Chapter 4: Loosing everything.

After a long annoying silence, Derrick finally breaks it with the groveling of his throat.

“Natasha—”

“No!” I cut him off, suppressed rage biting my stomach. “You don’t get to say my name like that. Just get straight to the point. Tell me, why did you ruin my life? Why did you’ve to turn the whole world against me and betray me? What did I do to deserve your cruelty?!”

“Nothing.” Is Derrick’s cold response, his hand dig in his pocket looking so carefree. “I… I had to protect myself. “

“Protect yourself?” I lash out. “You destroyed me. You made me carry your sins while you walked free. You made me an ex-convict when you’re the real criminal!”

At that word—ex-convict—something flickered in his gaze. And then he scoff.

“That’s exactly it, Natasha. You are an ex-convict. Do you have any idea what the world would have done to me if I’d stayed married to you?” He scoffed. “The pressure was suffocating. From the moment you were sentenced, the world demanded that I cut ties with you. If I wanted to protect my reputation, I had to.”

My heart felt like glass shattering. “So you divorced me to polish your image? Is that why you married her?”

“I haven't divorced you yet, but you'll be hearing from my lawyer soon enough.” His tone was flat, like he was discussing stock shares.

“As for Florida, I married her because she came with publicity, connections, and money. I couldn’t stay tied to you, not when you’re tainted.”

Every word he said stabbed deeper. Tainted. Ex-convict. Like I was nothing but dirt.

“And Rose?” I whispered. “What about our daughter? Why would you erase me from her life? Why would you tell her I was dead?”

His mouth curled into something between disdain and pity. “Why else? If we go out separate ways, I can’t entertain the havoc of having to share her with you.”

I staggered back as if his words had physical force. He said it so easily, as if it was logical. My blood roared in my ears.

He kept going.

“Look. My lawyer will contact you soon. The divorce papers are ready. I’m offering you money and I’ll rent you an apartment. If you want a child—” he shrugged, as if this was generosity “—I can arrange for you to adopt one.”

I stared at him, my nails digging into my palms.

“You…” My throat closed up. “You’re offering me money for my silence? An apartment in exchange for my daughter?”

He lifted his hands like I was being dramatic. “I’m offering you a chance to move on. Don’t even bother to escalate this. Trust me it’s pointless.”

“Pointless?” I spat the word. “I will expose you, Derrick. The world will know what you did. And I’ll take Rose back if it’s the last thing I do.”

He smirked. “Expose me? Natasha, you can’t even stand on your own. Your company—the one you inherited from your father—is on the verge of collapse. Partnerships are gone, debts are piling, and creditors are on your neck. Without me, you would have nothing.”

His words gutted me.

“You’re lying,” I said, though my voice trembled. “You must be lying.”

“Go see for yourself.” He shrug, and takes predatory steps closer. “You can’t fight me. Better accept my help and move on. I have work to attend to.”

And just like that, he brush past me.

***

I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t. The company my father built couldn’t be collapsing. I had left that company in his care!!!

So the next morning, I went to the office myself. Familiar faces glanced away when I entered, and the whispers started.

“Ma’am,” my father’s old PA greeted me with wide eyes, when I got to my office. She looked thinner and older.

“Tell me,” I demanded. “What’s going on here? Derrick said—” My voice cracked. “He said the company is crashing.”

Her silence told me more than words.

“We’ve lost several partnerships,” she admitted finally. “Top clients withdrew. There are debts… reckless investments that sir Derrick made while you were gone. The board warned him, but he didn’t listen.”

My knees weakened, but I forced myself upright.

“How bad is it?” I whispered.

She lowered her gaze. “We’re close to bankruptcy.”

The world tilted beneath me. I clutched the edge of my father’s desk, the same desk I had used before I went to prison. All that legacy was gone because I trusted Derrick.

The rest of the day blurred into a nightmare. I called lawyer after lawyer, begging them to help me file a case against Derrick, redeem my company and take my daughter away from him.

But Every answer was the same. “I’m sorry, ma’am. With your record and the current state of your finances… it’s impossible to start a case with someone like Derrick Williams.”

By evening, despair was my only companion. So I stumbled into a bar.

I drank. And drank. Each glass burned, but the ache inside me burned worse. .

The hours blurred. I don’t remember when the bar began to empty, when the music dimmed. I just remember the staff’s annoyed voices.

“Ma’am, we’re closing. You need to leave.”

“No,” I muttered, clutching my glass. “Just one more.”

They tried to pull the drink from my hand. I fought them weakly, refusing to move. The world spun and my words slurred.

Then a deep, familiar voice said, “Leave her. I’ll take care of her.”

The staff obeyed, stepping back.

My head lolled, my vision blurred, but that voice… It wasn’t possible.

As strong arms lifted me from the barstool, I whispered through the haze, “I must be hallucinating because it can’t be you… you’re supposed to be dead. Right?”

But that’s the last thing I remember before the urge to throw up hits me and next I black out.