his family had entrusted to them.
Within hours, three other clients followed.
The second call went to the board of Lawson Capital.
Richard quietly revealed evidence that Garrett had used company resources during his affair while falsifying business expense reports.
An internal investigation began immediately.
The third call was personal.
Richard invited Garrett to his office.
Garrett arrived believing they could negotiate.
Instead, Richard placed a folder on the desk.
Inside were divorce papers.
Financial records.
Hotel surveillance stills.
Witness statements.
And a letter.
"I once trusted you with my daughter," Richard said calmly.
"I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never profit from betraying her again."
Garrett laughed nervously.
"You can't destroy me."
Richard leaned back.
"I don't need to."
He slid another document across the desk.
The board had already voted.
Garrett had been removed as CEO.
His executive accounts were frozen pending investigation.
His reputation collapsed before the market even opened.
By noon...
News outlets were calling.
By evening...
His affair dominated every business headline.
The woman he'd risked everything for quietly disappeared.
No calls.
No messages.
No loyalty.
Garrett went home to an empty mansion.
Meredith had already packed Lucas's room exactly as it had been.
May you like
Everything else...
She left behind.
