"I'll set things straight with my mother. You'll get your credit back on the campaign."
I looked at him.
"She agreed to that?"
"I'll make her agree."
I nodded.
"Fine."
The lights in the old estate's living room were blazing.
My mother-in-law sat on the sofa, Sabina beside her, eyes swollen and red.
A draft statement lay on the coffee table.
The moment Sylvia saw me, she shoved the paper across.
"Sign it."
I picked it up and read.
【I, Mavis Winfield, voluntarily authorize Ms. Sabina Pruitt to use the relevant brand content, and there is no plagiarism dispute.】
I laughed.
"Whoever wrote this has done it before."
Sylvia frowned.
"Mavis, don't be so petty. Sabina's being torn apart out there. Can you really stand by and watch?"
I looked at Morton.
"So this is what you meant by getting my credit back?"
His face darkened.
"Mom, that's not what I meant."
Sylvia gave a cold laugh.
"Then what did you mean? You'd ruin Sabina for her sake? Ruin the company's new project?"
Sabina said through her tears, "Forget it, ma'am. I'll pull out of the project. Don't put Morton in a hard spot."
Sylvia's heart went out to her at once.
"Pull out of what? You've run yourself ragged for the Delgado Group. Why should you be the one they drag through the mud?"
I set the statement back on the table.
"Because she took something that wasn't hers."
Sylvia shot to her feet.
"Mavis!"
Morton stepped in front of me.
"Mom, enough."
Sylvia froze.
"You're raising your voice at me?"
Morton lowered his voice.
"Sabina was in the wrong on this."
The color drained from Sabina's face.
Sylvia couldn't believe it.
"Morton, have you lost your mind? Sabina's stood by you all these years. Everything she does is for you."
I looked at Morton.
"Did you hear that?"
"She's stood by you all these years."
"And me?"
Morton turned back.
"Mavis, you're my wife."
I gave a small laugh.
"You only ever say that when there's no one around to hear it."
The living room went quiet.
I took a folder out of my bag and laid it on the coffee table.
"Since everyone's here today, let's all take a look together."
Morton looked down.
The divorce agreement.
His face went rigid.
Sylvia recovered first.
"Who do you think you're scaring with that?"
"It's not to scare anyone."
I set down another document.
"This is a lawyer's letter."
The third.
"And this is my notice withdrawing the personal loan guarantee I gave the Delgado Group in its early days."
Morton's head came up.
"What did you say?"
I looked at him.
"Back when your startup needed cash flow, I used my premarital savings to guarantee two loans for you."
"Now that I want a divorce, I want the accounts settled too."
His breath caught for an instant.
Sylvia's expression shifted.
"Mavis, are you trying to destroy Morton?"
"I'm only taking back what's mine."
Morton picked up the agreement and flipped through a few pages.
Asset list, transfer records, campaign source files, press-release screenshots, family-access logs, screenshots of the social media privacy group.
One item after another.
Like every day of these three years I'd been kept hidden, laid out in front of him all at once.
His voice went hoarse.
"When did you put all this together?"
"From the day I found out you'd put me in a special group on your messenger."
Sabina said quietly, "Mavis, do you really have to take it this far?"
I looked at her.
"I'm not taking it anywhere. I'm ending it."
Sylvia was shaking with fury.
"Leave Morton, and what do you think you'll have left?"
I gave a faint smile.
"At least I won't have to prove I'm his wife anymore."
I turned to leave, and Morton came after me.
"Mavis."
The wind in the courtyard was cold, and he still had that agreement clutched in his hand.
"Come home with me first. We'll talk it through, slowly."
"I'm not going back."
He froze.
"What do you mean?"
"I moved my things out this afternoon."
He stood there, rooted to the spot.
That was when his phone rang.
He glanced down. It was the company's finance office.
He picked up, and the voice on the other end was frantic.
"Mr. Delgado, the bank received a lawyer's letter from Ms. Winfield demanding the release of her pledge and confirming she won't renew the guarantee. The credit line triggered a review. The bank is asking us to submit additional credit-enhancement documents."
Morton looked up at me, and for the first time his eyes filled with panic.
