Chapter 45
CHAPTER
FORTY-FIVE
JULIE
The burner phone rings the next afternoon. I'm sitting on the couch in the West Seattle house, staring out at the street. Jamie is in the kitchen making tea. Ryan is at the dining table with his laptop, reviewing Marcus's surveillance report for what must be the fifth time.
The number on the screen is one I recognize: Gregory Hale. My stomach drops.
"It's Dean's attorney."
Ryan looks up. Jamie comes out of the kitchen, tea forgotten.
I answer on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Stevens." His voice is calm, professional. "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."
"Um, no. No. Now is fine. But please call me Julie."
"Got it. I have a few questions for you, Julie, if you don't mind."
I swallow. "Okay."
There's a pause, and I can almost hear him choosing his words carefully. "First question: Is it safe to assume there are marital issues? Is that why you're using an alternate phone number and asked me not to call the house?"
My throat tightens. "Yes."
"I see." Another pause. "Second question: Is the marriage repairable? Or is it over?"
I don't hesitate. "It's over."
Jamie's hand goes to her mouth. Ryan's eyes snap to mine, wide and alert.
"And to be clear, I don't care about Dean's gift or the conditions that came with it," I continue, my voice steady. "I don't care if I lose my business. The marriage is over."
There's a sharp intake of breath from Jamie. Ryan stands up from the table.
Gregory is quiet for a moment. Then he says, "I understand. Third question: Are you safe? Do you need security? I’m able to get that for you if you need it."
"I'm safe," I tell him. "I have people with me I trust."
"Good. That's good." He exhales. "Julie, I need you to call an attorney and file for formal separation and divorce. Make it official. I can recommend someone if you'd like. If so, I will call and tell them to prioritize talking to you."
"Yes. Please."
He gives me a name and a number. It’s one of the people I already called, which I think is good. I write it down on a notepad Ryan slides across the coffee table.
"Once that paperwork is filed," Gregory continues, "I can give you more information and advice. But until then, my hands are tied by the estate's terms. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"I'm sorry this is happening," he says quietly. "For what it's worth, I think you're making the right choice."
My eyes burn. "Thank you."
"Take care of yourself, Julie."
"I will."
I hang up and set the phone down on the couch beside me. Jamie and Ryan are both staring at me.
"What did he say?" Jamie asks.
I take a breath. "He said I need to file to make it official, legally. He gave me the name of an attorney. He can't give me any more information until the paperwork is done."
"Information about what?" Jamie asks. "What gift were you talking about? What about the business?"
I look at my sister. At her confused, worried face.
"I have something to tell you," I say.
We sit down at the dining table. Ryan closes his laptop and pushes it aside.
Jamie sits across from me, her hands folded on the table.
I don't know where to begin. So I just start talking.
"When Dean called me into his office the night before the wedding," I say, "he told me he'd paid off our business loan. "
Jamie nods. "I know. You told me that."
"There was more." I swallow. "There were strings attached."
Her brow furrows. "What kind of strings?"
"The kind no one wants." My voice is shaking now. "He didn't just pay off the loan. He bought the entire building and all of the retail space. For me."
Jamie's eyes widen. "What?"
"He called it a wedding gift. But it came with a condition." I force myself to keep going. "If Asher and I divorce before five years, I have to repay the full amount—the loan, the building, all of it—or vacate within ninety days."
The silence that follows is deafening. Jamie stares at me. "How much?"
"I don't know the exact number, not really. But it's tens of millions of dollars." I shake my head because even now, I can't wrap my mind around it. "It's more than I could ever pay back. Even if I sell the house, it wouldn't cover what he paid for the real estate.”
“What the fuck,” Ryan mutters.
Jamie's face has gone pale. "So when you divorce Asher?—"
"I lose everything. We lose everything. " I finish. "The shop. The building. All of it."
She stares at me. "Julie. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I couldn't." My voice cracks. "Dean said I couldn't tell anyone. Not even you. And then after he died, Gregory called and told me I still couldn't say anything."
"That's—" Jamie shakes her head. "That's insane. That's?—"
"A trap," I say. "Dean knew exactly what he was doing. He locked me in. I realize now he did that because his son is a selfish, twisted piece of shit. He knew Asher would fuck up at some point, and he was trying to keep me there."
Jamie's eyes fill with tears. "So all this time—the last nine months—you've been stuck. You couldn't leave even if you wanted to."
"No. I couldn't."
"And now you're leaving anyway." Her voice breaks. "You're choosing to lose everything."
"Yes. We’ll lose the storefront but once I sell the house we can start fresh and–”
I stop because she stands up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. She comes around the table and pulls me into a hug so tight I can barely breathe.
"I would've lost everything nine months ago," she says fiercely. "Gladly. If it meant you were happy instead of—" Her voice catches. "Instead of watching the light go out of your eyes."
I start crying. I can't help it. "I'm so sorry," I whisper. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."
"Don't you dare apologize." She pulls back and cups my face in her hands. "You were trapped. You were doing what you had to do. But you're not trapped anymore."
"No," I agree. "I'm not."
She hugs me again, and we stay like that for a long time. When we finally pull apart, Ryan is standing by the window, his arms crossed, his jaw tight.
"You're not losing shit," he says.
I blink. "What?"
He turns to face me. "I'm going to give you the money to pay it back. You will not lose your business because of Asher fucking Stevens and his wandering dick."
My heart clenches. "Ryan?—"
"I'm serious. I'll write the check today. Whatever the amount is, I'll cover it. You keep the business. You keep the building and all of the real estate around it. You keep everything."
"Ryan, I can't?—"
"Yes, you can."
"No." I stand up. "I can't."
He watches me, waiting to see what I'm going to say.
"I have to do this myself," I say firmly.
Ryan's expression hardens. "That's bullshit."
"It's not."
"You're going to lose everything because of pride?"
"It's not about pride." My voice rises. "It's about taking back control."
He stares at me. I take a breath and try to explain. "Since I met Asher, I've let other people dictate my decisions. Asher manipulated me with lies. Dean trapped me with money. I lost years of my life because I let them both lock me in, in different ways."
"This is different," Ryan says.
"Is it?" I look at him. "You're offering to take care of it for me. To fix it. To make it go away. And I appreciate it more than I can say. I do. But if I let you do this, then I'm just trading one cage for another."
"That's not?—"
"It is." I step closer. "If you pay off the debt, I'll never feel like the business is mine. I'll always know that you saved it. That I couldn't do it myself. That I needed someone to rescue me."
"I don't want to be rescued anymore. I want to stand on my own two feet. I want to make my own choices. Even if they're hard. Even if they hurt."
Ryan's jaw tightens. "So you're just going to let him win."
"No." I shake my head. "I'm going to let myself win. By choosing honesty and freedom over money and control."
He doesn't say anything. But I can see the hurt in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I know you're trying to help. I know you’re genuine. But I can't do this. Not this way."
Jamie stands up and comes to stand beside me. "I agree with her."
Ryan looks at her, surprised.
"If we lose the business," Jamie says, "then we lose it. We'll figure it out. We'll start over after she sells the house. But we'll do it on our own terms. Not because someone else paid our way out."
Ryan stares at us both for a long moment. Then he exhales and runs a hand through his hair. "You're both insane."
"Probably," I admit.
"You're choosing to lose everything when you don't have to."
"We're choosing recovery," I correct. "There's a difference."
He shakes his head, but there's something softer in his expression now as he looks between us. "You're the most stubborn women I've ever met.”
"Thank you”
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I think we’re both taking it as one."
He almost smiles. Almost. Then he crosses the room and pulls me into a hug. "I'm still here," he says quietly. "Even if you won't let me fix this. I'm still here."
"I know." I hug him back. "And that's enough. That's more than enough."
When he pulls away, he pulls Jamie into a hug. "You're really okay with this? Losing the business?"
"I'm okay with my sister being free," Jamie says. "The business is just a business. We can rebuild. But we can't get back the time she's lost. Or the person she was before all this."
I reach for her hand and squeeze it.
Ryan nods slowly. "Okay. Then we do it your way."
"Thank you," I say.
The relief is staggering. I'm not trapped anymore. I'm free.