Chapter 5 - The Premium Assessed
The descent from arrogance to absolute ruin is a remarkably fast plunge when you remove a man's safety net.
Miles was terminated from his firm by the end of the week. HR didn't just fire him for lying about the benefits; a subsequent audit of his corporate expense account, prompted by my revelations, uncovered thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges used to entertain Sienna. He was escorted out of the building by security, carrying his belongings in a cardboard box.
When Sienna realized that the wealthy, successful executive she was sleeping with was now unemployed, facing a brutal divorce, and completely broke, she vanished faster than the Aspen snow in July. She blocked his number and moved on to her next target, leaving Miles entirely alone.
During the divorce proceedings, the judge was completely merciless. The undeniable, written proof that Miles had intentionally risked his newborn daughter’s life and health to fund an extramarital affair obliterated any chance he had at leniency. I was awarded full custody of Louisa, and Miles was ordered to pay maximum child support—which would be heavily garnished from whatever meager salary he eventually managed to secure.
One year later.
I sat on the sun-drenched patio of my new, beautiful home, sipping a cup of hot coffee. Louisa was babbling happily in her playpen on the grass, a thriving, perfectly healthy one-year-old. I had recently been promoted to Director of Compliance at my firm, entirely independent, secure, and fiercely happy.
Miles had underestimated me. He had looked at a woman recovering from surgery, holding a newborn, and assumed I was too weak, too exhausted, and too dependent to notice his betrayal. He thought the title of "Mother" made me a victim.
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He didn't realize that becoming a mother had forged me into iron. He had tried to leave us without a safety net, but he forgot one crucial detail about the woman he married.
I didn't need his net. I owned the entire safety division.
