Chapter 14 - Anton’s Choice
Anton met me in the hotel garden.
He looked exhausted.
“I started therapy.”
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
“Your mother would hate that.”
“Best reason I had.”
Then he handed me an envelope.
Divorce papers.
Unsigned.
My chest tightened.
“You want a divorce?”
“No.”
“Then why give me these?”
“Because I don’t want you staying married just because an annulment could affect your trust.”
That stopped me.
He had asked Rachel to structure a legal path protecting my shares whether I stayed or left.
He was giving me an exit.
Even if it ended us.
That was the first thing he had done in days that felt completely free of Carmela.
“I’m not signing today,” I said.
He nodded.
“Okay.”
“That doesn’t mean everything is fine.”
“I know.”
“It may never be.”
“I know.”
Good.
No pressure.
Then Harris called.
George had agreed to cooperate.
He was giving investigators the offshore accounts.
The fake vendors.
The participants.
And one more name.
My father.
I stood so fast the chair moved.
“What?”
Anton caught my arm.
Rachel said:
“Do not jump ahead.”
Too late.
My father’s signature appeared on a twelve-million-dollar transfer that later became part of George’s offshore structure.
Dad did not deny it.
“It’s mine.”
I stared.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“Then why did you sign?”
“Because George told me it was routine.”
The same disease.
May you like
Trust without verification.
Anton did not ask me to promise we would stay married. He asked only that I make the choice when I was no longer surrounded by police reports, board votes, and family threats. For the first time since the reception, I felt that he was protecting my freedom instead of trying to protect an outcome.
