Chapter 2 - The License
Ryan’s voice faltered. His hand froze over the separation agreement. "What license?"
I stood up from the dining table, leaving the untouched soup and the unsigned papers behind.
"Did you honestly think I would hand over eleven years of my graduate research without an ironclad intellectual property trust?" I asked, my voice completely stripped of the quiet, accommodating wife he had relied on for seven years. "I didn't give Bellamy Beauty the patents, Ryan. Naomi structured it so my trust granted your LLC a temporary, revocable license to use my peptide delivery system. A license contingent on my status as a vested, active founder."
Ryan’s face lost all its color. "Clare, wait. Naomi can't just revoke that. We're launching the European expansion next week. The supply chain—"
"The supply chain legally halted the moment I authorized that phone call," I corrected him.
I walked around the table toward Evelyn. She instinctively stepped back, her bravado shattering as she realized the severity of what was happening. But I didn't raise my voice. I didn't raise a hand. I simply reached out and unclasped my mother’s pearl necklace from her throat.
Evelyn gasped, her hands flying to her bare neck.
"These are for women who build empires," I whispered, dropping the warm pearl into my pocket. "Not women who rent them."
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Ryan stood up, panic bleeding through his polished exterior. "Clare, please! Don't be dramatic. We can restructure the buyout! You can't just take the formula!"
"I'm not taking anything," I said, putting on my coat. "I'm just leaving you with exactly what you brought to this marriage: an empty jar and a good pitch. Enjoy the relaunch."
