Chapter 46
Simon
The heavy oak doors of Jerome Carter’s downtown law office closed with a solid, definitive thud.
Simon sat across from his attorney’s massive mahogany desk, the sprawling view of the city skyline entirely ignored.
It had been a few weeks since that agonizing weekend in the guest house—the weekend he had unleashed hell on Emily Hayes and waited in the suffocating silence for Audrey’s verdict.
Now, with his marriage beautifully, miraculously healing, he was here to permanently bury the past.
Jerome adjusted his glasses, sliding a thick, pristine manila folder across the polished desk.
"It's done, Simon," Jerome said, his voice carrying the calm, clinical efficiency of a man who destroyed lives for a living. "The ink is dry, and the docket is permanently sealed. Not a single word of this will ever see the public light or the press."
Simon didn't open the folder immediately. He kept his dark eyes locked on his lawyer. "Walk me through it. I want to know exactly what happened."
Jerome leaned back in his leather chair, folding his hands.
"As you requested, we hit her with the legal equivalent of a tactical nuke.
The courier served her the papers at noon that Saturday.
By 12:45 PM, David had completely locked her out of the Lumière servers and terminated her employment.
When she tried to access her corporate email to retaliate, she hit a firewall. "
Simon’s jaw tightened. "Did she try to fight the restraining order?"
"She hired a budget defense attorney by Monday morning, intending to claim it was a consensual workplace relationship," Jerome scoffed lightly.
"But her lawyer took one look at the felony distribution charge for the audio file and told her to surrender.
She realized very quickly that you weren't bluffing, Simon.
Distributing non-consensual, sexually explicit audio is a fast track to a state penitentiary.
When we offered her a settlement that kept her out of a prison cell, she took it without a second thought. "
Jerome tapped the folder. "Inside is the permanent, lifetime restraining order.
She is legally barred from coming within five hundred yards of you, Audrey, or Lily.
She has signed an ironclad Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Furthermore, as part of the settlement to drop the felony charges, she surrendered her personal phone and laptop to our forensic tech team.
The audio file has been permanently, irretrievably scrubbed from her devices and any cloud backups. It no longer exists."
A profound, staggering wave of relief washed over Simon’s chest. The weapon Emily had forged to destroy his wife was completely eradicated.
"Where is she now?" Simon asked, his voice entirely devoid of pity.
"Gone," Jerome stated simply. "Lumière flagged her termination as gross misconduct, which effectively blacklisted her from every major marketing agency in the state. She broke her apartment lease on Tuesday and moved back to the Midwest. You will never hear the name Emily Hayes again."
Simon finally looked down at the folder. He rested his hand heavily on the thick cardstock, feeling the tangible weight of his family's safety.
"Thank you, Jerome," Simon said, the quiet sincerity in his voice cutting through the clinical atmosphere of the office. "For protecting my wife."
"Just doing my job, Simon," Jerome nodded respectfully. "Now, onto the second piece of business. I have the final buyout paperwork for your partnership shares at Lumière. David signed his portion this morning."
Simon took the sleek black pen Jerome offered and signed his name on the dotted line without a single ounce of hesitation.
He was leaving millions of dollars of future equity on the table, but he couldn't care less.
He was amputating the infected limb. He refused to remain tied to the agency that had fostered his arrogance and nearly cost him his soul.
An hour later, Simon walked into the gleaming glass lobby of Lumière for the very last time to hand his corporate keycard over to security.
As he turned toward the exit, the private executive elevator dinged, and David stepped out into the lobby.
Simon stopped. The man walking toward him was a mere shadow of the slick, arrogant senior partner he used to be. David’s custom suit hung slightly loose on his frame, his face drawn and pale, dark circles bruised beneath his bloodshot eyes.
"Simon," David greeted, his voice hollow. He glanced at the security desk where Simon had just left his badge. "So, the buyout is official. You're really walking away."
"I am," Simon confirmed, his tone perfectly steady. "I signed the papers an hour ago."
David let out a harsh, bitter laugh, running a trembling hand through his hair. "Must be nice. Walking away with a clean slate."
"My slate isn't clean, David," Simon corrected firmly. "I am spending every single day doing the agonizing work to rebuild my wife's trust. But I'm doing it outside of this building."
David stared at the marble floor, the corporate bravado completely shattered. "When I fired Emily that Saturday... she completely lost her mind. She threatened to expose everything. She told me if she was going down, she was taking me with her."
Simon’s expression didn't shift. "And?"
"And she didn't have to," David choked out, a raw, devastated edge to his voice. "Because you were right. I realized I was trapped. I went home that night and confessed everything to Evangeline before Emily could get to her. The affair in Chicago. The promotions. The lies."
Simon felt a heavy, sickening pull of empathy, knowing exactly what the inside of that particular hell felt like. "Where is Evangeline now?"
"She packed a bag and took the kids to her sister's house," David whispered, a tear slipping free to track down his pale cheek. "She hired a shark of a divorce attorney on Monday. She won't even look at me, Simon. She's taking the house. She's taking everything. My life is completely over."
Simon looked at the man who had been his closest colleague, his enabler, his partner in crime. David was standing exactly where Simon had stood months ago—standing in the smoldering wreckage of a bomb he had built with his own two hands.
"It's going to be a long, agonizing road, David," Simon said gently, but with absolute, unyielding honesty. "You broke her reality. You don't get to dictate how she responds or if she ever forgives you. All you can do now is take complete accountability and stop lying."
David nodded slowly, looking entirely defeated. "Yeah. I know."
"Good luck, David," Simon said.
He didn't offer a handshake. He turned around and walked through the heavy revolving doors, stepping out onto the bustling downtown sidewalk.
The crisp, bright air hit his lungs, and for the first time in over a year, Simon took a breath that wasn't restricted by guilt, panic, or secrets. He was a free man. Emily was a ghost, David was a cautionary tale of the path he had barely escaped, and Lumière was officially in his rearview mirror.
Simon pulled his phone out of his pocket. He didn't check his emails or the stock market. He opened his messages and typed out a quick text.
Just left the lawyer's office. The paperwork is signed. I'm officially unemployed, and the past is permanently sealed. I'm coming home.
A few seconds later, his screen lit up with Audrey's reply.
Hurry up. I'm working from home today, and I suddenly have a very open schedule.
A slow, brilliant smile broke across Simon’s face. He slid the phone back into his pocket and started walking toward his car, stepping out of the shadows and fully into the light of his new life.