I crouched down to meet her eyes. “Go sit with your brother for a minute, baby. I’ll be right there, okay?”
She nodded and shuffled off, dragging her stuffed bunny behind her.
I unmuted the call. “Fine. I’m coming.”
I ended the call and immediately dialed Tessa next door. She answered on the first ring.
“I need a favor,” I said.
“I’m already tying my sneakers, Paige,” she replied. “Just go.”
I didn’t bother changing my clothes. I grabbed my purse and keys, kissed each kid on the head, and hurried out the door.
The drive blurred past me. My hands gripped the steering wheel too tightly. My jaw ached from clenching it. Rage rode in the passenger seat beside me.
**
When I stepped into the office lobby, everything felt too perfect—polished floors, quiet voices, a place that pretended problems didn’t exist.
Mark stood waiting near the front desk.
“They pulled the reimbursement reports,” he told me. “Hotel bookings, wellness claims, expensive gifts.”
I swallowed. “All tied to Alyssa?”
“They traced everything back to her vendor profile,” Mark said grimly.
“Texts too?”
“Oh yeah,” he replied. “Expense reports, vendor records, his company phone history. HR has it all.”
He nodded toward the glass conference room.
Inside, Cole was pacing, gesturing with his hands like he was pitching something. HR sat across from him without expression. Darren, the CEO, looked exhausted. A VP I’d only seen at holiday parties sat silently watching like a judge.
Then the door swung open.
Alyssa burst inside, her ponytail swaying, phone clutched in her hand, her voice already rising. She didn’t bother knocking.
“What is she doing?” I whispered.
“Making things worse,” Mark muttered. “She’s furious they’re pulling her name into this.”
HR raised a hand to calm her, but Alyssa spoke right over it.
Someone pushed a manila folder across the table toward Cole.
He stopped in the middle of his sentence.
His whole posture crumpled, like the air had been knocked out of him.
**
About twenty minutes later, the door opened again. Cole stepped into the hallway—and froze the moment he saw me.
“Paige,” he said quietly.
I didn’t move.
He walked toward me. “This isn’t what it looks like, honey.”
“I’m not doing this in front of strangers. You’ve already done enough of that.”
Mark let out a quiet snort behind me.
“You said you’d send money,” I told him. “I want it in writing. Then maybe you’ll finally learn how to live without hiding behind a paycheck and lies.”
His jaw tightened. “Paige—”
“No.” I lifted a hand. “You don’t get to say my name like we’re still a team.”
Behind him, Alyssa scoffed. “Oh my gosh.”
I turned to face her. She looked ready to erupt—eyes narrowed, lips parting as if she were about to speak.
Before she could, a woman in a navy blazer stepped into the hallway.
“Alyssa,” she said calmly, her voice cold as ice. “Your contract is terminated effective immediately. Legal will contact you. Do not return to this building.”
Alyssa blinked. “You’re kidding, Deborah. I work here.”
“This is not a discussion,” Deborah replied. The hallway fell silent.
Cole turned toward her. “You can’t just fire her like that—”
“We can,” Deborah said evenly. “And we are.”
Then she looked at Cole.
“Effective immediately, you are on unpaid suspension pending termination. Turn in your badge.”
A security guard stepped forward with a clipboard.
That ended the argument.
For a moment, no one moved. Alyssa’s face drained of color. Cole looked like someone had pulled the floor out from under him.
I stepped closer to him.
“I’m going home,” I said quietly. “To our children.”
“We need to talk.”
“We will,” I replied. “Through lawyers. You made your choice, and I’m done cleaning up the damage. Don’t come back.”
He stood there speechless. Alyssa stared at him like she had just realized she’d tied her future to a man who couldn’t keep his life together.
I turned and walked away.
Back at home, the kids were waiting for me.
I crouched down and hugged each of them. Rose held on a little longer than the others.
“Is Daddy coming home?” she asked.
“No, baby,” I said gently. “Not today.”
She frowned. “Tomorrow?”
I took a slow breath.
“Maybe not for a while,” I said softly. “But I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere.”
For the first time, I was choosing myself—and my children.
He had made his decision.
And now, so had I.
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